# Burgfrieden

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This article is about the medieval law. For the political term derived from it, see [Burgfriedenspolitik](/source/Burgfriedenspolitik).

The ***Burgfrieden*** or ****Burgfriede****[1] was a German [medieval](/source/Medieval) term that referred to imposition of a state of [truce](/source/Truce) within the jurisdiction of a castle, and sometimes its estate, under which [feuds](/source/Feud), i.e. conflicts between private individuals, were forbidden under threat of the [imperial ban](/source/Imperial_ban).

The lord of the castle could also grant [asylum](/source/Right_of_asylum) in that way, place people under his protection and force his jurisdiction on people. If several parties held joint possession of a castle, being considered joint lords, so-called *Burgfrieden* agreements were signed, which contained far-reaching rules for living together in the castle.

The granting of *Burgfrieden*, especially in the Middle Ages, could not be ignored. When visiting other castles, including those of one's enemy, a feud could not be pursued because the *Burgfrieden* also applied to adversaries within the castle grounds. The *Burgfrieden* could be terminated by a special [feud letter](/source/Feud_letter) (*Fehdebrief*), such as to be able to [besiege](/source/Besiege) the castle legally.

The *Burgfrieden* could apply to the entire estate belonging to the castle or, for example, in *[Ganerbenburg](/source/Ganerbenburg)*, where it was intended primarily to govern relationships between the co-heirs of the castle, it might apply only to the area of the inner courtyard. If there was no natural demarcation, the area could be marked out by appropriate signs, such as so-called *Burgfrieden* stones.

At the outbreak of [World War I](/source/World_War_I), the political parties in the [German Reichstag](/source/Reichstag_(German_Empire)) agreed on a *Burgfrieden*, or political truce, known as *[Burgfriedenspolitik](/source/Burgfriedenspolitik)*, literally "castle peace policy".[2]

## See also

- [Apage](/source/Apage)
- [Breach of the peace](/source/Breach_of_the_peace)
- *[Burgfriedenspolitik](/source/Burgfriedenspolitik)*, a German term used for the political truce the political parties agreed to during [World War I](/source/World_War_I)
- [Feud](/source/Feud)
- *[Gottesfrieden](/source/Gottesfrieden)*
- *[Landfrieden](/source/Landfrieden)*
- [War](/source/War)

## Literature

- [Gerd Althoff](/source/Gerd_Althoff): *Spielregeln der Politik im Mittelalter. Kommunikation in Frieden und Fehde*. Primus-Verlag, Darmstadt, 1997, ISBN 3-89678-038-7.
- Herbert Obenaus: *Recht und Verfassung der Gesellschaften mit St. Jörgenschild in Schwaben. Untersuchung über Adel, Einzug, Schiedsgericht und Fehde im 15. Jahrhundert* (Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte; 7). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1961.
- Margret Sänger: *Die Burgfrieden der Grafen von Katzenelnbogen*, in: Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte 116 (1980), pp. 189–234.
- Christoph Terharn: *[Die Herforder Fehden. Ein Beitrag zum Fehderecht](https://books.google.com/books?id=zZYpJdxCUsEC)*. Schmitt, Berlin, 1994, ISBN 3-503-03090-5.
- Thomas Vogel: *Fehderecht und Fehdepraxis im Spätmittelalter am Beispiel der Reichshauptstadt Nürnberg*. Lang, Frankfurt/M. 1998, ISBN 3631-33100-2.
- Felix Busson: *Ritterlicher Ehrenschutz*. Verlag Franz Pechel, Graz, 1907.

## References

1. cf. [Burgfriede](http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Burgfriede) at Duden online.

1. Verhey, Jeffrey (2015-11-01), ["Burgfrieden (Fortress Truce)"](https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brills-digital-library-of-world-war-i/burgfrieden-fortress-truce-beww1_en_0097), *Brill's Digital Library of World War I*, Brill, retrieved 2023-12-08

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