bavarikon4UDescription
Ludwig IV, called "the Bavarian" (ruled 1294-1347 as Duke of Bavaria, from 1314 as Roman-German King, from 1328 as Emperor) strove to achieve imperial unity for the part of Upper Bavaria ruled by him and his four elder sons from 1334. As part of this, he issued the "Upper Bavarian Land Law", a written legal code binding for all courts in his area of jurisdiction. The law was formulated in 1335/36 and expanded in 1346. It is one of the most important documents of territorial legislation in the late medieval empire. While in the Upper Bavarian duchy south of the Danube, the Emperor's "Buchsag" (book of law) was henceforth used as the basis for judicial decisions, the "Folg-Frag-Recht" (tracing, questioning and proving of rights) procedure continued to be used in Lower Bavaria. It was not until 1616, under Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria (ruled 1597-1651, from 1623 as Elector), that legal unity was introduced in the Duchy of Bavaria. The "Upper Bavarian Land Law" contains provisions on procedural law, substantive law and police law. Its factual structure and great practical relevance as a guide and handbook for use in daily court are to be emphasised. This copy was made around the middle of the 14th century and is considered a second-hand copy of the Municipal Court of Munich. The manuscript, written in Middle Bavarian dialect and Gothic minuscule (script), has a pictorial initial of the emperor on a gold background and is mostly rubricated (divided with red ink). Datum: 2022 // Literatur: Hans Schlosser/Ingo Schwab (Hg.), Oberbayerisches Landrecht Kaiser Ludwigs des Bayern von 1346. Edition, Übersetzung und juristischer Kommentar, Köln u. a. 2000; Wilhelm Volkert (Hg.), unter Verwendung der Vorarbeiten von Walter Jaroschka und Heinz Lieberich, Das Rechtsbuch Kaiser Ludwigs des Bayern von 1346 (Bayerische Rechtsquellen 4), München 2010.
Author
Elisabeth Kuen