TheSachsenspiegel (German: [ˈzaksn̩ˌʃpiːɡl̩], literally “Saxon Mirror”; Middle Low German: Sassen Speyghel; Low German: Sassenspegel) is the most important law book and custumal of the Holy Roman Empire. Written ca. 1220 as a record of existing customary law, it was used in places until as late as 1900. It is important not only for its lasting effect on later German law but also as an early example of written prose in a German language.
The original title is Sassen Speyghel, Sachsenspiegel being a later Standard German translation. It is believed to have been compiled and translated from Latin by the Saxon administrator Eike of Repgow at the behest of his liege lord Count Hoyer of Falkenstein in the years 1220 to 1235. Where the original was compiled is unclear. It was thought to have been written at Burg Falkenstein, but Peter Landau, an expert in medieval canon law, recently suggested that it may have been written at the monastery of Altzelle (now Altzella).
During the 14th century Johannes Klenkok opposed the Sachsenspiegel with a writing known as the Decadicon because he considered several articles of the law book to contradict the Corpus Juris Canonici. Following a written debate Klenkok turned to his former disciple and French canonist and cardinal of the Curia in Avignon Pierre de la Vergne.[5] In the end Pope Gregory XI condemned 14 articles with his papal bull Salvator Humani Generis that was issued in 1374 but did not reduce the success of the Sachsenspiegel.
The Sachsenspiegel served as a model for law books in German (Middle High German) like the Augsburger Sachsenspiegel, the Deutschenspiegel, and the Schwabenspiegel. Its influence extended into Eastern Europe, the Netherlands, and the Baltic States.
In Prussia, the Sachsenspiegel was used until the introduction of the Allgemeines Landrecht für die preußischen Staaten in 1794. In Saxony it was used until the introduction of the Saxon Civil Code in 1865. In Anhalt and Thuringia the Sachsenspiegel was not replaced until the introduction of the German Civil Code in 1900. Its precedents continued to be cited as pertinent case law as recently as 1932 by the Reichsgericht (Supreme Court of the Reich).
The influence of the Sachsenspiegel, or at least parallels with it, can still be found in modern German law, for instance in inheritance law and the law of neighborly relations (Nachbarrecht; e.g., nuisance, party walls, etc.).
The Sachsenspiegel contains two branches of law: common law and feudal law.
Saxon custom
Saxon customary law, or Landrecht, was the law of free people including the peasant sokemanry. It contains important rules and regulations concerning property rights, inheritance, marriage, the delivery of goods, and certain torts (e.g. trespass, nuisance). It also treats criminal law and the composition of courts. In other words, it deals with criminal and civil law.
Feudal law
Feudal law, or Lehnrecht, determined the relationship between different states and rulers, for example the election of emperors and kings, feudal rights, etc. Though it has no modern equivalent, it encompasses what one would call today public law.
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