Das Hienrecht – ein unbekannter Begriff der mittelalterlichen Rechtssprache

Abstract

Summary The legal term “Hienrecht” corresponds legally to one law of living in bondage, which was widespread in north-western Germany in the Middle Ages. It has not been considered by legal history. The Hien (bondsmen) were – according to the etymological findings – members of the same household: some kind of tenants, then also the serfs of a grange. In Westphalia, the dependent farming population can be roughly divided into Hofhörige (corresponds approximately bondsmen), Eigenbehörige (some kind of serfdom) and members ofthe household/inmates. Hienrecht had its place within the framework of these different orders. On the one hand, the term Hien was associated with a certain form of serfdom, but on the other hand it could also refer to the persons in charge of the property. The Hienrecht described a specific legal and property form of the Unterhof of a villication, namely that of the Liten. In the late Middle Ages Hienrecht meant one of the legal relationships of bondage, then to be found in Westphalia, in particular probably that of Eigenbehörigkeit. Hienrecht referred to the sub-ownership of the rural tenants equipped with secured inheritance rights, which were composed in a Villication or a modified form of the same cooperative.