Raw Materials, Innovation, Technology of Ancient Cultures - RITaK / „Das synt gemeyne bergrecht…“

Between the 12th and 14th centuries, many legal texts concerned with mining were emerged in the different mining districts of central Europe. In one of the most important medieval mining areas of modern-day Germany, the Ore Mountains, silver mining is first attested in the 12th century. From the 13th century there are direct and indirect references to mining regulations from Freiberg. The Freiberg mining laws in their two versions [A and B] have been preserved as 14th century and later copies. The present volume provides the first translation of the Middle High German text, following the edition of the late 19th century archivist and legal historian Hubert Emisch. A detailed analysis of the contents, presented thematically, and the comparison to information gleaned from mining archaeology, show that these legal texts were indeed very practice-oriented, as has been repeatedly claimed. In addition, dynamic processes in mining organisation and in the technological procedures are observable in connection with the development of the mining regulations. A synthesis of the general history of mining law from the 12th to the 14th centuries provides the starting point for situating the Freiberg mining laws in their inter-regional context and reflects the current state of research. Zwischen dem 12. und 14. Jahrhundert entstanden in Mitteleuropa zahlreiche Bergrechtstexte in verschiedenen Bergbauregionen. In einer der bedeutendsten mittelalterlichen Bergbauregionen im heutigen Deutschland, dem Erzgebirge, ist der Silberbergbau für das 12. Jahrhundert erstmals belegt. Aus dem 13. Jahrhundert gibt es direkte und indirekte Verweise auf bergrechtliche Regelungen aus Freiberg. Das Freiberger Bergrecht in seinen zwei Versionen [A und B] ist in Abschriften seit dem 14. Jahrhundert überliefert. Der mittelhochdeutsche Text nach der Edition des Archivars und Rechtshistorikers Hubert Ermisch aus dem Ende des 19. Jahrhundert liegt mit dieser Arbeit erstmals übersetzt vor. Eine ausführliche Analyse der Inhalte, geordnet nach Themenfeldern, und der Abgleich mit montanarchäologischen Befunden belegt vielfältig die für Bergrechtstexte oftmals konstatierte außerordentliche Praxisnähe. Zudem werden dynamische Prozesse in der bergbaulichen Organisation und im technischen Betrieb im Zusammenhang mit der Entwicklung der bergrechtlichen Regelungen erkennbar. Eine zusammenfassende Darstellung zur allgemeinen Geschichte des Bergrechts vom 12. bis ins 14. Jahrhundert dient der Einordnung des Freiberger Bergrechts in den überregionalen Kontext und spiegelt den aktuellen Forschungsstand.

Between the 12th and 14th centuries, many legal texts concerned with mining were emerged in the different mining districts of central Europe. In one of the most important medieval mining areas of modern-day Germany, the Ore Mountains, silver mining is first attested in the 12th century. From the 13th century there are direct and indirect references to mining regulations from Freiberg. The Freiberg mining laws in their two versions [A and B] have been preserved as 14th century and later copies. The present volume provides the first translation of the Middle High German text, following the edition of the late 19th century archivist and legal historian Hubert Emisch. A detailed analysis of the contents, presented thematically, and the comparison to information gleaned from mining archaeology, show that these legal texts were indeed very practice-oriented, as has been repeatedly claimed. In addition, dynamic processes in mining organisation and in the technological procedures are observable in connection with the development of the mining regulations. A synthesis of the general history of mining law from the 12th to the 14th centuries provides the starting point for situating the Freiberg mining laws in their inter-regional context and reflects the current state of research.