Geleitrecht

The Geleitrecht ("right of escort") in the Holy Roman Empire was the escorting of travellers or goods guaranteed by the right holder (Geleitherr or "escort lord") within a specified territory or on specific routes.

The right of escort was, in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, before the emergence of modern statehood with its monopoly on violence, a means of ensuring legal certainty for travellers. An escort was guaranteed by the holder of the right in return for the payment of an escort fee (Geleitgeld). It was thus a popular source of income for the territorial lords. They were able to use their original military prowess and "sell" it for highly prized, hard cash, in an economy that, in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period, was overwhelmingly based on barter and natural produce. The boundaries between the regions of the individual escort lords (Geleitherr) were marked by escort crosses (Geleitkreuze) or stones (Geleitsteine).

To begin with, traders were accompanied by mounted escorts (Geleitreiter or Geleitknechte) or teams; later, the escort lord made out letters of authority (Geleitbriefe) that travellers could purchase. In such letters the road owner committed himself to damages if the tradesman suffered losses as a result of robbery; i.e. provided a sort of security insurance. Tradesmen were obliged to use certain paths or routes (a duty known as Straßenzwang). This duty did not apply, however, for all goods nor to other travellers.

The following types of escort right may be distinguished:

Whilst escorts were generally provided for people, they could also be used to protect certain goods, e.g. for the transport of the German Imperial Regalia from their repository in Nuremberg to the coronation site of Aachen (until 1531), later: Frankfurt am Main, and back.

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