From the 12th century in central Europe, a Burgmann (plural: Burgmannen or modern term Burgmänner , Latin: oppidanus , castrensus ) was a knight ministeriales or member of the nobility who was obliged to guard and defend castles . The role is roughly equivalent to the English castellan and the name derives from the German word for castle, Burg .
13-869: Whether a Burgmann was a free knight, dienstmann or ministerialis , he was a member of the aristocracy who was charged by the Burgrave or lord of the castle (the Burgherr ) with the so-called Burghut or castle-guard. In other words, his job was to guard the castle and defend it in case of attack. A fief had to be defended from incursion and the supporting farmland had to be run correctly, proper repairs and improvements had to be made, possibly fortifying key points and collecting taxes. Ministeriales replaced free nobles as castellans under Conrad I of Abensberg's tenure as Archbishop of Salzburg from 1106 to 1147. In 1131, Hohensalzburg saw its first ministerialis, Henry of Seekirchen, sit as both burgmann and burgrave, overseeing
26-618: A feudal relief tax. This contrasts with the treatment of leases , which could be lifelong or readily subject to forfeiture and rent increase. As feudalism declined, the prevalence of socage tenure increased until it became the normal form of tenure in the Kingdom of England . In 1660, the Statute of Tenures ended the practice of estates requiring owners to provide military or religious service, and most freehold tenures and other were converted into "free and common socage". The holder of
39-471: A soc or socage tenure was referred to as a socager (Anglo-Norman) or S ocman (Anglo-Saxon, also spelt sochman , from the legal concept of a soke , from the verb 'to seek'). In German-speaking Europe, the broad equivalent was a Dienstmann . The etymology of socage according to William Blackstone is the old Latin word for a plough. Soccage in Lower Canada: An act to explain and amend
52-717: A fee. His main duties were the carriage of belongings, such as suitcases , and messenger duties. Well-known fictional Dienstmänner are the Dienstmann , Alois Hingerl, in Ludwig Thoma 's Satire Ein Münchner im Himmel or Hans Moser and Paul Hörbiger , the Dienstmänner in the film Hallo Dienstmann . As a so-called Berliner Original , the Dienstmann , Ferdinand Strumpf, went under the name, Eckensteher Nante. Socage Socage ( / ˈ s ɒ k ɪ dʒ / )
65-555: A permanent garrison of subordinate (free) knights. Originally the Burgmann was paid in kind for his service although he had to provide his own armour. Later, he was given a so-called Burglehn as a remuneration which, from the late 13th century, was a fixed sum of money. From the 13th century on, the rights and duties of the Burgmann could be found to be governed by a written contract, the Burgmannvertrag . In addition to
78-582: The Burgmann was subject to feudal law ( Lehnsrecht ), legal disputes involving feudal matters were handled by the burgrave. The noblemen of the Burgmannschaft were often supported in their work by common staff such as gatekeepers ( Torwarte ) and watchmen ( Türmer ). The residence requirement of the Burgmannen was superseded by the introduction of armed servants or Knechte . With the introduction of such non-aristocratic castle contingents and
91-512: The farmer and other duties to the Crown . Payments usually took the form of cash, but occasionally could be made with goods. Socage contrasted with other forms of tenure, including serjeanty , frankalmoin and knight-service . The English statute Quia Emptores of Edward I (1290) established that socage tenure which passed from one generation or nominee to the next would be subject to inquisitions post mortem , which would usually involve
104-460: The Salzburg burgmann caught a ministerial who fomented armed rebellion - he had the offender blinded for his temerity. Sometimes several Burgmänner would be resident at one castle and, together, they made up the Burgmannschaft . They were subordinate to the Burgherr or to a castle commandant ( Burgkommandant ) commissioned by him, who frequently bore the title, burgrave ( Burggraf ). Because
117-525: The move from castles to fortifications in the late Middle Ages, the Burgmann system disappeared, and the Burghut was discharged by Kriegsknechte and mercenaries . Dienstmann A Dienstmann ( German: [ˈdiːnstˌman] plural: Dienstleute , German: [ˈdiːnstˌlɔɪ̯tə] or, in Austria, Dienstmänner , German: [ˈdiːnstˌmɛnɐ] )
130-528: The place and times that a Burgmann had to be present at the castle, it laid down the necessary armament and equipment. The duty to be present - called residence duty ( Residenzpflicht ) - required the lord of the castle to provide his Burgmänner with a residence free of charge within the castle or at least in its immediate vicinity. Such residences were referred to as the Burgmann's residence ( Burgmannsitz ), estate ( Burggut ) or court/farm Burgmannshof . Many had judicial powers to govern, as in 1111, when
143-477: The term Dienstmann could also refer to men who were obliged to pay duties or render socage to their liege lords a socager , or socman . Unlike ministeriales , they held a lower social rank equivalent to the English serf . Later, the term described was used to describe a hired man who, in public service or in a private household, was contracted to perform time-limited functions of all types in return for
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#1732783115147156-674: Was a medieval retainer or vassal and, later, a hired man, in German-speaking countries, particularly in Austria until the first half of the 20th century. The term Dienstmann first surfaced in the Middle Ages as a Germanicization of the Latin word ministerialis , for men, who served at a court and, in the course of time, were raised to be armigers with a social status similar to that of free knights ( Ritter ). However
169-453: Was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system . It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called " free and common socage ", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for clearly defined, fixed payments made at specified intervals to feudal lords. In turn, the lord was obligated to provide certain services, such as protection, to
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