Green_Frog wrote on Sep 28
th, 2012 at 7:29pm:
One thing I would like to have you comment on would be the development of the Schuetzenguilds and Schuetzenverein. It seems like they were sort of local militia groups composed of "commoners" and tradespeople, encouraged by the local ruler so that a pool of trained men-at-arms would be available in time of war. Is that about the way it worked?
Froggie
Okay, lets go on with the topic, try to answer FROGGIE's questions...
With my report about the development in Central Europe, I started after the Thirty Years' War in 1648. But for understanding the thingy with the schuetzengilde and schuetzenverein, we have to go far back in the past.
Between the year 500 and ca. 1550 we call it the middle ages. In those years, a lot of martial barbarian migrations came over Europe. So the knights of a sovereign's castle had to defend the castle and the estate of the sovereign. But the emerging towns in Central Europe had to defend their-selves. In the towns the inhabitants had some privilegs and freedoms. So the tradesmen, merchants and craftspeople started to establish the first schuetzengildes, to defend the town in case of aggression.
The society in the towns of the middle ages consisted out of the nobles, the clergy-churchmen, the grand burghers and the poor bastards. In the countryside the farmers were living.
But who could be a member of a schuetzengilde of a town? Only a person who got the civil rights of that town. To get the civil rights, the following requirements were necessary:
• a certain age of life
• owning house and property in the town
• being a society member of the town
• paying taxes and charge
• willingness for military duty.
If a person got the civil right, he was also allowed to vote in the elections of the town council. Normally there were average 10% of a town with civil rights.