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J.-D. Dessonnaz, H. Foerster, Die Freiburger Handfeste von 1249. Edition und Beiträge zum gleichnamigen Kolloquien 1999, Freiburg: Universitätsverlag Freiburg Schweiz, 2003 (Scrinium Friburgense, Bd. 16) - with complete edition of the Latin, Modern German, Old German and Old French versions.
W. Heinemeyer, Die Handfeste der Stadt Freiburg i. Ü., in: Archiv für Diplomatik, 27 (1981), 145-176.
P. Rück, Das Staatsarchiv Freiburg im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert, in: Freiburger Geschichtsblätter, 55 (1967), 233-279.
B. de Vevey, De l'authenticité de la Handfeste de Fribourg de 1249, Annales fribourgeoises, 47 (1965-1966), 5-39.
Exercises
1. What type of document does the hand seal belong to?
2. The rightholders have drawn up this charter themselves: could this be a legal problem?
3. What means of validation were used to guarantee its authenticity?
4. Why was the Charter translated into French and then into German in the 15th century, when most of the legal provisions it contained had been renewed and were no longer in force?
5. How can we explain and understand the particular care taken to preserve the Handfeste?
6. Holes are still visible in the margins of the charter: what are they?
7. What are the reasons given in the preamble for writing the Handfeste, and how does this relate to the concept of law in general?
Video gallery
Lionel Dorthe : L’heureuse destinée de la Handfeste de 1249, description matérielle [The happy destiny of the Handfeste of 1249, material description]
