The time could only be before the taming and
bringing into order of the empire, when the Imperial cities were in
their greatest splendour, the last free nobles in course of being
reduced from their lawless liberty, and the House of Austria
beginning to acquire its preponderance over the other princely
families.
M. Freytag's books, and Hegewisch's History of Maximilian, will, I
think, be found fully to bear out the picture I have tried to give of
the state of things in the reign of the Emperor Friedrich III., when,
for want of any other law, Faust recht, or fist right, ruled; i.e. an
offended nobleman, having once sent a Fehde-brief to his adversary,
was thenceforth at liberty to revenge himself by a private war, in
which, for the wrong inflicted, no justice was exacted.
Hegewisch remarks that the only benefit of this custom was, that the
honour of subscribing a feud-brief was so highly esteemed that it
induced the nobles to learn to write! The League of St. George and
the Swabian League were the means of gradually putting down this
authorized condition of deadly feud.
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