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Fehm-gericht
or Vehmgericht (3 syl.). The secret tribunals of
Westphalia, for the preservation of public peace, suppression of crime,
and maintenance of the “Catholic” religion. The judges were enveloped
in profound mystery; they had their secret spies through all Germany;
their judgments were certain, but no one could discover the
executioner. These tribunals rose in the twelfth century, and
disappeared in the sixteenth. Sir Walter Scott, in Anne of
Gierstein, has given an account of the Westphalian Fehmgericht.
(Old German, fehmen, to condemn; Gericht, a tribunal.)
“This Vigilance Committee [of Denver city] is a modern reproduction
of the famous Vehmgerict” —The Times.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Fehm-gericht from Infoplease:
- Fehm-gericht - Fehm-gericht or Vehmgericht (3 syl.). The secret tribunals of Westphalia, for the preservation of ...
- Vehmgerichte - Vehmgerichte or Holy Vehme Tribunal. A secret tribunal of Westphalia, said to have been founded by ...
- Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: F - Definitions, origins, and illustrative excerpts for words, phases, and literary allusions starting with "F"
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