CRAFTS — 192/262 — Burglars and robbers
Thievery and banditry were ‘dishonourable professions’, whose practitioners were often known in the wider area - that is, if they could evade justice long enough. Petty theft most often happened in villages, town markets or taverns. In short, where thieves could hide in the crowd. But people were in greater danger in the open countryside, outside their settlements, or in remote villages, where victims could rarely call for help. Bandits therefore often threatened merchants and travellers on the road, especially around the richer towns, where they flocked to do business. Some bands of robbers were organised and operated under the auspices of rebelious nobles who profited from their actions. At times they even resorted to raiding entire villages or towns. They would then sell off their loot in markets or taverns. The execution books give us evidence of the fate of those, who became involved with bandits. In one of them, we read about Jan Zizka, that: ‘He steals herrings and killed a hired hand of the Rosenberg’s.’
TRIVIA
— Not all banditry was the work of common burglars and thieves. In the medieval Holy Roman Empire, some nobles themselves turned to robbery, becoming so-called robber barons or raubritters. One notable figure was Hans Thomas von Absberg (1477–1531), who preyed on merchants and travellers en route between important cities.
Absberg specialized in ambushing wealthy merchants and envoys, capturing them for ransom. His victims were abducted on the road and then moved between a network of allied castles, often far from the place of capture. He was known for the cruelty of cutting off the right hand with a dussack (sabre) and sending it to the family of his victims to pressure them into meeting his demands for ransom. He had allies far in the Bohemian territory, so he could hide his own whereabouts and evade pursuit.
Such actions were rooted in the older practice of feuding, which had once been a recognized means for nobles to assert their rights. However, Absberg and others misused this custom, conducting raids without proper cause or declaration. In response, the Swabian League launched a campaign in 1523, destroying his family seat and the castles of his supporters in the Franconian war. Despite this, Absberg continued his activities for several more years, evading capture until he was eventually killed by one of his own accomplices in 1531. During the 1522 Diet of Nuremberg, von Absberg sent Emperor Charles V severed hands to spite him.
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