Heerschild

The army sign meant in the early Middle Ages, the right to nominate the militia. The result was the importance of a military ranking system, in accordance with the ability to provide men for an expedition. In the law-books created in the 13th century, this ranking is reinterpreted. They eventually came to mean a breakdown of medieval society in lehnsrechtlichen part of the Sachsenspiegel of Eike von Repgow.

In Saxony mirror the society of the medieval empire was divided into seven army shields. The first sign was the army of the king or emperor as supreme lord. This was followed by the second army shield, which was formed by the bishops and abbots of the empire. The third army shield questioned the secular princes, before the "free men ", ie nobles who were not princes, in the fourth army shield. The fifth and sixth army shield was formed by the aldermen and not schöffenbaren open air, non- nobles who as a judge capable (5th army plate) or unable (6th army plate) were. About the seventh sign of the army Sachsenspiegel remains vague, both in terms of its composition, as well as whether it is an army shield in the proper sense.

Based on this classification, the treated Sachsenspiegel lehnsrechtlichen the rights and obligations of each of the host shields.