The aim of the article is to clarify the use of charters in the high middle ages, not according to their production but with reference to the formulae and the practical statements listed in them. Most of the named examples derive from Austria and Slovenia. Charters are often confirmed, but there is only little evidence of their use as a proof in court. The issuers were often afraid, their legal successors wouldn't recognise their legal acts. Confirmations assured their permanence and the persistence of witnesses. The general knowledge of the legal act protected it somehow, but malicious infringers couldn't be turned away otherwise than through witnesses. The charters were mere reminders of the legal act itself and not a kind of protection. Witnesses obtained their knowledge about legal acts more often from legal charters than indicated by the historical tradition.
The roots of the Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein reach back to the late Middle Ages. In 1342, the County of Vaduz came into being, and in 1379 its owners were granted important privileges of jurisdiction (freedom from foreign judges). From 1396 to 1719, imperial immediacy was confirmed more than 25 times by the emperors. From 1500, the sovereigns were recognized as imperial estates. Over some 300 years the dynasties changed five times. With the exception of the Princes of Liechtenstein, all of them were economically too weak to ensure continuity over a longer period of time. This was only possible for the Princes of Liechtenstein, who bought the domain of Schellenberg in 1699 and the County of Vaduz in 1712. Greater continuity and thus the centuries-long existence of the small but immediate county was made possible by the Holy Roman Empire, its laws and its institutions.
The author analyzes the diplomatic sources related to the negotiations between the Teutonic Knights and the Polish-Lithuanian Union after the truce in October 1414. As the compromise was not agreed within the set two-year period, the truce had to be extended, which was eventually done several times until 1421. Negotiations for the extension of the truce were quite tough. The King of Poland used the threat of non-renewal of the truce to put pressure on the Grand Master who was afraid of resuming war against a powerful adversary. Uncertainty surrounding the extension of the truce forced the Grand Master to hire mercenaries every year in the Empire. He also objected to the July deadline (St. Margaret) for the truce set each year, because this month was the most convenient time to begin a war campaign. Nevertheless the Grand Master refused to hand his three villages of Kujawy, which had formed an enclave on Polish territory, over to the King of Poland. Negotiations sometimes took place in several places simultaneously which caused some communication difficulties. The content of the charters extending the truce was drawn a comparison.
The Principality of Liechtenstein is often referred to in contemporary journalism as an "economic miracle". It is also sometimes said that Liechtenstein experienced "three golden decades" between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. Of course, the country's economic development also brings with it certain negative phenomena, such as environmental damage, the breakdown of traditional values, high land prices, and dependence on labour from abroad. Nevertheless, the country's economic boom is a remarkable fact worthy of attention, inter alia also in the context of economic history. In 1930, gross domestic product per capita in Liechtenstein was 30 percent lower than in Switzerland; there was major economic growth from the 1960s, and by 2000 it was 30 percent higher than in Switzerland. Liechtenstein's economic growth brought about a great need for manpower, which is why many employees began to come to the country from abroad, especially from its neighbouring countries. At this time, Liechtenstein companies also began to expand beyond the borders of Liechtenstein. As of 2018, a total of 10,411 employees of companies belonging to the Liechtenstein Chamber of Industry and Commerce are reported as working directly in the country, with 58,072 employees working for Liechtenstein companies operating abroad. As for employees in the banking sector, which also experienced unprecedented growth, there were a total of 2,064 in Liechtenstein as of the year in question, and 3,800 people worked for Liechtenstein banks abroad. An important indicator of economic prosperity is the tax burden. The tax quota, i.e. state and municipal revenues and revenues from social security and health insurance premiums in relation to gross domestic product, accounted for only 19.6% in Liechtenstein in 2017. For comparison, in the USA it was 27.1% and in France 46.2% The net worth of the Principality of Liechtenstein in 2017 amounted to CHF 1,613 million at the municipal level (annual expenditure 5.9) and CHF 2,652 million at the state level (annual expenditure 3.4). Public finances have recovered even from the last financial crisis thanks to the economic programmes of 2012–2016, which is why Liechtenstein continues to maintain the highest possible financial rating.
Civil Croatia originated as a territory after 1577 and survived as such until the dissolution of the military frontier in the early 1880s. The term is therefore negatively connoted, since one always endeavors the reunification of the medieval Triune Kingdom. Civil Croatia has been practically the smallest territorial unit where Croatian state law was preserved over time. Opposite of it the Habsburg monarchy established the military border. Thus, Civil Croatia was not only a result of the Turkish invasion, but also a proof of the loss of sovereignty. Civil Croatia was thus conceived only in the absence of a better solution. The reliquiae reliquiarum formed the basis for the survival of historical state law and its institutions. The incorporation of those territories first meant the renewal of territorial continuity that had been interrupted since the middle of the 16th century. Croatia and Slavonia, together with Syrmia, now formed a whole, but in the eyes of the Croats it was not yet in harmony with their national requirements. Civil Croatia had to evolve into Greater Croatia, whose maximum extent would include Slovenia, parts of Inner Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the successive territorial forms – except for the Independent State of Croatia under Ante Pavelić 1941–1944 – never fulfilled this ambition.
In recent years, traditiones were often characterised as "party-neutral authentications" with legal power. But there are arguments against this view, since noblemen tended to register legal acts only occasionally within monastic traditiones. Apparently, they didn't assign them any official credibility. There is also no proof that traditiones were recognised as legal evidence in court. More likely, they were considered as memory aid in oral contracts, even when the notoriousness could guarantee the legal continuity in excess of the witnesses proof.
The County of Vaduz and the Lordship of Schellenberg were granted imperial immediacy by the Emperor as early as the second half of the 14th century. The rulers were entitled to exercise high jurisdiction ("blood jurisdiction"), which was the core of the rights of a sovereign state. Subsequently, the dynasties changed about every hundred years. The imperial privileges were always transferred to the new rulers and were confirmed by the emperor again and again. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Princes of Liechtenstein received the title of Imperial Princes from the Emperor, but this title alone did not yet give them the right to participate in the Imperial Diet. For this they needed a territory that was placed under the direct ("immediate") authority of the Empire. After decades of repeated efforts, Prince Johann Adam I was able to buy the Lordship of Schellenberg in 1699 and the County of Vaduz in 1712. These two domains were located far from their other possessions in Austria, Moravia and Bohemia. They were economically almost insignificant, but they had the status of imperial immediacy. At the request of Prince Anton Florian of Liechtenstein, Emperor Charles VI united the two domains and elevated them to the Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein. This gave the Princes the right for "seat and vote" on the Imperial Diet, and secured them a distinguished place among the high nobility in Vienna.