Eike of Repgow

Eike of Repgow from the Oldenburg Sachsenspiegel

Eike of Repgow (Repchowe, Repichowe, Repkow) (ca. 1180 – ca. 1233) from Repgow, now Reppichau in Saxony-Anhalt, was a medieval German administrator who compiled the Sachsenspiegel in the 13th century.

Works

The Sachsenspiegel

Eike of Repgow translated the Sachsenspiegel at the behest of Count Hoyer of Falkenstein between 1220 and 1233. It was intended by its compiler to document existing, customary law, not to create new law. The work is of great significance not only as a legal code but also as the first major work of German prose.

Vetus auctor de beneficiis

As the author writes in the verse prologue of the Sachsenspiegel, he first wrote it in Latin and later, with some reluctance, at the wishes of Count Hoyer of Falkenstein, translated it into German.

The Latin version of the first part, on Landrecht (common law), has been lost, but the second part, on Lehensrecht (feudal law) was, as is now believed, preserved. This is the Vetus auctor de beneficiis, which is written in verse. There was a debate as to whether this was the Latin original of the part of the Sachsenspiegel on feudal law or a later translation of it into Latin, and for some time the latter view prevailed. However, the current consensus is that the Vetus auctor de beneficiis is indeed the Latin original of the feudal law section of the Sachsenspiegel.

Where was the Sachsenspiegel compiled?

Where the original was compiled is unclear. It was thought to have been written at Quedlinburg or Burg Falkenstein in the Harz Mountains, but Peter Landau, an expert in medieval canon law recently suggested that it may have been written at the monastery of Altzelle (now Altzella).

Other works by Eike of Repgow

Another work, the Sächsische Weltchronik has also been attributed to Eike, but this is now thought unlikely.

Life

Little is known about Eike of Repgow, but he is mentioned in several documents dating from the period between 1209 and 1233.

Family

It is thought that his family moved to the district of Serimunt, south of Magdeburg, in the Twelfth century and acquired land in the village of Reppichau. Other members of the family are mentioned in 1156 and 1159. From his mention in court proceedings in 1209 it is inferred that he was born around 1180. Lack of mentions after 1233 suggests that he died shortly after that.

Education

From the prologue to the Sachsenspiegel it is clear that Eike could read Latin, as well as German. It is not actually known if he could write, since it was quite common, at the time, to employ scribes. He was versed in canon law; so it is thought that he was educated at a cathedral school, possibly under Bishop Wichmann von Seeburg at Halberstadt, or more likely at Magdeburg.

Status

It is clear that he was a respected personage, but his precise place in the feudal hierarchy is not known with certainty, since he is sometimes listed among the free nobles and sometimes among the bondsmen (Dienstmannen). He may have been a bondsman of Count Henry I of Anhalt or of Count Hoyer of Falkenstein but he was probably a free noble, one of the so-called schöffenbar freie, which entitled him to sit in the Thing (baron's court). One theory is that he was of noble birth, but like many others, became a ministerialis or bondsman, while retaining his noble status.

Commemoration

There are monuments to Eike of Repgow in Magdeburg, Dessau, Reppichau and Halberstadt and at Falkenstein Castle in the Harz Mountains. There is a square named after him in Berlin, and there is an open-air museum devoted to him and the Sachsenspiegel in his village of Reppichau. There are also schools named after Eike of Repgow in Halberstadt and Magdeburg.

The Eike of Repgow prize, which comes with a statuette of Eike, a certificate, and 5,000 euros, is awarded jointly by awarded annually by the city of Magdeburg and the Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg for academic work of a historical or legal nature.

Famous words

The origin of the modern German saying "Wer zuerst kommt, mahlt zuerst" ("first come, first served", literally he who comes first, grinds first) can be traced to Eike of Repgow, who wrote (in the Sachsenspiegel) Die ok irst to der molen kumt, die sal erst malen (in modern English: He who comes to the mill first shall grind first).

Additional sources

• Hiram Kümper (2005). "Repgow, Eike von". In Bautz, Traugott (ed.). Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German). Vol. 24. Nordhausen: Bautz. cols. 1208–1213. ISBN 3-88309-247-9.
• Article on Eike of Repgow by the radio station MDR Template:De icon

Further reading

• Eike of Repgow (1999). The Saxon Mirror: a Sachsenspiegel of the fourteenth century / [Eike von Repgow]. Transl. by Maria Dobozy. The Middle Ages Series. Dobozy, Maria (translator). Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3487-1.