Abstract
Summary The Law of Beaumont, established by a charter issued in 1182, was granted over a period of about 150 years for up to 700 villages in present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. It seemingly was to provide incentives to settle or stay in such villages. Based on an analysis of the Latin text (provided with a German translation) the paper questions that the focus of the charter was accurately described in older literature and common handbook entries. In those, the impression is given that the focus was on liberation from serfdom, tax relief and municipal self-government. The paper concludes that a high degree of self-government was indeed an outstanding feature, although it remains unclear whether the citizens originally had the right to elect mayor and jurors. Particularly favourable tax burdens could not be substantiated. There is no mentioning at all of any liberation from serfdom and burdens associated with it. The focus of the charter is on a precise definition of tax burdens and of penalties for crimes and their distribution, and on rules of legal process. Legal certainty in these regards must have been the core of its attractiveness both for citizens and lords and explain its popularity.
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