King's ban

Königsbann, literally king's ban (Latin: bannus, more rarely bannum, from the OHG: ban), was the exercise of royal jurisdiction in the Holy Roman Empire.

A specific ban (German: Bann) identified:

• the actual order or prohibition
• the penalties for contravening the ban
• the region to which the ban applied

The king's ban in the legal history of the Holy Roman Empire was divided into several distinct types depending on their function:

• Heerbann, the right to raise an army,
• Blutbann (blood courts; high jurisdiction which included capital punishment),
• Friedensbann (special royal protection of people and property),
• Verordnungsbann (the authority to decide legal standards) and
• Verwaltungsbann (the force to be used).

The king used a so-called Bannleihe ("ban investiture") to transfer (invest) the ban, especially the Blutbann, to counts or advocates to exercise.