Possessory Remedies in Late Medieval Frisian Law Texts

This contribution examines possessory protection in Frisian law texts from the late Middle Ages. These sources show that such protection was an old and fundamental principle. The jurists associated it with the possessory remedies of learned law, i.e., the Roman law interdicts and the canon law actio spolii . In the fifteenth century a certain preference for the latter remedy emerged. There is no trace of French remedies, such as maintenue and complainte , which at the same time were received in other parts of the Low Countries. Compared to the late medieval law texts, early modern law in Friesland was less hybrid. The Roman law of interdicts was predominant. A strong Romanisation must have taken place, while the influence of canon law had ceased.