VEHMGERICHTE or FEHMGERICHT

VEHMGERICHTE or FEHMGERICHT, a tribunal in Germany during the Middle Ages, of which there were several, all powerful, in connection with a secret organisation under sanction of the emperor for the enforcement of justice and punishment of crime at a period when the States severally were too weak to uphold it. These courts were held in secret places at night, and inspired great terror in the 13th and 14th centuries.