The German word Bund (“league, association, federation”) first appears in Middle High German legal language in the second half of the 13th century. Often its use overlaps with that of words like Einung (“union”), Gelübde (“oath”), Verständnis (“understanding”), Frieden (“peace”), Freundschaft (“friendship”), Bruderschaft (“Fraternity”), Gesellschaft (“Society”), Genossenschaft (“cooperative”), and Eidgenossenschaft (“confederation”). The word always denotes an act o…