In general under early modern law, lèse-majesté was understood as encompassing every and any injury (Iniuria) to a monarch. It did not emerge as an offense with distinct elements that separated it from political offenses (Criminal offense) until the mid-19th century. Until the end of the 18th century, this violation of honor was understood as a form of a comprehensive crime of lèse-majesté.
In the German-speaking lands, the crime derived, on the one h…