Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

Property
(4,154 words)

1. Law

1.1. Concept

Property is what is “proper” (Latin proprius, “one’s own”) to something or someone. German calqued rather than borrowed the Latin to Eigentum (eigen = proprius[20]. In the German legal tradition, Eigentum denotes the right to have a (usually) physical thing, and thus effects the legal distinction between “mine” and “yours.” This normative ascription yields the legal power to dispose of the thing and to exclude others from influence upon it. However, exercise of…

Cite this page
Thier, Andreas and Köster, Roman, “Property”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 22 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_018604>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20210107



▲   Back to top   ▲