What does fehme mean?
The fehme was a secret tribunal of late medieval Germany, most closely associated with the so-called Vehmic courts of Westphalia. Operating outside the authority of emperor or local lord, these bodies combined sworn lay members with covert rituals to pursue outlaws, and their judgments—sometimes carried out by hanging on the spot—were feared across the region. In English, the word is rare and largely historical, appearing in accounts of German legal history and in literature that borrows its atmosphere of masked judges and midnight verdicts. Extended uses treat any clandestine, extrajudicial body as a kind of fehme, giving the word an inherently ominous coloring: it implies secrecy, summary punishment, and the absence of appeal or due process. Writers reach for it when they want a single word evoking justice gone underground—a court that answers to nothing but itself.
nounA secret tribunal of the Middle Ages, especially one of the Vehmic courts of Westphalia in Germany, which enforced summary justice outside ordinary law. By extension, any secretive, extra-legal tribunal or act of vengeance carried out by such a body.
- A Vehmic secret tribunal of medieval Westphalia.
- By extension, any covert, extrajudicial court or act of summary vengeance.
"The accused was dragged before the fehme in the dead of night, judged by masked assessors who answered to no crown."
"Legend had it that anyone marked by the fehme could be hanged from the nearest tree without appeal."
"In his novel, a corporate fehme quietly destroys whistleblowers long before they can speak."
Pluralized regularly; rare, since the word usually appears in singular reference to the institution as a whole.
"Several fehmes operated in the region, each with its own sworn members."
Long before 'secret court' sounded like a conspiracy theory, the real fehme passed death sentences in moonlit meetings across medieval Germany.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fehme
Fehme comes from German, where the term (Middle High German veime) named both the secret tribunal itself and the penalty or ban it imposed; the ultimate origin of the German word is disputed. The word entered English through historical writing about the Vehmic courts of Westphalia, whose activities fascinated nineteenth-century antiquarians and novelists alike. It is thus a borrowing tied to a specific institution rather than part of the everyday English lexicon.
How fehme is actually used
Rare and almost entirely historical or literary in modern English; usually encountered in capitalized form (Fehme) in discussions of German history. When used generically, it carries a connotation of sinister, unaccountable justice and is often italicized as a foreign term.
Easily confused with fehme
'Femme' is a French word meaning woman (also used in English for a feminine lesbian identity), while 'fehme' refers to a medieval German secret tribunal.