_ban_ and the _arriere-ban_ or _retro-bannum_. At
all events this distinction arose; the _ban_ referring to the vassals
called out by the king, and the _arriere-ban_ to the sub-vassals called
upon by the vassals in their turn. As in England, the liability to military
service was often commuted for a monetary payment, and there were various
exemptions. In the 17th and 18th centuries the ban and arriere-ban were
lacking in discipline when called out, and were last summoned in 1758.
Local levies, however, called out between this date and the Revolution were
sometimes referred to by these names.

In the medieval Empire and in Germany the word "ban" retained the special
sense of punishment. The German equivalent of ban is _Acht_, and the
sentence soon became practically one of outlawry. Connected possibly with
the power enjoyed in earlier times by the assemblies of freemen of
outlawing an offender, it was frequently used by the emperor, or German
king, and the phrase "under the ban" is very common in medieval history.
The execution of this sentence of placing an offender under the imperial
ban, or _Reichsacht_, was usually entrusted to some prince or noble, who
was often rewarded with a portion of the outlaw's lands. It was, however,
only a serious punishment when the king or his supporters were strong
enough to enforce its execution. Employed not only against individuals but
also against towns and districts, it was sometimes divided into the _Acht_
and the _Oberacht_, _i.e._ partial or complete outlawry. Documents of the
time show that the person placed under the imperial ban drew down absolute
destitution upon his relatives and frequently death upon himself. At first
this sentence was the act of the [v.03 p.0305] emperor or king himself, but
as the Empire became more German, and its administration less personal, it
was entrusted to the imperial aulic council (_Reichshofrat_), and to the
imperial court of justice or imperial chamber (_Reichskammergericht_).
These courts were deprived of this power in 1711, retaining only the right
of suggesting its use. The imperial ban had, however, been used for the
last time in 1706, when Maximilian Emanuel, elector of Bavaria, was placed
under it.

There are many other uses of the word in the sense of a prohibition. In
earlier French law the ban of wine or _bannum vini_, was the exclusive
right of a lord to sell wine during a stated number of days, and the ban of
March and April forbad