Editing Vehmic court (section)

==The Vehmic courts in fiction==
Vehmic courts play a key role in the novel ''[[Anne of Geierstein]] or, The Maiden of the Mist'' by [[Sir Walter Scott]] in which Archibald von Hagenbach, the Duke of Burgundy's governor at Brisach (Switzerland), is condemned and executed by the Vehmgericht. Scott drew his inspiration from [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]]'s play ''[[Götz_von_Berlichingen_(Goethe)|Goetz von Berlichingen]]'' which he had translated, incorrectly. [[Hector Berlioz]]'s first opera, ''[[Les francs-juges]]'', was inspired by Scott's presentation of the Vehmic Courts. Though the work was never staged the overture survives as a concert piece. In the very first concert of Berlioz's work, on 26 May 1828, the overture was performed along with the Opus 1 ''[[Overtures_by_Hector_Berlioz#Waverley|Waverley]]'' overture, a further indication of Berlioz's debt to Scott's fiction. The ''Les francs-juges'' overture later became the signature tune for ''[[Face to Face (British TV series)|Face to Face]]'', the early series of British television interviews presented by [[John_Freeman_(British_politician)|John Freeman]].

In [[William Makepeace Thackeray]]'s novel ''[[Vanity_Fair_(novel)|Vanity Fair]]'' "Was Rebecca guilty or not?" the Vehmgericht of the servants' hall had pronounced against her.

A character in the [[Dorothy L. Sayers]] novel ''[[Murder Must Advertise]]'' appears at a fancy-dress party as a member of the Vehmgericht, which allows him to wear a hooded costume to disguise his identity. People in Femgericht costumes also appear in [[Arthur Schnitzler]]'s 1926 novella ''[[Dream Story]]''.

In ''[[Fritz Lang]]'''s ''[[M (1931 film)|M]]'', the local criminals of an unnamed city (probably Berlin) capture a child murderer and hold a vigilante court.

In ''[[The Illuminatus! Trilogy]]'', the Vehmic courts are mentioned as being connected to [[Nazi]] [[Werwolf]] commandos as well as the [[Illuminati]].

In ''[[A Study in Scarlet]]'', a [[Sherlock Holmes]] novel by [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], a newspaper article mentions the Vehmgericht, stating that the features of a recent death are similar to the organization's killings.

The Vehmgericht also appear as antagonists in ''The Strong Arm'', an 1899 novel set in the Holy Roman Empire by British-Canadian author [[Robert Barr (writer)|Robert Barr]].

Geoff Taylor's 1966 novel, ''Court of Honor'', features the Fehme being revived by a German officer and [[Martin Bormann]] in the dying days of the Third Reich.

Season 3, episode 12 of [[The Blacklist (season 3)|''The Blacklist'']], titled ''The Vehm'' is based on a group of vigilantes using medieval torture methods to kill paedophiles and money launderers.

Jack Mayer's 2015 historical fiction, ''Before the Court of Heaven'', depicts the Fehme, and 'Fehme justice' as part of the extreme right-wing conspiracy to bring down Germany's Weimar democracy.