A knight’s noble status forced him into the harsher penalty for robbery

Evidence

This code sets a particular penalty for thievery committed by an apprentice or a burgher. But if a knight steals, it is another matter. A noble simply does not steal: he robs. Theft lies entirely outside his competence, so to speak. If he acquires something illegitimately, it is assumed that he took it by force, by an act of robbery; and robbery is far more severely punished in the code than theft! The knight’s noble position thus prevents him from suffering the milder penalty. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 493

Categorization

• CANDY: The 12th-century Valenciennes rule that nobles cannot steal, only rob, is a delightfully counterintuitive nugget for a dinner-party anecdote.
• XREF: Connects to Simmel’s broader theme of social form constraining behavior — the position shapes the act — useful alongside the blasé attitude material for the essay. — connects to: Every crime was treated as an assault on the sovereign’s person — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 108