Hi! Absagebrief is a German word of a medieval/early modern letter of declaration of war. It contains threats and lots of insults. Fehdebrief is another word in German for the same concept. I am writing a paper on a fake absagebrief from 17nth century in English and I need to know if there is an English word for it. There must be an equivalent word considering that similar political customs existed in the whole of Western Europe. By the way, this word is still partially in use in the contemporary word with a meaning like letter of decline but I am only interested in the historical term. Thanks ahead!
Whats wrong with "Declaration of War"? I've found that the kinds of things Germans say with crazy compound words are just given as simple phrases in English. I dont think we have a word that formally expresses "insulting-war-letter"
(After an exchange of messages) "Diffidatio" is the Latin term for a renunciation by a subordinate of fealty and homage specifically. This has a couple of medieval examples. Was an Absagebrief done by a subordinate, or was it a general declaration of war?