High justice, also known as "ius gladii" ("right of the sword") or in German as "Blutgerichtsbarkeit", "Blutgericht" (lit. "blood justice", "blood-court"; sometimes also "Halsgericht", lit. "neck-justice", or "peinliches Gericht") is the highest penal authority, including capital punishment, as held by a sovereign—the sword of justice and hand of justice are regalia that symbolize it. In the early Holy Roman Empire, high justice was reserved to the king. From the 13th century, it was transferred to the king's vassals along with their fiefs.