The year 1547 marks a particular caesura in the evolution of Magdeburg law and the importance of the Magdeburg lay judges’ bench in particular. Conflicts in the empire prompted Emperor Charles V to impose the imperial ban on Magdeburg (rescinded in 1562) and to declare a ban on cities in Catholic parts of the empire prohibiting them from turning to the Magdeburg lay judges’ bench. This even entailed a temporary moratorium on the lay judges’ bench in 1549. Not even the reestablishment of the lay judges’ bench in 1554 was able to set aright this assault on Magdeburg’s role as the wellspring of Magdeburg law.