Medieval commune

The term of the municipality or borough designates a mainly between the 11th and 13th centuries ( in German cities mainly 1250-1300 ) arisen organizing principle of the medieval city. It consists in the amalgamation of the town citizens acting in concert political corporation that is with the lord of the city in a contractual relationship and more and more of its rights ( either through financial / material or through military means ) takes over. The formation of a community thus means changing the legal status of the city dwellers who do not are now more unfree of the city ruler or free merchants, but become citizens of a city. To commune here include only the full-fledged urban citizens, but not the less politically legitimate city residents without citizenship. The civil law is mostly bound to land.

The economic stage theory interprets the urban economy of the communities historically and structurally as an intermediate stage of utility to the national economy.

Origins and development

Background of the development of urban communities were mainly

The origin of the municipal movement formed always the struggle of urban residents more independence. By the 13th century there was a period of high medieval towns ups and stalls developments in weakly organized countries or as a result of a successful defense against centralist government efforts leading princes. For this purpose, they often formed a vow of association. The German Emperor as Frederick I and II issued edicts against this Communiones, conspirationes, conjurationes. The demographic boom founded in a general improvement in living conditions, ie especially in the economic recovery of agriculture and a reduction of epidemic diseases. Among other reasons, this development led to a gradual differentiation between town and country.

The emergence of an urban aristocracy of merchants and ministry officials was the rule of the lord of the city by using the ministeriales than an administrative instrument ahead: Originally manage in the city, the city of the Lord unfree ministeriales its sovereign rights. As a tax collector and minters they manage to reach a certain wealth; in the transfer of the administration from the city to the city of the Lord ministeriales belong thus to the economic upper classes of the city. The financial wealth of the urban merchants granted these also entitled to a leadership role within the city and it takes about a merger with the ministry officials to form a Stadtpatriziats. The forming of this patrician families stay later as the only " board ready", ie Choose the city council and ask its members.

Requirement for local education in this context is the transfer of the administrative organs of the lord of the city to the urban upper class. This " transfer " could either be done by the city the rights of the lord of the city by the latter acquired for sale or to let it wrested from him by military means. Thus, the independence of the city ruler is a central backdrop of the communal movement, and particularly in places where the fortified seat of the lord of the city citizens causing discomfort. Central point at issue of the conflict was the " Council " as an organ of administration and achieved independence symbol of the municipality against the lord of the city (examples are particularly Worms and Strasbourg). The objectives of the municipal movement as oath association were often rooted in the concern for peace is threatened by city Lord and the nobility of the environment; to protection against feuds especially the merchants were instructed in the city. The urban community is, therefore oath pledged under oath to mutual aid against injustice and strife in the form of abuse and violence. Which was later to the claim of the city councils to the jurisdiction as a sovereign right to fall the bourgeois institutions and should allow municipal judges jurisdiction over the citizens developed. Since it was the duty of the resulting urban jurisdiction to enforce municipal law, sought the cities ultimately by developing its own town charter. Contrary to " wrest " the sovereign rights of the lord of the city by the municipal movement, it was also in the 13th century, however, possible that the inhabitants constituted the same as a church at the foundation of a city.

Borough and Council

The emergence of the commune is commonly associated with the first occurrence of certain offices - equated the name " consuls " ( councilors ) who are to be regarded as a new part of the city regiment. While " consuls " in Italy already occur in the late 11th century, such councils appear in German cities until the 13th century. The Council of a city was a cooperative legitimate representative body and consisted of a differing depending on the number of city councilors, who came from a rule to a particular group of families, which is also the right to vote was restricted to the council; these were called " Citizens Council " or " gentlemen of the Council " ( therefore " Citizens Council " of citizens of the city to distinguish ), and often saw themselves as nobles. Initially, the ministerial council members and merchants ( Stadtpatriziat ) were: sources name as councilors often " show ", " useful ", the " richest " men; Craftsmen and simple people were therefore excluded from the Council membership. Later, other groups of citizens (especially artisans) won access to the Council's regiment; the late bourgeois opposition movement thus had a "social gain" of the City Council to order. The term of office of the councilors was usually one year; the choice could be made either by the entire citizenry of the city ( Lippstadt), by co-operative guilds, merchants, guilds, or political organizations of citizens ( Dortmund), by councilors / mayor (Hildesheim ), by the electors of the previous year or by a combination of these options. With the growing urban management work colleges could arise further with the Council, which could, for example, monitor the financial policy.

Importance of community

The communal movement led in conjunction with other factors, the emergence of a more or less autonomous municipality for the constitution of an urban bourgeoisie, for the conquest of urban freedoms and eventually the formation of a ( up to the present after-effects ) City Council. In this process, the city bourgeoisie became an own social power of medieval society, further developed urban civil judicial and administrative bodies; the subversive character of the local motion presented so finally the breakup of the Central and Western European society it proceeded the tuned to the interests of trade and commerce city law caused it ultimately also an economic upturn in the cities. According to Max Weber makes the " Institution excessively socialized, with special and characteristic organs " equipped citizens association, the city of the Occident to over " all other areas of law " special phenomenon in which the central feature of the " feudal civic rights " is. So this unified body of the city becomes a special object of occidental history.

Swell

  • Bernd -Ulrich Hergemöller (ed.): Sources for the History of the Constitution of the German city in the Middle Ages. ( Freiherr- vom-Stein Memorial Edition Vol 34), Darmstadt 2000.
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