Vol. 59 (2019): Heinrich Speich: Burgrecht. Von der Einbürgerung zum politischen Bündnis im Spätmittelalter

Nobles, clergymen, jews and craftsmen as well as entire monasteries or rural communities were incorporated as citizens in late medieval towns. The terms and exceptions from the general rules of citizenship were stipulated in contracts called Burgrechte. The rapid success of this specific category of legal agreement resulted in their widespread application in the towns of late medieval upper Germany. Burgrechte were employed as political treaties and became the primary mean to enforce urban supremacy over nobles and rural communites. On the basis of case studies, this book analyses conflicts generated by Burgrechte in the Old Swiss Confederation. It shows how eminently politics, society and conflict resolution were shaped by Burgrechte, and how flexible the political actors were able to play with this kind of contracts.