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Theburgher class was asocial class consisting ofmunicipal residents (Latin:cives), that is, free persons subject to municipal law, formed in theMiddle Ages. These free persons were subject tocity law, medievaltown privileges, amunicipal charter, orGerman town law. After the fall of theestate monarchy, this social class, more often referred to as thebourgeoisie (from French: bourgeoisie – city residents) and less often as the burgher class, generally refers to town or city inhabitants. Due to the ideological and pejorative connotations of the terms 'burgher class' and 'bourgeoisie,' modernsociology prefers to use the term 'middle class.'
Gradually, within the burgher class, a wealthy stratum emerged, engaged in banking and overseas trade, organized inguilds and trading companies. The rise of this stratum is associated with the beginning ofcapitalism.
The burgher class formed in the 13th century in connection with the emergence of medieval towns governed by separate laws. Burghers obtained self-governing rights and other privileges fromfeudal rulers. A burgher was exclusively a person possessing municipal rights (and not every person living in the town). To meet the conditions for acquiring these rights, one first had to obtain municipal citizenship under specific legal conditions regulated in municipal bylaws, town council ordinances, and sometimes very strict edicts.
Entry into burgher status varied from country to country and city to city.[1] InHungary, proof of ownership of property in a town was a condition for acceptance as a burgher.[2]
In medievalSwitzerland, for instance, crimes against burghers were considered crimes against the entire city community. If a burgher wasassassinated, the other burghers had the right to bring the alleged murderer to trial by judicial combat.[3] This practice was part of the broaderGermanic legal tradition oftrial by combat, which was used to settle disputes in the absence of witnesses or confessions.
In theNetherlands, burghers were often exempted fromcorvée or unpaid statute labour, a privilege that was later extended to theDutch East Indies.[4] Only burghers could join thecity guard (Schutterij) inAmsterdam because guardsmen had to purchase their own expensive equipment. Membership in the guard was often a stepping stone to political positions.
Those who lived outside the city could still become burghers but they would be 'buiten-poorters' or outside burghers. The way to become a burgher was different from town to town and city to city; some cities required registration ....
Proof of ownership of property in a given town – that is, purchase of a house or land or acquisition of the same by marriage to the daughter or widow of a burgher – was a significant condition for acceptance as a burgher.
If a burgher was assassinated, all the others had a right to bring the supposed murderer to trial by judicial combat,assumere duellum; and the chronicle of 1288 adds a singular circumstance,Duellum fuit in Berne inter virum et mulierem, sed ....
... abandoned the idea of equal rights because not all Christians could be labeled 'Burgher'. If someone were subject to a local head, they were obliged to perform corvee, but anyone categorized as a Burgher was exempt from this.
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