![Carl Jauch als Kavallerieleutnant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Carl_Jauch_als_Kavallerieleutnant.JPG)
Grand Burgher
aleor Grand Burgheress
emale(from German: Großbürger
ale Großbürgerin
emale is a specific conferred or inherited
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
of
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
German origin and legally defined preeminent status granting exclusive
constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these prin ...
privileges and legal rights (German: ''Großbürgerrecht''),
[Titel: Lehrbuch des teutschen Privatrechts; Landrecht und Lehnrecht enthaltend. Vom Geheimen Rath Schmalz zu Berlin. Theodor von Schmalz, Berlin, 1818, bei Duncker und Humblot. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in München. (English: Textbook of German Private Law; containing State Law and Feudal Law. By Privy Counsellor Schmalz of Berlin. Theodor von Schmalz, Berlin, 1818, Duncker and Humblot.) p. 46, 188 et al., in German, Bavarian State Library in Munich.] who were
magnates and subordinate only to the
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, independent of
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
and territorial
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
or
lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
s paramount.
[Title: The Works of M. de Voltaire (translated from the French with Notes, Historical and Critical by T. Smollett, M.D., T. Francklin, M.A., and Others). Vol. 22, London, Publisher J. Newbery, 1763, General History, of Nobility, p. 155—167.] A member class within the
patrician
Patrician may refer to:
* Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage
* Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...
ruling elite,
[Wörterbuch der schweizerdeutschen Sprache, Schweizerisches Idiotikon - Dictionary of the Swiss German Language, Verlag Huber Frauenfeld, Frauenfeld, Switzerland, 1881, Volume IV, Page 1584, in German.] the Grand Burgher was a type of urban citizen and
social order
The term social order can be used in two senses: In the first sense, it refers to a particular system of social structures and institutions. Examples are the ancient, the feudal, and the capitalist social order. In the second sense, social order ...
of highest rank,
a formally defined ''upper''
social class of affluent individuals and elite ''
burgher
Burgher may refer to:
* Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn
** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain
** Grand Bu ...
'' families in medieval
German-speaking
German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
s and towns under the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, who usually were of a wealthy business or significant mercantile background and estate.
This
hereditary title and influential constitutional status, privy to very few individuals and families across
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
, formally existed well into the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century.
In autonomous German-speaking cities and towns of Central Europe that held a
municipal charter
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
,
town privileges
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...
(
German town law) or were a
free imperial city
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
such as
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...
,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
and
Bern that held
imperial immediacy
Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...
, where
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
had no power of authority or supremacy, the Grand Burghers (Großbürger) or patricians ("Patrizier") constituted the
ruling class
In sociology, the ruling class of a society is the social class who set and decide the political and economic agenda of society. In Marxist philosophy, the ruling class are the capitalist social class who own the means of production and by exte ...
.
Hierarchy
![Jakob Fugger und Sybille Artzt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Jakob_Fugger_und_Sybille_Artzt.JPG)
Since before the 15th century the group of legally coequal "
burghers" started to split into three different groups: hereditary grand-burghers, ordinary burghers termed petty-burghers (German ''Kleinbürger'' or simply ''Bürger'') made up largely of
artisan
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
s,
tradesman
A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast ...
, business owners,
merchants,
shopkeepers and others who were obliged according to city or town constitution to acquire the ordinary petty-burghership,
[Free Trade and its Reception 1815-1960: Freedom and trade, Volume 1, Andrew Marisson, Routledge Explorations in Economic History, London and New York, 1998, p. 110—111.] and non-burghers, the latter being merely "inhabitants" or otherwise
resident aliens without specific legal rights in the territorial jurisdiction of a city or town and largely consisted of the
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...
, foreign or migrant workers and other civil employees who were neither able nor eligible to acquire the ordinary petty-burghership.
Burghership in general gave a person the right to exist in the territorial jurisdiction of the city-state or town of burghership, be an active member of its society, acquire real estate, pursue their specified economic activity or occupation, access
social protection
Social protection, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people's well-being. Social protection consists of policies and ...
and participate in
municipal
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
affaires amongst many other exclusive constitutional rights, privileges, exemptions and immunities, especially that of the "grand" burghership (German: ''Großbürgerschaft'').
![Großbürgerin Katharina Völker zu Frankfurt - Grand Burgheress Katharina Voelker of Frankfurt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Gro%C3%9Fb%C3%BCrgerin_Katharina_V%C3%B6lker_zu_Frankfurt_-_Grand_Burgheress_Katharina_Voelker_of_Frankfurt.png)
Grand Burghers held rich historical and cultural roles created and expanded over the decades, including union with other families of the same eminent status and branches of nobility, Grand Burghers were often of such extraordinary wealth and significant economic importance that they far exceeded the wealth and influence of even the most highest-ranking members of nobility, the latter often sought inter-marriage with elite grand-burgher families to maintain their noble lifestyles. The names of the individuals and families is generally known in the city or town where they lived, and in many cases, their ancestors had contributed to regional history. The conferred grand-burghership was in most instances
hereditary in both their male and female family descendants, and a hereditary title or rank stated as the person's occupation in records.
In Hamburg for example only the Grand Burghers were privileged to full unrestricted freedom of large-scale
trade
Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market.
An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
, including unrestricted foreign import and export trade, were allowed to entertain a bank account, as well as be elected to the
Senate of Hamburg
The government of Hamburg is divided into executive, legislative and judicial branches. Hamburg is a city-state and municipality, and thus its governance deals with several details of both state and local community politics. It takes place in two ...
, amongst other privileges.
[Matthias Wegner: ''Hanseaten'', Berlin 1999, S. 34: ''„In Hamburg wurde sehr genau zwischen dem großen und dem kleinen Bürgerrecht unterschieden, und nur wer dank seiner ökonomischen Verhältnisse imstande war, das große Bürgerrecht zu erwerben, verfügte über die uneingeschränkte Handels- und Gewerbefreiheit, durfte in den Senat, die Bürgerschaft und andere Ämter gewählt werden – und das waren nur wenige.“'']
Confer of burghership
As with the administration expense for conferring
letters patent to nobility, both types of burghership were also subject to expenses.
The burghership expense in Hamburg in year 1600 was 50
Reichstaler
The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...
for the ''grand'' and 7 Reichstaler for the ''petty'' burghership,
in 1833 the initial expense for receiving ''grand'' burghership in Hamburg was 758 Mark 8 Schilling (
Hamburg Mark
The Hamburg Mark refers to two distinct currencies issued in the city of Hamburg until 1875:
* The Hamburg Mark Banco, a bank money and an accounting unit, and
* The Hamburg Mark Courant, an actual coin.
Each mark is divided into 16 ''schilling ...
); that of the ''petty'' burghership, 46 Mk 8 Sh.
[Claudia Thorn, ''Handelsfrauen, Bürgerfrauen und Bürgerwitwen. Zur Bedeutung des Bürgerrechts für Frauen in Hamburg im 19. Jahrhundert bis zu seiner Aufhebung 1864'', Hamburg, 1995, ] Other ways to become a Grand Burgher were to marry a grand burgher or, subject to meeting constitutional conditions, the daughter of a grand burgher born in the city or town.
These rules varied locally.
German Revolution of 1918–19
Following the
German Revolution of 1918–19, the German "Großbürger" along with
German nobility
The German nobility (german: deutscher Adel) and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the b ...
as a legally defined class was abolished on August 11, 1919, with the promulgation of the
Weimar Constitution, under which all Germans were made equal before the law, and the legal rights and privileges due to the Großbürger (Grand Burgher) and all ranks of nobility ceased. Any title, however, held prior to the Weimar Constitution, were permitted to continue merely as part of the family name and heritage, or erased from future name use. The Grand Burghers would nevertheless continue to retain their powerful economic significance, political authority and influence, as well as their personal status and importance in society, beyond the Weimar Constitution.
Other states, other developments
It seems that this medieval
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
concept has been taken over by other countries and cities. In Hamburg, hereditary ''grand'' and ordinary ''petty'' burghership were existing before 1600,
[Mirjam Litten, ''Bürgerrecht und Bekenntnis: Städtische Optionen zwischen Konfessionalisierung und Säkularisierung in Münster, Hildesheim und Hamburg'', 2003, S. 30] and in like manner,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
In 1657 the Dutch council of
New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...
for example established criteria for the rights of ''burghers'' in
New Amsterdam (present day
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
), distinguishing between "great" and "petty" burgher rights following the distinction made in this regard in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
1652.
[Janny Venema, ''Beverwijck: a Dutch village on the American frontier, 1652-1664'', 2003, p. 107] In New Amsterdam during the mid-1600s, the ordinary petty-burghership was conferred at the administration expense of 20
Dutch florins, the hereditary great-burghership 50 fl.
1664 the concept was assumed by
Beverwijck
Beverwijck ( ; ), often written using the pre-reform orthography Beverwyck, was a fur-trading community north of Fort Orange on the Hudson River in New Netherland that was renamed and developed as Albany, New York, after the English took cont ...
(present day
Albany).
Further reading
* ''Lehrbuch des teutschen Privatrechts; Landrecht und Lehnrecht enthaltend. Vom Geheimen Rath Schmalz zu Berlin.'' Theodor von Schmalz, Berlin, 1818, bei Duncker und Humblot. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in München. (English: ''Textbook of German Private Law; containing State Law and Feudal Law. By
Privy Counsellor Schmalz of Berlin.'' Theodor von Schmalz, Berlin, 1818,
Duncker and Humblot.), in German, Bavarian State Library in Munich.
See also
*
Patrician (ancient Rome)
*
Patrician (post-Roman Europe)
Patricianship, the quality of belonging to a patriciate, began in the ancient world, where cities such as Ancient Rome had a social class of patrician families, whose members were initially the only people allowed to exercise many political f ...
*
Aristocracy (class)
*
Gentry
Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.
Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies
''Gentry'', in its widest c ...
*
Hanseaten (class)
The (, ''Hanseatics'') is a collective term for the hierarchy group (so called ''First Families'') consisting of elite individuals and families of prestigious rank who constituted the ruling class of the free imperial city of Hamburg, conjo ...
*
Burgess (title)
*
Bourgeoisie
*
Bildungsbürgertum
''Bildungsbürgertum'' () is a social class that emerged in mid-18th-century Germany, as the educated social stratum of the bourgeoisie, men and women who had received an education based upon the metaphysical values of Idealism and Classical s ...
*
Estates of the realm
The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed an ...
*
Franklin (class)
In the Kingdom of England from the 12th to 15th centuries, a franklin was a member of a certain social class or rank. In the Middle English period, a franklin was simply a freeman; that is, a man who was not a serf. In the feudal system under ...
*
Junker
Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...
*
Hereditary title
*
Nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...
*
National Liberal Party (Germany)
The National Liberal Party (german: Nationalliberale Partei, NLP) was a liberal party of the North German Confederation and the German Empire which flourished between 1867 and 1918.
During the Prussian-led unification of Germany, the National ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Burgher
Social class in Germany
Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire
Social history of the Holy Roman Empire
History of Hamburg
Hanseatic Cities
Medieval Germany
Titles
Noble titles
Men's social titles
Women's social titles