Guillaume de Montmirail was a French nobleman, who was elected the first mayor of
La Rochelle in 1199.
[Rémi Béraud, ''Petite encyclopédie monumentale et historique de La Rochelle'', page 124] He was also the first mayor of French history. His nomination was the result of the right of La Rochelle to establish itself as a commune, granted by
Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine, and upheld by his daughter
Eleanor of Aquitaine. Guillaume was assisted in his responsibilities by 24 municipal magistrates, and 75 notables who had jurisdiction over the inhabitants. Under the communal charter, the city had the right to mint its own coins, and to operate some businesses free of royal taxes, dispositions which would favour the development of the entrepreneurial middle-class (
bourgeoisie
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
).
Guillaume de Montmirail is also recorded as being lord of the territory of
Boscodon.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montmirail, Guillaume De
12th-century French people
Mayors of La Rochelle