The burgher class was a

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

consisting of

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 gov ...

residents (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''cives''), that is, free persons subject to municipal law, formed in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. These free persons were subject to city law, medieval town privileges, 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 ...

, or German town law. After the fall of the estate monarchy, this social class, more often referred to as the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

(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,' modern

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

prefers to use the term '

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

.' Gradually, within the burgher class, a wealthy stratum emerged, engaged in banking and overseas trade, organized in

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s and trading companies. The rise of this stratum is associated with the beginning of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

Admission

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 from

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

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. In

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, proof of ownership of property in a town was a condition for acceptance as a burgher.

Privileges

In medieval

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, for instance, crimes against burghers were considered crimes against the entire city community. If a burgher was assassinated, the other burghers had the right to bring the alleged murderer to trial by judicial combat. This practice was part of the broader Germanic legal tradition of trial by combat, which was used to settle disputes in the absence of witnesses or confessions. In the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, burghers were often exempted from or unpaid statute labour, a privilege that was later extended to the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

. Only burghers could join the city guard ('' Schutterij'') in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

because guardsmen had to purchase their own expensive equipment. Membership in the guard was often a stepping stone to political positions.

By region

Britain and Ireland

Germany

Low Countries

Switzerland

South Africa

Specific cities

* Bourgeois of Brussels * Bourgeois of Paris * Bourgeoisie of Geneva * Hanseaten * Tribes of Galway

References

{{europe-hist-stub Medieval society Titles Medieval titles Estates (social groups) Bourgeoisie