Experiences of Citizenship in Late Medieval Southern German Lands

Medieval citizenship is often defined as the rights and duties that individuals had in medieval polities, including political participation, individual protection within the city in cases of legal or commercial conflicts, or the privilege of being judged by certain courts, rather than by others, and by one’s peers, rather than by foreigners. Typically, the status of citizen was further bound to the taxes individuals of that polity had to pay or the military duties they had to fulfil. This understanding of citizenship differs significantly from the ways scholars in the field of political sciences have been discussing the term over the past two decades.