Burgher (social class)

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Burgher was a rank or title of a privileged citizen of a medieval to early modern European town. Burghers formed the pool from which city officials could be drawn,^{[citation needed]} and their immediate families that formed the social class of the medieval bourgeoisie.

Entry into burgher status varied from country to country and city to city.^[1] In Hungary, proof of ownership of property in a town was a condition for acceptance as a burgher.^[2]

Any crime against a burgher was taken as a crime against the city community.^{[citation needed]} In Switzerland, if a burgher was assassinated, the other burghers had the right to bring the alleged murderer to trial by judicial combat.^[3]

In the Netherlands, burghers were often exempted from corvée or forced labour, a privilege that was later extended to the Dutch East Indies.^[4] Effectively, only burghers could join the city guard in Amsterdam because in order to join, guardsmen had to purchase their own expensive equipment. Membership in the guard was often a stepping stone to political positions.

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

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