Free City

A Free City is a settlement that has been granted charter by the king exempting it from certain feudal obligations in exchange for taxes and fees. Citizens of the city are "free men."

Government

Though the castle and its city falls under the direct desmene of the king, he does not normally involve himself in its day-to-day governance. As he (rarely) sees fit, he king may attend himself, or send a representative (often, his steward) to attend a council meeting.

The Mayor

The city council periodically elects a Mayor from among its members to lead them. The election of a mayor occurs whenever the old mayor dies, retires, resigns, or fails a no-confidence vote consisting of a two-thirds majority of the council. The mayor acts as a liaison to the king in city matters.

• More imporant was a court which sat every Monday in the Guildhall under the mayor and bailiffs (later the sheriffs), described in the 15th century as the court for 'common pleas' (i.e. pleas regarding wills, and of dower, services, waste, and so forth). In addition, in 1343, the mayor and bailiffs also claimed a court competent to deal with such matters as assault; (fn. 7) and between 1351 and 1392 distinct commissions of the peace for York were issued to the mayor, a few prominent citizens, and one or two royal judges.

The City Council and Aldermen

Each of the districts is overseen by an alderman, who is charged to organize civic operations and keep the peace.

The city is governed by the "Small Council," a council of 12 elders, a group of technically coequal members who head various major interests within the city, including the district aldermen. Meeting less often, the "Great Council" consists of 24 city elders, which convenes for matters that require a wider consensus. There is also a "Community Council" which includes up to 48 upstanding citizens. The role of the two inner circles is distinct from that of the outermost ring of counsellors. The latter is convened only occasionally for specific and, broadly speaking, political purposes, while the former constitutes the administrative council of the city and the mayor's regular coadjutors in government. Replacement of a councilman who dies or retires is not immediately required. If a vacancy in the council should be filled, the new member is chosen by vote of the current councilmen. The Small Council meets every Senday during the year to cover business relevant to the city. Both aldermen and councillors are to have robes of violet, murrey, and crimson, and aldermen also robes of scarlet which those who have served as mayor are to wear on all civic occasions.

Features

The Guilds

The guilds of the Capital are all designed to protect and further the social and economic interests of their membership. While not all of the Guilds have been granted or have been able to maintain a monopoly on the services and crafts they provide, they can nevertheless present a united front to any form of competition and have a recognized degree of political influence with the city council. On the first days of each season of the year, the Grand Council of Guilds meets at City Hall. All the city's Guildmasters are required to attend (and must send deputies should they be unable to do so). This meeting is used to discuss petitions and legislation before the city council that may affect the trade or business of one or more of the city's guilds, and allegedly serves the purpose of granting those city guilds not directly represented in the council a say in the city's governance.

Behind-the-Scenes

• The purpose of this article is to establish the baseline; some individual free cities will inevitably vary in their adherence

See Also

• Manor
• Barony
• Vicarship
• County
• Duchy
• Kingdom
• Empire