The granting of municipal civic rights to individuals was documented in writing. In many towns, this was done in a citizens’ roll, a chronological list of new citizens with personal data (name, occupation, the nature of the grant if applicable, place of origin, special characteristics or memorabilia). Citzens’ books are a superlative source for both genealogical research and the social history of the urban middle and upper classes in the Middle Ages and early modern era. The occupational data recorded in them, for example, provide information about the social structure of the…