A critical criterion for calling a town a Mediatstadt (Urban typology) is legal: the Mediatstädte of the Middle Ages and early modern period were not subject directly to the sovereign of the territory to which they belonged but to a local noble overlord, who could influence the development of the town directly. Mediatstädte as elements of noble seignory (Manorialism) were found throughout almost all of Europe, but their proportion of the total number of towns was especially large in eastern and Central Europe – that is, in the territories that…
Mediatstadt (seigneurial town)(704 words)
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Keller, Katrin, “Mediatstadt (seigneurial town)”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 28 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_023838>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190801
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