1. Definition
Since the 16th century, patricians was increasingly the name given to members of those families that had previously been described as the wisest, most honorable, and richest: the “better” families of the city or town. In the Old Empire, Humanism and the reception of ius commune led to the adoption of this title applied originally to the noble families of ancient Rome, who had been considered founding fathers (Latin patres) there [1. 1–3]. In the city stat…