ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that feudal powers—the princes of the empire, both secular and ecclesiastical—brought about the first urbanization of central Europe and that indeed seigneurial power was the driving force in the development of urban life and of town foundation in this region. There is a significant case that shows very distinctly the close relationship between seigneurial power and the merchant class in the early phases of urban development—the origins of the cathedral town of Naumburg in southern Thuringia. The code of law in a medieval town usually underwent many changes during the Middle Ages. It was supplemented by statutes decreed by the town council and it was interpreted by town judges and later even by lawyers trained in Roman law. The emerging network of towns in the Holy Roman Empire of the later Middle Ages was shaped mainly by the competition of princes, dynasts, bishops and abbots for building up territories, or at least for achieving political power.
