ABSTRACT
The study examines the social dynamics of the political elites of Alba Iulia after the town became the seat of the royal court, and then the princely court, in the mid-sixteenth century. In the second half of the sixteenth century, the town of Alba Iulia had two main squares: the first one, within the town walls, was surrounded by the mansions of the court nobility, while the second was located outside the walls. The latter was a real reflection of the town’s social structure and functioned as its market square. The outer square was shared by three fundamental layers of urban society: the court nobility, the courtly military, and the wealthy townspeople. The political elite of the town was invested in purchasing real estate in the square outside the town walls, where they exerted their judicial prerogatives, though they were also keen to receive noble titles from the Transylvanian princes.
