Page:The history of medieval Europe.djvu/397

 THE ITALIAN CITIES 347 by a contemporary that "the cities stoop to bestow the sword-belt and honorable rank upon youths of inferior station, or even upon laborers in despised and mechanical trades who among other peoples are shunned like the pest." Below the two knightly or military classes came the ordi- nary citizens, or popolo. These shared with the captains and knights the privilege of electing and being elected to town offices. The term popolo, however, was not equivalent in meaning to the democratic modern expression, "the peo- ple." It did not include all the inhabitants of the city and its adjacent territory, but only those freemen who had participated in the formation of the original commune and their descendants and others who were specifically admitted to citizenship. When the commune was first established, many of the inhabitants were still in a condition of servi- tude like that of the "court artisans" of Venice. There- fore most of the small shopkeepers and artisans were not at first given any share in the municipal government. Still less was the franchise ceded to the ,poor peasants who tilled the fields that lay outside the city walls. T he Italian communes were thus rather aristocratic j gov- ernment s^ although liberal enough compared to feudalism. They included those more prosperous merchants Rule of and artisans who had been able by forming gilds theTwelfth to win their personal freedom and a considerable century influence in the conduct of town affairs, and who fighting on foot made a formidable militia to second the efforts of their mounted nobles. At the head of the town government in place of the bishop now appeared a varying number of "consuls," who were usually chosen annually and who were often taken from all three classes of the commune, although there was a natural tendency to elect leading citizens from the upper classes. The consuls were assisted by an ad- visory council, and we also soon find in existence a Grand Council or senate or council of the commune, which often had several hundred members and represented the entire citizen body. On great occasions, however, the burghers were not content to leave the government to their officials