The Role of Nobility in the Transformation of Towns in 15th-Century Continental Croatia
The Role of Nobility in the Transformation of Towns in 15th-Century Continental Croatia

Author(s): Ratko Vučetić
Subject(s): Social history, Culture and social structure , Rural and urban sociology, 15th Century
Published by: Hrvatski institut za povijest
Keywords: Nobility; 15th-Century; Continental Croatia; city’s structure;
Summary/Abstract: In the early 15th century, urbanization in Western Europe came to a halt. The roots of stagnation must be sought in the events of the previous period, such as the plague epidemic, which caused a demographic fall and an economic crisis. A series of dynastic conflicts weakened the power of many states, and the increasing demand for agricultural produce and ore changed the overall picture of Europe. From the mid- 15th century onwards, it was the marginal areas of Europe that came into the focus of urbanization, with these processes intensifying in Spain, on the British Isles, in Scandinavia, and in Central and Eastern Europe. The characteristic of these marginal areas was not so much a lack of cities as a multitude of small settlements. During the late Middle Ages, more than 90% of towns in northern Europe (including the Holy Roman Empire) had less than 2000 inhabitants, and around a half of all urban population lived there. The traditional function of small towns was bound to their agrarian surroundings, whereby most of their inhabitants were involved in agricultural production and local trade that was connected to it. In the area of medieval Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom, a network of urban settlements was created that consisted of 30-35 free royal towns and 800-850 marketplaces controlled by the nobility. The towns of Central Europe flourished in the 15th century, coming closer in their evolution to those in the more developed parts of Europe. This evolution of towns coincided with the rise of magnate families in the kingdom, which at that time ruled over most of these urban settlements.

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