Burgess

Burgesses were residents with recognised rights and privileges, including access to town courts. Charters could grant towns rights such as holding regular markets or fairs. These privileges encouraged trade, but towns still stood on land belonging to a king or lord and remained subject to payments and obligations.

In 1265, de Montfort summoned county knights and burgesses from towns and cities to Parliament. These representatives joined an institution previously dominated by the king’s noble and church advisers. Their inclusion widened participation beyond the great landholders and church leaders.