Magdeburg rights (German: Magdeburger Recht, Polish: Prawo magdeburskie, Lithuanian: Magdeburgo teisė; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law,[1] which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by the local ruler. Named after the city of Magdeburg, these town charters were perhaps the most important set of medieval laws in Central Europe.[2] They became the basis for the German town laws developed during many centuries in the Holy Roman Empire.[2] The Magdeburg rights were adopted and adapted by numerous monarchs, including the rulers of Bohemia, Hungary, Poland, and Lithuania, a milestone in the urbanization of the region which prompted the development of thousands of villages and cities.[1]
- ^ a b Sedlar, Jean W. (1994). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500. University of Washington Press. p. 328. ISBN 0295972904. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
- ^ a b Peter Stearns. "Magdeburg Law 1261: Northern Germany". World History in Documents: A Comparative Reader. New York University Press, 1998. Retrieved 28 February 2014.