this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2023
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[โ€“] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The background back then was, that citizens of towns weren't owned by anyone in the feudal system unlike people that lived outside the walls.

[โ€“] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago

There were free peasants outside cities. The specific reason is a serf could run away to a city, and if he managed to stay long enough, he stopped being a serf and became a citizen.