The Community Attributes Of The Royal Borough In Early Anjou Period Of England And Its Historical Influence

In early Anjou period, from Henry Ⅱ to Edward Ⅰ, the royal’s cost of living and greed for luxury had increased with the development of commodity economy. The huge cost for servants, officers and mercenary army further aggravated the kings’ financial pressure. What is more, in order to contain the local nobles and increase the manpower, the kings hoped for the support of cities. The desires for farm and mercantile privileges promoted the burgesses to join hands with kings. In addition, by the influence of Roman law, Canon law and the community concept of Germans, the number of boroughs franchised by kings increased sharply in this period.On the one hand, in early Anjou period, the burgesses were franchised to tenurial privileges, farm, mercantile privileges and jurisdictional privileges, they could elect their officers and participate in the administration of the borough. Sometimes, they might be responsible for their neighbors’ debt and be punished or even lose the rights for the major or other burgesses’ faults. All these privileges and joint liabilities were shared or borne by the burgesses in common. So, we could say, in most cases, the borough was a community. On the other hand, the borough owned their own officers, organizations and by-laws, making it become more stable and ordered, providing a foundation to transform to corporation. What is more, the borough gradually had the rights to impose murage, pavage, pontage and tallage, reflecting its status as a rights subject. In addition, the borough owned the right to use common seals and only by the majorities’ consents, the seals could take effect, which is a typical characteristic of corporation. Although its privileges might be deprived by the king’s preference, they were successive in general. Therefore, although the borough was not corporation, it had possessed some characteristics of it.According to the duality of the borough, we can evaluate its historical influence. Viewed from jurisprudence dimension, the corporate feature of the borough in early Anjou period had an effect on the corporation legislation in14and15centuries. The rise of the concept of public law was important to constitutional system. What is more, the franchised community like the borough was one of the historical origins of the artificial corporation. In addition, the prevalence of the borough played a significant influence to the national corporation theory.Viewed from democracy dimension, when the private contract sprit rises to public law level, it plays an important role in realizing human rights and constructing democracy. The interaction between king and burgess in rights and obligations just reflected the sprit of contract. However, the king’s powerful position and the unequal rights between the king and the burgess reflected its non-contractual nature. What is more, the vow between burgesses combined the people equally, but this kind of spirit was not necessarily in the real life. Hence, from the perspective of contract spirit, the borough had limited influence on democracy. On operation level, the charter reflected the principle of "what touches all is to be approved by all" when concerning the election of officers and administration of the borough. Also, the structure of "burgess-borough-nation" accords with Durkheim’s design of "individual-corporation-nation" which could restrain the narrow individualism, prevent autocracy and protect civil liberty in theory. The city law also reflected a lot of democratic sprit.However, because of the differences between theory and practice, we have always been suspicious that if the participation of the burgesses could really take effect in democracy. What is more, the borough was not monolithic-it could be split up which led to the upper classes tyrannized the lower classes. At the same time, the upper classes of the borough might join the hands with the upper classes of the nation which kept the burgesses in double chains, their liberties were devoured in the borough and drowned in the nation. Although, the power of the borough became consolidated by sending the representatives to the nation, the power of the burgess was on the wane. Therefore, although a lot of democratic sprit turned up with the prevalence of the borough, hierarchy and inequality, feudal dominion combined with the borough were the characteristics of the times. We have to remain a very cautious attitude to their influence in democracy.