re, as
participating in the special peace enjoyed by the king's palace. Hence
the terms "burgh," "borough" in English, _baurgs_ in Gothic, the
earliest Germanic designations for a town; "burgher," "burgess" for its
inhabitants. What struck the townless early Germans most about the Roman
towns was their mighty walls. Hence they applied to all fortified
habitations the term in use for their own primitive fortifications; the
walls remained with them the main feature distinguishing a town from a
village; and the fact of the town being a fortified place, likewise
necessitated the special provisions mentioned for maintaining the peace.

The new towns in the interior of Germany were founded on land belonging
to the founder, some ecclesiastical or lay lord, and frequently
adjoining the cathedral close of one of the new sees or the lord's
castle, and they were laid out according to a regular plan. The most
important feature was the market-square, often surrounded by arcades
with stalls for the sale of the principal commodities, and with a number
of straight streets leading thence to the city gates.[4] As for the
fortifications, some time naturally passed before they were completed.
Furthermore, the governmental machinery would be less complex than in
the older towns. The legal peculiarities distinguishing town and
country, on the other hand, may be said to have been conferred on the
new towns in a more clearly defined form from the beginning.

An important difference lay in the mode of settlement. There is evidence
that in the quondam Roman towns the German newcomers settled much as in
a village, i.e. each full member of the community had a certain portion
of arable land allotted to him and a share in the common. Their pursuits
would at first be mainly agricultural. The new towns, on the other hand,
general economic conditions having meanwhile begun to undergo a marked
change, were founded with the intention of establishing centres of
trade. Periodical markets, weekly or annual, had preceded them, which
already enjoyed the special protection of the king's ban, acts of
violence against traders visiting them or on their way towards them
being subject to special punishment. The new towns may be regarded as
markets made permanent. The settlers invited were merchants (_mercatores
personati_) and handicraftsmen. The land now allotted to each member of
the community was just large enough for a house and yard, stabling and
perhaps a sm