market town, free royal towns, private towns
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A type of city, which appeared in the middle of the 14th century in Hungary. Its main characteristic feature was its right to keep markets. There were royal, ecclesiastic and private market towns. The dwellers had different privileges, and since the end of the 15th century the public law of the country considered them villeins, but actually the dwellers of important market towns were citizens. It is very difficult to tell the difference between boroughs and the privileged, so-called free villages. Cities of bishopric residence that did not receive the title of 'free royal city' formed a special category. Their Hungarian name refers to the fact that they were not surrounded by a wall, but by fields. In Latin they were called oppidum, in German Markt.
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free royal towns
This was a 14th-century expression for towns surrounded by walls, which were in the king's possession and which received various privileges. During the Middle Ages the content of this expression was not defined; even the towns that belonged to this category were changed.
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private towns
Towns whose appealed law suits were performed in royal presence. At the very end of the Middle Ages the following cities belonged here: Székesfehérvár, Esztergom, Lőcse, Kisszeben and Szakolca.
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