Abstract

The mayoralty was widely established in major cities and boroughs of England since the 13th century. As a new type of official, the qualifications of mayors had gradually been framed by customs, writs, charters and laws, thus introducing a mayoral access system. From a historical long-term perspective, a four-in-one mayoral qualification was roughly formed in the late Middle Ages, which included moral conduct, citizenship, property qualification and governance capability. The establishment and legalization of the mayoral qualifications enabled the overall literacy of the mayor group to be high, which helped to consolidate the foundation of urban autonomy and played the core role of mayors in urban governance. At the same time, it also resulted in a relatively limited base of participation in urban governance, becoming an important inducement and significant manifestation of the oligarchy in urban politics in late medieval England.

Published on Economic and Social History Review, Issue 2, 2023.