Élite and government in medieval Leiden

This paper is a study of the urban élite of medieval Leiden from its first appearance at the end of the thirteenth century up to 1420, and is based on extensive prosopographical research. The urban élite of Leiden was not merely a political élite, it comprised also the economic, the ecclesiastic and part of the count's administrative élite. To the Leiden élite belonged more than 200 families; these families cannot be called clans, because they did not have the size and influence to justify this. Leiden developed on grounds belonging to the count of Holland. Nevertheless, the oldest élite did not originate in ministeriales of the count; nor did it have its origins in the nobility, although the Leiden élite included an important noble element. The oldest élite consisted first and foremost of families that obtained their wealth in trade and industry; landed property and a career in the service of the count came in second place.