CITY HALL
- Autonomy of the city council -
The city council managed to obtain ‘privileges’ or ‘rights’ from the Brabantine dukes, resulting in an increasing autonomy towards the dukes. Of course, the ducal mayor kept his weather-eye open, but still the council’s influence grew, especially considering decisions only affecting the local level of the city and its surrounding area. Perfect example is the official seal of the city, a symbol used by the council to ratify charters by which they emphasized their ability to act indepent of the dukes. The oldest seal has come down to us from the year 1245. In 1291, for example, the duke determined that the city council was free to decided how to levy taxes and in 1307 he left all the streets and squares within the city walls to the authority of the council. Exactly why the dukes of Brabant privileged the city of Zoutleeuw so abundantly is a matter of course: money. The dukes were constantly looking for resources, for example to fund their many wars against neighbouring lords. In this respect the cities, having plenty of revenues due to the lucrative cloth industry, were the perfect partner. In exchange for privileges the city council regularly agreed to levy taxes for the benefit of the dukes. In other words, the council used the taxes as leverage to increase their own power.