Consigli del Popolo, Credenza, Consiglio del Comune, Senato, Gran Consiglio, Pratiche, Parlamenti, Monti, Consiglio de' Savi, Arti, Parte Guelfa, Consigli di Dieci, di Tre, I Nove, Gli Otto, I Cento--such are a few of the titles chosen at random from the constitutional records of different localities.
Not one is insignificant.

Not one but indicates some moment of importance in the social evolution of the state.

Not one but speaks of civil strife, whereby the burgh in question struggled into individuality and defined itself against its neighbor.

Like fossils, in geological strata, these names survive long after their old uses have been forgotten, to guide the explorer in his reconstruction of a buried past.
While one town appears to respect the feudal lordship of great families, another pronounces nobility to be a crime, and forces on its citizens the reality or the pretense of labor.

Some recognize the supremacy of ecclesiastics.