 The capacity of Bourgeois, which implied an oath, was seen as a pledge of loyalty to the city and the urban community.In Brussels, the bourgeois were sometimes called "poorters" name often given to citizens of important cities called walled cities.This word derives from the Dutch word fallen into disuse "poorte", city or place closed by walls, like the imposing stone houses that the rich bourgeois of the Seven Noble Houses lived in in the early days of the city, and to which was also given the name of "poorte" or "porta" in Latin, and whose synonym was "herberg" or "hostel" and which are also called "steen".