The gathering of a large number of people in one place was, for much of the Early Modern period, part of a form of community that contemporary historiography refers to as "community among the present." For example, when a crowd gathered for an execution, it served not only as a backdrop for an act of state-sanctioned punishment. Rather, those present themselves appeared as part of a ceremonial act that required the consensus of all, which repeatedly and performatively reinforced the legitimacy of existing power relations in the continuity of their enforcement. Accordingly, spontaneous or supposedly secretly organized gatherings in front of the town hall were viewed from an authoritative perspective as a serious disruption of social life, as they called into question the traditional and universally recognized structures.