Urban life in the Middle Ages, 1000-1450 / Keith D. Lilley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lilley, Keith D.

Series:

European culture and society (Palgrave (Firm))

European culture and society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cities and towns, Medieval.

Civilization, Medieval.

Physical Description:

xvi, 295 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave, 2002.

Summary:

What was life like in towns and cities in medieval Europe? How did people live, and why was it that some towns grew into major urban centres while others did not? After the year 1000, all across Europe urban life prospered as it had never done before. New towns emerged, and established towns and cities grew larger and became more powerful and dominant. During the later Middle Ages these towns and cities were the focus of religious, political, commercial and social activity; the places where power, profit, piety and people all came together. Urban life was indeed the making of medieval Europe. Drawing upon original research, as well as the work of medieval historians, urban archaeologists and historical geographers, Keith Lilley explores the close relationship that existed between the life of towns in the Middle Ages and the life within towns. Taking a fresh and challenging approach, this richly illustrated book will be invaluable to anyone interested in medieval Europe. It focuses on important themes, including lordship, property and townscape, and explores the processes which not only shaped the towns and cities of medieval Europe, but also the people who lived in them.

Contents:

Town and city: the life of medieval towns 1

Townspeople and citizens: life in medieval towns 10

A map of the book 14

1 Urban Legacies 17

A medieval heritage 18

Urban inheritances 25

Conclusion: 'inventing' the Middle Ages? 41

2 Institutional Urbanism 42

Chartered towns and town charters 44

Municipal government and urban governance 55

3 Geographies of Urban Law 75

Surveillance and the spatial diffusion of urban laws 77

Social exclusion and differentiation in chartered towns 93

4 Lordship and Urbanisation 106

Town foundation in England and Wales, 1100-1300 111

Pareage and the foundation of bastides of Gascony 122

Locatores: urbanisation and lordship in east-central Europe 131

5 Urban Landscapes 138

The formation and transformation of urban landscapes 139

The design and planning of new urban landscapes 157

6 Urban Property and Landholding 178

Lordship and patterns of urban landholding 179

Urban property and social order 192

7 Townspeople and Townscapes 212

Home and domestic life 213

The place of work 222

Place and identity 241.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 254-278) and index.

ISBN:

033371248X

0333712498

OCLC:

47243971