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European Culture and Society Series
Urban Life in the Middle Ages: 1000-1450
What was life like in the towns and cities of medieval Europe? How did people live? Why did some towns grow into major urban centers while others did not? Drawing on original research, as well as the work of medieval historians, urban archaeologists, and historical geographers, this book takes a fresh and challenging approach to address these important but difficult questions, and argues that while people in the Middle Ages shaped the towns and cities that they lived in, Europe's towns and cities also 'shaped' them.
295 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2002
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June 3, 2016
Keith D. Lilley's Urban Life in the Middles Ages, 1000-1450 offers a survey of academic writings on historians, archaeologists, and geographers' understanding of the nature of urban spaces in the Middle Ages. The text is rather approachable. Despite the academic context it is written in plain language for the most part, but those trained in history and other Medieval studies would likely be able to mine it for more.
I started reading this book because cities fascinate me and while I trained as a historian I pretty much skipped studying the pre-modern period. For urbanists it increasingly seems like the lessons on how to make our cities more successful and sustainable. Traditionally medieval cities were seen as highly organic that developed naturally without the kind of top-down planning which typified the mid-to-late 20th century. Lilley has changed my perception of the history of European cities. Lilley presents evidence that feudal lords and city fathers had incentives to plan their cities, just not in the same methods of the modern world. The twisted small streets of medieval cities were intentional in many cases and were intended by the designers to obey natural forms rather than an arbitrary grid. Planners used tax benefits, special legal rights and other incentives to encourage new districts and towns to take root.
Urban Life in the Middle Ages also explore the legal fabric of cities and its importance, the evolution of cities over time and the life of people in those cities (both high and low). Traditional history puts feudal lords in opposition to towns but Lilley provides substantial evidence for why lords, princes and kings established towns and reaped the benefits. Towns could act as colonies to settle hostile provinces, help provide markets for agricultural goods and provide a stream of hard currency for nobles.
This simple and short text helped me recontextualize my concept of cities in the Middle Ages. I found it approachable and widened my understanding on a number of points. Finally, it gave me new ideas about how urban centres functioned in the period and what lessons could perhaps be carried over to contemporary urban questions.
I started reading this book because cities fascinate me and while I trained as a historian I pretty much skipped studying the pre-modern period. For urbanists it increasingly seems like the lessons on how to make our cities more successful and sustainable. Traditionally medieval cities were seen as highly organic that developed naturally without the kind of top-down planning which typified the mid-to-late 20th century. Lilley has changed my perception of the history of European cities. Lilley presents evidence that feudal lords and city fathers had incentives to plan their cities, just not in the same methods of the modern world. The twisted small streets of medieval cities were intentional in many cases and were intended by the designers to obey natural forms rather than an arbitrary grid. Planners used tax benefits, special legal rights and other incentives to encourage new districts and towns to take root.
Urban Life in the Middle Ages also explore the legal fabric of cities and its importance, the evolution of cities over time and the life of people in those cities (both high and low). Traditional history puts feudal lords in opposition to towns but Lilley provides substantial evidence for why lords, princes and kings established towns and reaped the benefits. Towns could act as colonies to settle hostile provinces, help provide markets for agricultural goods and provide a stream of hard currency for nobles.
This simple and short text helped me recontextualize my concept of cities in the Middle Ages. I found it approachable and widened my understanding on a number of points. Finally, it gave me new ideas about how urban centres functioned in the period and what lessons could perhaps be carried over to contemporary urban questions.
Displaying 1 of 1 review