Towns In Medieval England

This book brings together twelve outstanding articles by eminent historians to throw light on the evolution of medieval towns and the lives of their inhabitants. The essays span the period from the dramatic urban expansion of the thirteenth century to the crises in the fifteenth century as a result of plague, population decline and changes in the economy. Throughout the breadth of current debates surrounding the history of urban society is fully explored.

The only survey of the urban, commercial and industrial history of the period between the Norman conquest and the Black Death.

This is the first collection of translated sources on towns in medieval England. It concentrates on the relatively well-documented centuries between 1100 and 1500, drawing on the rich variety of written evidence for this significant and dynamic period of urban development. Taking account of recent research on material and social aspects of urban life, the volume invites students to consider for themselves the challenges and the opportunities presented by a wide range of sources. The merchant, for example, is seen from different angles --as an economic agent, a religious patron and in Chaucer's fictional depiction. The introduction and commentary situate the extracts within the larger context of European urban history, and against a wider chronological backdrop. Suggestions for further reading enable the student to engage critically with the materials and encourage new work in the field. The prominence of London and the other major cities is reflected in the selection; but due attention is also given to the large number of small market towns. Occasions of conflict are represented, as are examples of groups and societies which both contributed to and helped to contain the tensions within urban society. Changing indicators of wealth and poverty are considered, together with evidence for more complex questions concerning the quality of life in the medieval town. The book moves between the experience of urban life and contemporary perceptions of it from domestic furnishings to legends of civic origins and plays in which townspeople enacted their own history.

This series on the towns and cities of Britain provides an introduction to the research in this field.

David Palliser focuses here on towns in England in the centuries between the Norman Conquest and the Tudor period, on which he is an acknowledged authority. Urban topography, archaeology, economy, society and politics are all reviewed, and particular attention is given to relationships between towns and the Crown, to the evidence for migration into towns, and to the vexed question of urban fortunes in the 15th and 16th centuries. The collection includes two hitherto unpublished studies and is introduced and put in context by a new survey of English towns from the 7th to the 16th centuries.

This volume of essays explores the interaction of Church and town in the medieval period in England. Two major themes structure the book. In the first part the authors explore the social and economic dimensions of the interaction; in the second part the emphasis moves to the spaces and built forms of towns and their church buildings. The primary emphasis of the essays is upon the urban activities of the medieval Church as a set of institutions: parish, diocese, monastery, cathedral. In these various institutional roles the Church did much to shape both the origin and the development of the medieval town. In exploring themes of topography, marketing and law the authors show that the relationship of Church and town could be both mutually beneficial and a source of conflict.