Danielle Watson - The City in Medieval Europe

A portion of the material in this book has been derived from Everyday Life in Medieval Europe by Kathryn Hinds.

Published in 2017 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC 243 5th Avenue, Suite 136, New York, NY 10016

Copyright 2017 by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC

First Edition

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Watson, Danielle, 1978-Title: The city in medieval Europe / Danielle Watson.

Description: New York : Cavendish Square Publishing, 2017. |

Series: Life in medieval Europe | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015050994 (print) | LCCN 2015049114 (ebook) | ISBN 9781502618818 (ebook) | ISBN 9781502618801 (library bound) Subjects: LCSH: Cities and towns, Medieval--Europe--Juvenile literature. | City and town life--Europe--History--To 1500--Juvenile literature. | Europe--History--476-1492--Juvenile literature. | Europe--Social life and customs--Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC D134 (print) | LCC D134 .W38 2017 (ebook) |

DDC 940.1--dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015050994

Editorial Director: David McNamara Editor: Kelly Spence Copy Editor: Nathan Heidelberger Art Director: Jeffrey Talbot Designer: Joseph Macri Production Assistant: Karol Szymczuk Photo Research: J8 Media

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Printed in the United States of America

T he medieval period, also known as the Middle Ages, spans about one thousand years of European history, between 500 and 1500. The years 1100-1400 made up the High Middle Ages, a period distinguished by a swelling population that led to great social, economic, and political changes across the continent.

The late Middle Ages saw the emergence of humanists, individuals who, during the fourteenth century, took a renewed interest in ancient Roman and Greek literature and ideologies. Humanists believed that the previous ten centuries had been a dark age, with no great human advancements or thinkers. They sought to distance themselves from this time period and to create a rebirth of ancient learning. The rise of humanism led to the period following the Middle Ages, which became known as the Renaissance.

As the Middle Ages progressed, great cities were founded across Europe. Some grew as centers of trade and commerce, while others flourished around elaborate churches or walled fortresses. Still more became centers of thriving industry and education, with the scholarly pursuit of knowledge leading to the emergence of the worlds first universities. Thousands of people flocked to these vibrant urban centers to practice their trades and buy and sell their wares in the narrow streets and crowded squares. With this growing swell of people, a new middle class of merchants and craftspeople was born, giving way to a new chapter in European history.

The University, a solid mass of slated roofs, covered the left bank of the Seine from the Tournelle to the tower of Nesle and spread over the hill of St. Genevieve; the Cite, with its twenty-one churches, covered the island of the Cite, and the Ville covered the right bank with its gardens and palaces. Around this city of a thousand churches 1 and ten thousand houses, all fused and huddled together as if for warmth and protection, were the stray towers and windmills of the suburbs. a description of medieval Paris in 1456, based on the works of the fifteenth-century poet Francois Villon

L ong before the Middles Ages, the city of Rome had been established in 753 BCE. This ancient city served as the seat of the mighty Roman Empire. As the empire gained new lands and stretched farther across Europe, many Roman cities were founded. These cities served as hubs of urban life until the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE

With the end of Roman rule, several of these cities fell into decay. Constant warfare brought tradethe lifeblood of citiesalmost to a halt. Particularly in northwest Europe, rural life grew in importance as power was concentrated in the hands of large landowners. Local farming was the cornerstone of the economy. Most areas produced only what they needed; there was rarely a surplus of food or goods that could be traded.

The Roman cities that survivedsuch as Paris (France) and Cologne (Germany)were often those where a bishop was headquartered. A bishop was a high-ranking Christian priest who oversaw religious affairs for a particular region. His church was called a cathedral. For some time, however, even a cathedral city might be composed of only sixty to eighty small houses, and most of the citys area might still be gardens, orchards, and pastures.