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Explain the development of towns in the central Middle Ages (11 th 13th Centuries) include examples of two towns from different regions to illustrate your arguments Throughout the Central Middle Ages, which spanned from the eleventh to thirteenth century, there was a marked shift in where people and populations were situated. The emergence of urban dwellings altered the previously rural based life in medieval Europe. It is necessary, yet difficult, to find what constituted a town and form a finite distinction based on physical characteristics or demographics alone. Indeed, Dyer recognises this difficulty on another level, as the title town was used in clerical works in relation to settlements that were both rural and urban 1. Therefore it can be determined that a town was a complex entity which perhaps, due to the distinctive and ununiformed nature of all medieval settlements in the period, was not a standardised urban mode of living. Such is illustrated when reflecting on two major and distinctly different towns, London and Paris. When looking to determine the progress of growth of medieval towns in the period, it is essential to realise that no singular factor was of sole influence. It is necessary to understand that a medieval way of life was perpetuated and pervaded by many simultaneous powers. The influences that stimulated the growth and development of towns during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries can be recognised as a triplet of forces that were symbiotic and dynamic. They were the religious, economic and social pressures of the time and were influences that ultimately led urban dwellings to expand and change. Religion was an integral aspect of life in the Central Middle Ages. Its prominence is evident when looking to the initial development of towns in terms of their origins. Isolated places of worship, such as monasteries, were gradually populated over time: individual dwellings began around their peripheries until the population density morphed into that of a town. The permeation of religion in the beginnings of town growth is also evident in the placement of cathedrals within towns, including London and Paris. Cathedrals were often found at the heart of medieval towns, suggesting the dominance that religious influence had over society during the Central Middle Ages. Therefore it is evident that religion was a permeating force that prompted the growth of towns in the Central Middle Ages. Indeed, there was an evident reliance on religion within town life, as in modern times the social density of a medieval town can be approximated by the number of parish churches evident in the urban area 2. Religion continued to play a large part in the ongoing expansion and development within towns as well. Indeed, from 1200 Paris saw the development of approximately fifty-five religious buildings, including churches 3 . Therefore, it is evident that religious influences were pervasive during the times of development and subsequent dwelling within these urban areas in the Central Middle Ages. However, while religion was evidently an essential aspect of medieval town formation and development, new ideas were flourishing, encouraged by an economic boom at the beginning of the 11th Century, brining commercial aspirations to the fore. The beginning of the Central Middle Ages, in the eleventh century, saw an increase in agricultural production lead to a shift in economic activity. What was once a system based on the currency of trading favours became integrated with monetary earnings that were not limited to the upper manorial classes. As a result, the marketplace became an increasingly integral aspect of commercial interaction for any individuals within clustered dwellings. The monetization of the Central Middle Ages was so pervasive that it extended also into feudalistic military pursuits, as is evident in the rise of scutage, which was money paid in the name of shields 4. These commercial influences were continued throughout the period, and seemed to be at their height between 1120 50 5. The effect that this new economic climate had on the development of
1

Dyer, Christopher, Small Towns 1270 1540, in D.M Palliser, The Cambridge Urban History of Britain Vol.1 600 1540(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2000, Cambridge Histories Online) p 505.
2

Schofield, John and Vince, Alan, Medieval Towns: The Archaeology of Medieval Europe, 1100 1600 (London: Continuum 2003) p 178
3

Goodson, Caroline, Lester, Anne E. and Symes, Carol, Cities, Texts and Social Networks 400 1500: Experiences and Perceptions of Medieval Urban Space (Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010 pp. 678.
4

Source originally from Dialogue of Exquecher, 1177, Book 1, reprinted in Cave, Roy C. and Coulson, Herbert H., A Source Book for Medieval Economic History, (Milwaukee: The Bruce Publishing Co., 1936; reprint ed., New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1965)
5

Fossier, Robert. The Rural Economy and Demographic Growth c.1024c.1198. Eds. David Luscombe and Jonathan Riley-Smith. In The New Cambridge Medieval History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Cambridge Histories Online) pp. 12 - 13.

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medieval towns was two fold. Firstly, it provided a perfect atmosphere for the growth of populations, due to the increased prosperity and subsequent quality of life enjoyed by all levels of society. Indeed, there is an evident correlation between the rise of cities in the Central Middle Ages and the expansion of trade, and subsequent economic activity, during this time 6. This drove migration to new areas that could hold the larger numbers of people. Thus urbanization began to take place, where marketplaces were frequented and economic pursuits began to flourish. Thus, new towns began to emerge, clustered around marketplaces. Secondly, the economic climate could be taken advantage of by noblemen, who could create planned towns. This was a less organic formation of urban dwellings, as they were created with the intent to make use of the economic prosperity for the benefit of the nobleman that initially had control of the town. However, Palliser, Slater and Dennison attest that there is no such thing as an organically created town, and that all developments of a town in the physical sense were ultimately planned, as the intent was always linked back to the economy and potential gains 7. Conversely, as previously mentioned, expansion and progress was not limited to economic purposes, therefore showing that the development of towns was not planned solely for commercial gain, but rather developed from societal and religious influences. It is evident that initial urban development was also driven by commercial influences, however the ongoing development within towns that carried on throughout the Central Middle Ages, and can also be attributed to social factors. Towns in the Central Middle Ages continued to grow and develop after their establishment by means of religious and economic influences. As hubs of social activity, this continued growth is attributed to social forces and pressures. Towns provided a new social order that had not been seen before in medieval Europe. The class of the burghers or bourgeois were intrinsically connected and integrated into the urban landscape, a phenomenon that did not conform to the pre-existing and overtly powerful feudal system in which all social life had been previously structured 8 . However despite their relative infancy, the class of urban dwellers thrived in the economic strongholds that towns provided. As a result, there was much prosperity on a social level, and this was inevitably reflected in physical structures of the town. The restoring and building of bridges, walls and ornate town halls was a way in which the physical development of a town could represent the inhabitants town pride. Towns further developed in terms of social segmentation within the new class of the bourgeois. The trading phenomenon that was the economic success at the time had fostered mercantile activity, which then inevitably led to the creation of guilds 9 . Indeed these structures were of great importance to the entire town in terms of social structure and thus provided means and motive for subsequent development 10. This would have been a direct result of the extent to which economic gains had become established within society during the Central Middle Ages, thus demonstrating a development within towns which evolved from social and economic interaction. It is evident that the creation and expansion of urban dwellings was driven by a myriad of forces. These forces were simultaneous in their influence regarding the development of towns throughout the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. Such interaction is evident as while an initial religious focus prompted the formation of collective dwellings, it was contested by a rise in economic pursuits, which did not necessarily comply with the notions and social attitudes fostered by the church, despite its essential role in the growth of urban centres. Furthermore, the subsequent social climate that occurred provided its own stimulus for further developments to take place within towns. The subsequent physical expansion of towns cannot be disputed. Topographical evidence, such as the concentric wall structures of many medieval towns, including London, attests to the large expansions within the Central Middle Ages 11. However, it is the way these three forces

Pirenne, Henri, Medieval Cities: Their Origins and the Revival of Trade (Princeton New Jersey: Princeton University Press 1974) p 132
7

Palliser, D. M., Slater, T.R. and Dennison ,E. Patricia, The topography of towns in 600 1300 in D. M Palliser, The Cambridge Urban History of Britain Vol. 1 600 1540 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2000, Cambridge Histories Online) p 162
8

Pirenne, Henri, Medieval Cities: Their Origins and the Revival of Trade (Princeton New Jersey: Princeton University Press 1974) p 131
9

Rrig, Fritz, The Medieval Town (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd ,1967) p 20. Rrig, Fritz, The Medieval Town p 20.

10

11

Barley, M. W., Town defences in England and Wales after 1066, in M. W. Barley, ed., The Plans and Topography of Medieval Towns in England and Wales (CBA Res. Rep., 1976), p. 68.

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manifested themselves in urban growth that demonstrates that the development of towns was a complex and ongoing phenomenon. Therefore, it can be attested that the progress that towns experienced can be attributed initially to religious and economic forces, and then subsequently further attributed to social influences, all of which ultimately enabled these urban areas to flourish throughout the Central Middle Ages.