Urban way of life as identity?

Abstract

This chapter addresses the relevance of the concept of urban identity for the study of the populations of the early medieval emporia and the challenges and opportunities of investigating its presence through archaeological remains by virtue of a case study from the central settlement area of Ribe’s emporium (c. ad 700–900). It is argued that possible signs of a sense of belonging to the place and to its community may be found among the daily practices forming the core of an original urban way of life (modes and means of consumption; labour specialisation; town planning, housing and use of space). Awareness of this specificity may have led those who experienced it to construct original forms of identity associated with the urban context. The difficulty of finding signs of intentionality and of specific motives for engaging in the construction of an urban identity are stressed, while hypotheses for the forms such identity could have taken are suggested. Despite the complexity and elusiveness of the subject matter, asking the question of an urban identity leads to seeing well-known archaeological materials in a new light and emphasises the importance of the human factor in the understanding of early medieval urbanism.