Medieval City Research Articles

Behind the scenes: Urban secretaries as managers of legal and diplomatic conflicts in the Baltic region, c.1470–1540

ABSTRACT This article analyses the activities of urban secretaries in legal and diplomatic conflicts in and around late medieval Baltic cities. By applying actor and practice-centered approaches of conflict management and the New Diplomatic History to their letters and correspondence, it argues that secretaries made use of a combination of education, specialised governance knowledge and individual networks to participate actively in handling their councils’ conflicts. Thus, this article provides new insights into the activities of educated personnel in late medieval cities and – by combining the legal and diplomatic sphere – also aims at providing a fresh perspective on practices of Hanseatic conflict management.

Reuse of Historic Buildings in the Medieval City of Rhodes to Comply with the Needs of Sustainable Urban Development

This paper illustrates a study for the reuse of selected historic buildings in the Medieval City of Rhodes in Greece. This study contributes to the understanding and interpretation of the chronological sequence of major intervention programs for the preservation of the Medieval City. The main idea of the project is the spatial distribution of compatible and various uses to reveal the unique character of the Medieval City. Spatial planning is proposed within the preserved urban zones in order to optimize and harmonize the selected uses according to the needs of sustainable urban development. Criteria to assess the compatible uses that ensure the features and architectural characteristics of the preselected historic buildings, located within the city fabric, were established and validated. The developed methodology that is presented herein and is an indispensable part of a pilot project may be applicable to other cases concerning historic cities. Finally, this paper aims to present a pilot program which promotes the reuse of historic buildings as a part of an integrated preservation plan. Inter-disciplinarity has set the basis for effective policies to guide and control the proposed pilot program, with ultimate objective to ensure sustainable preservation of the Medieval City of Rhodes.

BULGAR KENTLERİ VE BULGAR KENTLERİNİN KÖKEN SORUNLARI

Makalede İtil Bulgarlarının yerleşikleşme süreciyle bağlantılı olarak ilk sabit yerleşimlerin oluşumu, yerleşimlerin kent olarak değerlendirilme ölçütleri, kentlerin ortaya çıkışları ve kökenleri, kentlerin karakteristik özellikleri ve sınıflandırılma ile alakalı sorunlar incelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda Bulgar kentlerinin kökeninin, Bulgarların yerleşikleşme sorunu ve ilk sabit yerleşimlerinin ortaya çıktığı zaman ile bağlantılı olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Genel olarak araştırmacılar, çok farklı formda sosyal yapıya sahip olan kentlerin kökeni ve ortaya çıkış süreçlerine dair çok çeşitli seçeneklere meyil etmiştir. Yazar bu hususta Bulgar kentlerinin ortaya çıkışı ve kökeniyle alakalı varsayımda bulunan araştırmacıların görüşlerini irdeleyerek, köken sorunsalının aydınlatılması adına kendi varsayımlarını dayanaklı olarak belirtmiştir. Yazara göre boylar sisteminin geç aşamasında yani büyük boylar ve boylar arası birlikteliklerin oluştuğu anda vücuda gelen ve etno-sosyal oluşumların merkezi olan erken kentler zamanla idari, dini veya kültsel, askeri-politik merkezler ve ticaret noktaları olarak gelişmiştir. Müstahkem yerleşimlerin bahsi geçen gelişme noktaları, kentlerin köken sınıflandırmasını yani ortaya çıkış yollarının tespitini de beraberinde getirmiştir. Ortaçağ kentlerinin ortaya çıkış yollarının çeşitliliği İtil Bulgar kentleri üzerinde tatbik edilmiş, bu yollar Moğol öncesi İtil Bulgar materyalleriyle tasdik edilmiştir. Fakat araştırmacılar İtil Bulgar kentlerinin ortaya çıkış kökenleriyle ilgili belli başlı üç yol üzerinde durmuştur: boy merkezi, ticaret-zanaat merkezi ve idari-askeri kale.

The popular cultural heritage in the oases of south-western Morocco: Wadi Noun Atypical

The oases of south-western Morocco include many historical, tourist and cultural elements, due to the commercial and historical role that was acquired by the medieval cities during the middle Ages. This made it a link, in the caravan trade between northern and southern Morocco. The Wadi Noon area is an important concentration of these oases. Twenty major and secondary historical sites have been inventoried. These sites are located on the hills overlooking the oasis and waterways. During a field visit to the region at the beginning of November 2019, several cities, Kasbahs and metal protectors were discovered, both (N'Mata-Takaust- Kasabe-Emezzi-Timmoulay-Timola-Efran Atlas.

Sociological approaches and the urban history of medieval England: research trends and new perspectives (2017–2022)

In 2011, when Jelle Haemers looked back on a decade's worth of Ph.D. theses on urban centres in the medieval Low Countries, he identified three main trends in scholarship: the emphasis on individuals, rather than institutions; the increasing use of new methodologies, such as social network analysis (SNA) and prosopography; and the deployment of inter-disciplinary perspectives. Haemers’ intuition proved prescient; recent doctoral contributions to the historiography of medieval English towns and cities tend, generally, to fall along similar lines. In many ways, this is natural, and a testament to the enduring legacy and successes of earlier works. But, as the following discussion will elaborate, important and divergent steps have also been made, pushing our perceptions of pre-modern urban societies in new directions. Medieval urban history remains a vibrant area for study, with Ph.D. students forming an important section of its vanguard.

Becoming Europe: Retracing the Origin of Medieval Cities from Comacchio and Oegstgeest

A hundred years ago Henri Pirenne delivered his seminal lectures on the medieval city in the USA. In the aftermath of the late antique collapse of Mediterranean Sea commerce, Pirenne pinpointed North Sea traders as agents that led to the origins of the Carolingian revolution which eventually put in place new towns. With the publication of major archaeological reports about Comacchio and Oegstgeest - early medieval centres on the Adriatic Sea and North Sea respectively - this article considers key tropes of Pirenne’s narrative. In ranging between the end of Antiquity and its so-called temple society and the rise of the Merovingian and Carolingian North Sea, the article reviews the preliminary stages during which the divergence between the Mediterranean regions and north-west Europe was repaired.

ГЕНЕЗИС ГОРОДОВ ЗОЛОТОЙ ОРДЫ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИСТОРИОГРАФИИ

This study provides historiographical research of the genesisof the Golden Horde’s cities of the Lower Volga region and West Kazakhstan. The author analyzes well-known theories of the formation of cities, the process of the construction of the cities of the domain part of the Golden Horde. The phenomenon of the cities of the Golden Horde have been attractive for many reasons, the cities did not undergo a natural process of evolution, but adopted all the most advanced ideas of medieval cities. According to one of the points, the cities of the domain part that arose "by the individual iron will" of the kaan became the administrative, economic and cultural center of the Jochi ulus. But to this day, the genesis of cities that have already appeared in their heyday and have fallen into decline in less than a century remains not always obvious. In particular, small settlements that are located near large cities, while having their own developed urban culture. Studied in archaeological terms, the cities of Western Kazakhstan, which developed in the Golden Horde period, still represent white spots in the national historical science. The very process of the genesis of cities, their daily life, the established material and spiritual culture -all this should be the object of research. Aktobe-Laeti settlement is particularly convenient for scientific study, since its convenient location, comparative study and good preservation of the monument allow for a better understanding of medieval urban life.

History of the Syganak Irrigation

When studying medieval cities, along with the complex issues, including the structure, defense system, localization of cities according to written sources, identifying economic districts, is the study of the ancient irrigation system. Although the city of Syganak is mentioned in Arabic and Persian sources of the 10th century, we can find data on the irrigation system of the city in the work of the 16th century “Mikhman-name-iy” by Bukhara Fazlallah ibn Ruzbikhan. The waqf letters discovered by V.V. Bartold mention rivers near the city of Syganak and canals drawn from the Syrdarya. Data on the irrigation of Syganak are contained in the “Book of the Big Drawing”, “Drawing Book of Siberia” by S. Remezov. In Soviet times, E.I. Ageeva and G.I. Patsevich, V.N. Groshev drew attention to the issues of the irrigation system of Syganak. S. Zholdasbaev, who studied the city of Syganak for many years, paid special attention to the origin of the name of the canal Tuman aryk, derived from the Syr Darya. In this article, the authors drew attention to a controversial issue related to the location of the medieval city of Syganak. In some sources, the city is located on the right bank, in others – on the left bank of the Syrdarya River. Some researchers, relying on these sources, suggest that another city, Syganak, is mentioned in written sources. Our field studies have shown that the Syr Darya had several old channels in the vicinity of the city of Syganak. The discovery of these channels confirms that at one time the city was located on the left bank of the Syr Darya. The Sarysu and Shu rivers from Central Kazakhstan and Semirechye at the northwestern end of Karatau flowed into these old channels. Also, in the course of research along the ancient canals, several medieval cities and settlements of the cities of the Syr Darya were identified. The article provides information about ditches, derived from the Syr Darya, also provides data on the rivers originating in the southern part of Karatau, about their ancient names. The authors reveal that the toponymic names of Kyrash, Toktamys, Kelte-Shalkiya, Arystandy, Mynbulak found in vakuf charters have retained their names to this day.

Geometric morphometrics of the second molar teeth within the human population from the late medieval city of Iași, Romania

AbstractAlthough variability and sexual dimorphism (SD) have been intensively studied as regards molar size, patterns of SD on molar shape are not an equally approached topic. Therefore, this study uses size and shape variables of the second permanent molar (M2) from two‐dimensional geometric morphometrics to assess intrasample variability and shape patterns in SD within a human group from the late medieval city of Iași in Romania. Our findings are partially consistent with the view that phenotypic variability in M2 teeth is correlated with their developmental stages. No intra‐group dental models were highlighted, except for those determined by SD. The upper M2 tooth is a clearer sexual dimorphic than the lower M2. How different regions of the tooth are associated and how patterns of M2 shape variation are defined in the two sexes are also topics addressed in this paper.

Heritage Building Preservation in the Process of Sustainable Urban Development: The Case of Brasov Medieval City, Romania

This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the literature on the definition and development of the concepts of heritage and sustainability. The harmful effects of various pollutants on the materials widely used in the construction of monuments/buildings, which are part of the national and international cultural heritage, are also highlighted. In addition, the paper draws attention to modern techniques for investigating the composition and diagnosis of the alteration of buildings materials with the focus on stone, limestone, and mortars/concrete. The present research also emphasizes that in the case of heritage buildings, different skills are needed not only related to heritage conservation and rehabilitation, but also skills related to heritage planning processes, and to sustainable constructions. For exemplification, the manuscript proposes specific conservation principles based on the case of Brasov city, located in the heart of Romania and being par excellence a medieval town with representative buildings for that period.

Review: Riemenschneider in Rothenburg: Sacred Space and Civic Identity in the Late Medieval City

Review: <i>Riemenschneider in Rothenburg: Sacred Space and Civic Identity in the Late Medieval City</i>

HISTORICAL TOPOGRAPHY OF KESH-SHAHRISABZ

This article discusses the historical topography of Kesh-Shahrisabz. The migration of administrative centers from one region to another is typical of different historical periods, which were associated with natural - geographical, political and socio-economic reasons. Archaeological evidence suggests that most medieval cities in Kesh had an advanced defense system and arches. However, there are also fortified cities with fortifications (Choshtepa, Oltintepa).

The Nobility of Drivasto and Scanderbeg

Abstract This article aims to elaborate on the relationships between Georges Castriota Scanderbeg and noble families from Drivasto. Drivasto was an Albanian medieval city located in the Northern Albania, about 12 km away from Shkodra. Its origin dates to antiquity but it has achieved its cultural, economic, and political peak during the Middle Age. Drivasto had its schools, church, and social life. The city elite consisted of noble families, such as Engjelli, Spani, Suma, Moneta, and Dushmani. The city elite played an important role in the resistance against the establishment of Ottoman rule in Albanian lands, so many figures deriving from that elite closely cooperated with Georges Castriota Scanderbeg. They used their diplomatic and military background to transmit Scanderbeg’s claims abroad or to fight against the Ottomans. Therefore, this article aims also to elaborate on the social aspects of the society of Drivasto and its role in political circumstances, aiming thus to present to the audience some historical and social features and international relations during the Middle Age. The first part of this scientific research provides a brief presentation about the city of Drivasto during the Middle Age, continues with noble families and their role and cooperation with Scanderbeg; lastly summarises circumstances that derived from the return of Scanderbeg until the year 1478 when Drivasto fell under the Ottoman rule. The work “The nobility of Drivasto and Scanderbeg” derived of intensive scientific research. The comparative and synthetic methodologies have been used to draft this article.

Features of the Religious and Everyday Worldview of a Resident of a Russian City at the Turn of the Middle Ages and Modernity: Public, Everyday, Intimate

The work describes and analyzes the monograph of L.P. Naydenova “The Life of a Russian Man of the 16th-17th Centuries (Faith, Family, Everyday Affairs)”. It was published in 2020. In it, the author considers issues of the inner world of a person, his relationship with loved ones, and his place in the family. Many of the topics have been understudied. In addition, they are difficult to study, since they are associated with family relationships, and with the closed, personal life. The review was written in order to acquaint readers with the research of the author of the monograph, with the identification of peculiarities of the urban lifestyle, which are inherent in the large cities of the Russian state at the turn of the Middle Ages and early Modernity. This knowledge makes it possible to consider the question of criteria of the characteristics of the city during the Middle Ages and late Modernity. This book may be of interest to specialists in the history of the Middle Ages, medieval family and society. It will be useful to urbanists, sociologists, researchers involved in studying everyday life and mentality. The book will be useful to everyone who is interested in the worldview and everyday history of the Russian medieval city and medieval society.

Labourers and Artisans in Seventeenth-Century Ahmadabad

Among the inhabitants of medieval Indian cities, the largest group was naturally represented by its workforce. They were a crucial element in the urban dynamics of these cities. Ahmadabad, during the seventeenth century, was the leading manufacturing hub of Gujarat besides being the administrative headquarters of that province. This ensured varied employment opportunities for different categories of labourers and artisans residing in the city and its neighbourhood. Leveraging several analytical tools, the present study is an attempt to provide an insight into the contribution of the workforce behind the economic prosperity of Ahmadabad in the seventeenth century.

Under the Mediterranean I: Studies in Maritime Archaeology

Under the Mediterranean I: Studies in Maritime Archaeology

“A Certain Poor Woman”: Vulnerability and Visibility among Hospital Donors and Tenants

This essay examines the social and economic roles of individuals who entered into relationships with Mainz’s hospitals, in order to elucidate their positions in local economic, social, and religious networks. As the evidence from Mainz and other cities in the central Rhineland bears out, donors and tenants cultivated relationships with hospitals that were multilayered, and often intimate. Account books and charters—and the annotations made on them by generations of hospital staff—reveal that hospitals’ use of resources was responsive not only to the needs of the sick, but also to the changing needs of their tenants and donors, who might in turn become their residents. Like monastic houses, hospitals provided diverse spiritual services for the laity, including the performance of memorial Masses. Those who benefited from and gave donations for such spiritual services were often known only by diminutives of descriptors, appearing fleetingly in the written record as valued and active members of their communities. As Adam J. Davis has recently pointed out, many of the most vulnerable in medieval cities had labile relationships with medieval hospitals, in which they could be both providers and recipients of care. I am building on such work, as well as that of Fritz Dross and Anne E. Lester, in examining the ways in which the anonymous and nearly-anonymous contributed to the sustenance and upkeep of late medieval urban hospitals. I am also examining the donations of the poor to other religious institutions in Mainz. This comparative strategy illuminates how those with little visibility in the historical record contributed to, and crafted relationships with, the most conspicuous institutions around them.

A Brief History of Research of Ancient Settlements and Myths, Ancient Names of the Middle Flow of Syrdarya

The steppes of the Syrdaria are the natural boundary between the nomadic peoples of Central Asia and the peoples involved in sedentary agriculture. Due to the large number of ancient settlements and settlements on the Syrdaria River and the dense population of the settlers in this area of Syrdaria is a natural boundary between nomadic and sedentary peoples of Central Asia. The article begins with the confluence of the Naryn and Karadaria rivers in the Fergana basin and ends with several tributaries: the Incardarya and Janadarya rivers, as well as the main tributary of the Syr-Darya, draining into the Aral Sea. Medieval cities and toponyms such as Sutkent and Bairkum were also studied and scientifically analysed. To this end, we have tried to systematically explain these cities by studying historical written and archaeological data. In the article we aimed to draw public attention to archaeological research, popularization and inclusion of the abovementioned cities in the list of tourist attractions. In addition, we decided to study the abovementioned citizens and introduce them into scientific circulation.

The Illuminated World Chronicle: Tales from the Late Medieval City, by Nina Rowe

Chronicles charting world history are familiar to historians of medieval and early renaissance Europe. Of these perhaps the best known is the Liber Chronicarum (also known as the Nuremberg Chronicle or Die Schedelsche Weltchronik): a richly decorated World Chronicle produced in 1490s Nuremberg by Hartman Schedel. Less well-known are the manuscript world histories—Weltchroniken—of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and these are the focus of Nina Rowe’s delightful book. Blending biblical stories, classical myth and popular histories, the Weltchroniken were often richly decorated and it is these images which form the focus of Rowe’s analysis. As Rowe notes in her introduction, the majority of medieval sources available for art historians are devotional, but the Weltchroniken offer an insight into secular concerns. While the Weltchroniken do use scriptural stories (and Rowe argues that one fifteenth-century reader classified her Weltchronik as a bible), their focus is rather more temporal, casting...

Geological-geomorphological conditioning on the development of the historical centers: the example of Gubbio (Umbria, central Italy)

Gubbio (Umbria, central Italy) is located at the foot of Mt. Ingino, which overlooks a large flat area (Gubbio Plain). The Gubbio mountains constitute the NE flank of an anticline broken at the core by a normal fault with high throw (over 1500 m). The debris connecting the slope to the plain area has an evident morphological step (max height about 20 m), expression of neotectonics. When the Eugubins in 12th century built the new city on the mountain, they identified the area upstream of the escarpment as the most suitable place for the fortified urban space. Later (13th-14th centuries) the development of the city involved an expansion downstream of the urban core, which took the shape of the current historic center. The research in progress on the relationship between development of the late medieval city and conformation of the slope debris on which it was built is aimed at investigating some aspects of an interesting problem of urban geomorphology, relating to a definition of the geomorphological characteristics of the place and the transformations of the urban nucleus in 13th and 14th centuries. It seems interesting to define what these transformations entailed regarding the alterations of the geomorphological peculiarities of the place where the city was born and developed.