Medieval Town Research Articles

Practical aspects of morphological research in urban renewal projects

The small towns of North-Eastern Germany suffered great losses in historic buildings and economic dynamics during the Second World War and the subsequent decades of communist rule. Since 1990, these communities have suffered a major decrease in the number of inhabitants, resulting in a large number of buildings being empty. To adjust the urban structure to twenty-first century standards and regain economic vitality, both regional and local governments are supporting urban renewal projects. Sites inside medieval town centres are under pressure to amalgamate and be recreated as large-scale developer architecture or to fall into ultimate decay. As part of the study of medieval urban structures, a study of the site of the former Holy Spirit Hospice (Heiligengeist-Quarter) of Woldegk has been carried out. This paper shows how contextualization and a re-definition of the site, based on historic narratives developed by morphological research, inspired authorities and stakeholders to initiate a narrative-based development of the site. It demonstrates that urban renewal, based on historic narratives, creates wide public support for contemporary redevelopment in small urban communities. It further shows how morphological research is contributing to the establishment of relevant narratives.

Arqueología de las identidades locales. La producción de localidades en el noroeste peninsular en la Alta Edad Media

ABSTRACT The study of early medieval European localities and local identities has previously been approached from the perspective of the later emergence of 'classic' medieval towns and cities; the post-Roman centuries have been considered a formative, transitional, period in the emergence of the stable and well-organized settlements of the High Middle Ages. However, new findings and conceptual contributions have been made in recent years, allowing for a redefinition of the mechanisms involved in the creation and transformation of local identities. Drawing on concepts of the production of locality and communities of practice, this study aims to analyze some processes observed in northwestern Iberia to argue that local societies resorted to multiple mechanisms for aggregating and negotiating spatialized identities.

The Churches of Santiago de Compostela, a diachronic analysis of their orientations

The orientation of nearly 50 churches in the historic city of Santiago de Compostela are presented. These include churches built along the history of the town, from the early Medieval period until the end of the 20thcentury. Interestingly, all churches built before the Council of Trent appear to have orientations consistent with canonical prescriptions, notably in two flavors. One would be consistent with the canonical equinox at the date of construction, possibly dictated by the orientation of the Cathedral itself. The other orientation is set a few degrees south of due east and could be dictated by the streets of the Medieval town. After the Council of Trent churches were built mostly to have the façade perpendicular to a main street, so that the apse and the altar no longer are systematically facing towards the rising sun.

Written Monuments of the Post-Golden Horde Period: Arabic Script Epigraphy at the Arystan-Bab Mausoleum

The article presents the results of a study of Arabic-script inscriptions discovered at the Arystan-Bab complex. This complex is an architectural site built near the medieval town of Otrar. Arystan-Bab is known among Islamic preachers as an important figure and a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as the first teacher of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. It should be noted that the construction of the Arystan-Bab mausoleum consists of four main stages: (1) the 12th century; (2) the 14th century; (3) the 18th century; and (4) the 20th century. The aim of the article is to study the epigraphic inscriptions carved on the façade of the mausoleum and found within it. The research materials include data collected by the staff of the Suleimenov Institute of Oriental Studies in the Turkistan region in 2023. The research methods employed in the article include image documentation, inscription deciphering, literal translation, and reconstruction of the semantic phrases carved into the stone. The results of the study involve familiarization with the inscriptions, identification of their nature, and an attempt to characterize the authors of these epigraphic monuments. The conclusions of the research are directed toward the study and introduction of new data obtained from the study of the Arystan-Bab mausoleum inscriptions into the scientific discourse.

Entanglements, ontologies, and grinding stones at the medieval site of Handoga (Djibouti)

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the role and meaning of grinding artefacts in Handoga (Djibouti), a medieval town that flourished between the 13th and 16th centuries in a territory previously occupied by nomadic communities. The technical-morphological and morphological-functional studies conducted on the sample suggest that the management of tools related to agriculture followed an approach characterized by minimal care through the different stages of the objects’ lives. This situation, contradictory to what could be expected in a town that had been sedentary for centuries, has been used to reflect on the interrelations between these objects and their users, following Hodder’s concept of entanglement. The analyses conducted on Handoga’s tools point that contrary to what could be expected, some processes such as sedentarization, which are usually conceived as univocal or inevitable can be negotiated or even rejected, and the material-human interactions built around them can also be untangled, if desired.

Celebrating 30 Years in Cardiac Stem Cell Research

Thirty years ago, the most prominent cardiovascular scientists gathered in a medieval town near Rome to scrutinize the actual possibility of regenerating the myocardium. They agreed to the vision, but the knowledge and technology available were not mature to allow the development of clinically suitable protocols for regenerating the post-ischemic cardiac muscle. Subsequent intensive efforts of thousand scientists and exorbitant investments worldwide have generated many progresses without unraveling the complexity of using healthy cells or fabricating stripes of engineered tissue to be implanted in injured hearts. However, even if the final goal appears not yet at hand, the lesson learned brings us much closer to efficient protocols for clinical use.

Building Resilience through Territorial Planning: Water Management Infrastructure and Settlement Design in the Coastal Wetlands of Northern Apulia (Salpia vetus-Salapia) from the Hellenistic Period to Late Antiquity

This Gulf of Manfredonia has, for millennia, been the primary water feature of the coastal wetland of Northern Apulia, Italy, although modern reclamation works make writing its long-term history challenging. Our recent paleoenvironmental research has reconstructed the evolution of the southern half of this lagoon since the Neolithic period. Here, we write a history of water management and environmental change in this landscape from the perspective of two key urban sites: pre-Roman Salpia vetus and Roman Salapia. The Roman architectural historian Vitruvius recounts the abandonment of Salpia vetus and the refoundation of Salapia. We employ his narrative as a frame for a more complex environmental history, starting from a historiography of this landscape’s study and a summary of our interdisciplinary research agenda, which unifies environmental, topographical, remote sensing, and archaeological approaches. Resilience in this changeable wetland environment was only possible through an integrated and intentional management of water among rivers, the lagoon, and the Adriatic Sea. While Salpia vetus exploited this wetland and thrived for centuries, the settlement eventually collapsed due to human and environmentally impelled factors. Roman Salapia subsequently emerged with a different approach, new infrastructure, and a new location. This blueprint would sustain urban life in this wetland for six centuries and lay the groundwork for the Medieval town.

Addressing new aspects of surveillance in late mediaeval England, 1350-1550

The paper addresses new aspects of surveillance in late medieval England. New approaches to the study of the phenomenon are introduced, while a limited study puts some of the author’s suggestions to the test. The study addresses the modus operandi of political and labour surveillance focusing on late medieval English towns. Surveillance was intensified after the Black Death. Institutional and noninstitutional surveillance were part of everyday life, but they were also used by the ruling elites to consolidate their power. Surveillance was endured by the lower social ranks. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that sometimes popular classes resisted surveillance or even used it to their own advantage.

The Boundaries of Popular Control in Late Medieval English Towns

Abstract Scholarship on pre-modern popular politics often focuses on speech, identifying the ways in which people outside the elite could have a “voice” in government. Using examples from late medieval English towns, this article argues for the existence of a particular kind of popular politics that centered on seeing and hearing rather than speaking. This type of politics—labeled “popular control”—concerned the right of the urban political community at large to observe rituals of governance and to audit financial accounts. Through these acts of collective witnessing, lesser citizens and non-citizens exerted an indirect political power to restrict leaders’ freedom of action and to ensure that their performance of office abided by set rules. The unusually detailed Hall Rolls and Hall Books produced by the civic government of Lynn in 1412–13 and 1418–25 illustrate that “popular control,” far from being a vehicle for increasing the urban commons’ “voice” in municipal decision-making, often stood in opposition to principles of elected representation. After 1418, more people were being admitted to the inner sanctum of virtuous individuals deemed capable of offering rational counsel to mayors and jurats, but there were fewer opportunities for the wider public to witness performances of governance by this expanded group of decision-makers. The crux of debate in fifteenth-century English towns—and, perhaps, in the tumultuous world of late medieval Europe more generally—was often less about who should exercise political influence and more about how popular political power could be exercised most appropriately and effectively.

The household, the citizen and the city: towards a social history of urban politics in the late Middle Ages

ABSTRACT Histories of politics in the late medieval European town present a struggle between town oligarchs and town citizens. While the conclusions that historians draw differ, the stakes of politics are the same: exclusion, participation and representation in town government. Politics is the ‘public’ domain of officeholding, elections and voting, its actors exclusively male, its locations the council chamber, the craft guild, the workshop. Starting and ending with the evidence of a 1532 ‘insurrection of women’ in the English city of Norwich, this article seeks to reconceptualise town politics in the late Middle Ages. Its premise is that urban citizenship was a social and performative practice as much as a formal legal and political status. It argues that the relationship between home, household and family was fundamental to the lived experience of citizenship. The urban household was a complex source of political agency, where the official separation between citizen and non-citizen was difficult to sustain. The 1532 insurrection of women allows us to connect the politics of the household to the politics of the town hall and to write a social history of town politics, in which women were political actors.

The role of moisture and salt distribution in the weathering of the medieval cave town of Uplistsikhe, Georgia

Knowledge of salt and moisture distribution is a key factor for understanding rock decay at cultural heritage sites. The cave town of Uplistsikhe in Georgia, carved from sandstone in late bronze age to medieval times, suffers from progressive scaling and flaking processes. Multi-method investigations of rock moisture and salt distribution were carried out in order to better understand the patterns of decay. Salt distribution was investigated using drill dust samples and paper pulp poultices; moisture was determined by 2D-resistivity and handheld microwave sensors, supplemented by infrared thermography. The combined results from the different methods revealed a complex pattern of salt and moisture distribution. At most sites, K2SO4 (arcanite) and its hydrates dominate, sometimes in combination with CaSO4 (gypsum). At one site (Grandhall), halite (NaCl) and niter (KNO3) prevail. Sulphates are assumed to be a legacy of air pollution; origin of halite and niter remains unsolved but might be due to concrete reinforcements. Two main sources of moisture were evidenced depending on season and spatial situation: (1) Condensation of air humidity at cool cave backwalls in spring (combined with and aided by salt hygroscopicity), evidenced by 2D-resistivity and infrared thermography; (2) seepage along joints particularly at the cave backwalls and roofs, evidenced by handheld microwave sensors. Further investigations should focus on identifying seepage pathways and on clarifying the origin of destructive halite and nitrates.

Äldre rödgods från Studentholmen i Uppsala

Early glazed redwares from Studentholmen in Uppsala- an evaluation of provenance using XRF and ICP analysis. The assemblage of pottery from Studentholmen, excavated by Knut Stjerna in 1907, contains one of the largest and most varied collections of medieval ledglazed redwares from the medieval town of Uppsala. Previous have pointed to the similarities in form and technology with the larger productions centers in western Europe as well as to the possibilities that some of the less elaborately decorated pitchers and jugs might be locally produced. A study, aimed at establishing the provenance of the material by using handheld XRF for a non-destructive screening of the larger material and following ICP-analysis from identified and selected groups have been conducted in 2023. The study shows that the main centers for production of the vessels in Studentholmen where northern Germany and Netherlands. Further the study shows methodological potential for cost effective analyses of large assemblages of early redwares in the future, thus making more materials in museum collections available for much needed research.

Conflict Escalation Done Wrong? The Free City of Regensburg Seizes Ehrenfels Castle, 13 April 1417

Abstract This article examines the various modes of conflict management used by the free city of Regensburg and the local nobleman Hans I Staufer of Ehrenfels during a prolonged dispute over revenues from 1413 to 1418. In the early years of this feud, both parties utilized nonviolent methods such as legal action and arbitration, which were occasionally accompanied by minor military interventions. In April 1417, however, the Regensburg councilors broke with convention and decided to escalate the conflict with their feud opponent by capturing his ancestral castle, Ehrenfels, near Beratzhausen in the Upper Palatinate region. Using both urban account books and documentary evidence, the case study investigates the reasons behind the councilors' decision to launch this ostentatious military attack, their objectives in seizing Ehrenfels castle, and the impact of their show of force on the ongoing conflict. It portrays late medieval Central European towns as potent military actors and argues for a more systematic integration of economic considerations and cost-benefit calculations into our picture of late medieval feuding.

Szczecin – A medieval town at the mouth of the river Odra on the southern coast of the Baltic

Szczecin in one of the most important towns in Pomerania region. According to archaeological sources, the oldest Slavic settlement appeared here in the 8th century. Specific conditions prevailing in river mouths have favoured human settlements since prehistory but settlement processes and intensive transformations of the natural environment which accompanied them became very intensive in the Middle Ages. The landscape of the River Odra, which underwent transformations as a result of anthropogenic processes, was shaped primarily in the period of the last 16–15 thousand years. In the literature the problem of reconstructing the topography of the oldest part of today's Szczecin has been addressed. The aim of the article is to present the earliest stages of the formation of the city and the beginnings of the transformation of the natural environment as a result of anthropogenic processes, as well as ways of using natural resources.

STUDIES OF ENGLISH TOWNS DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY VI IN BRITISH HISTORIOGRAPHY

The relevance of the research is determined by the increased interest, as well as revision of approaches to the study of medieval towns. The purpose of the study is to identify the main features in the study of English towns during the reign of Henry VI in British historiography. Materials and methods. The research uses such historical methods as historical-genetic, historical-comparative, retrospective, historical-biographical ones, as well as the principle of historicism. Thanks to the use of these methods, the works of English-speaking historians related to the problem of the development of English towns in the specified time period were processed. For the first time, the author specifically refers to the research by British scientists of English towns during the reign of Henry VI – a time characterized by great social tension, many conflicts and fewer sources than the previous and subsequent periods. Study results. Henry VI was less popular than other kings of England in the XV century. He was considered to be a weak ruler, a “madman on the throne” and one of the most unhappy kings. At this, towns that play an important role in the socio-political and economic development of the state were developing in England during his reign. The article examines the research of British historians concerning the towns of the era of Henry VI. The author examines how approaches to assessing the reign of the king and the history of English towns of this time have changed using the example of the works of British scientists. In particular, the classical works of F. Maitland, J.M. Trevelyan, as well as the works of modern researchers, for example, R.A. Griffiths. Special attention is paid to the relationship between an English late medieval town and the royal power, and the evolution of British scientists views – from “antiquaries” to modern researchers – on the history of towns in general and on the peculiarities of urban development in the era of Henry VI in particular is considered. Conclusions. Towns played an important role in all areas of the English society. The royal government showed great interest in towns as participants in the internal political, economic and social processes in England in the middle of the XV century. According to the results of the study, it was found that, despite an increasing interest in the study of a medieval town in the English-language historiography, at the moment it can be stated that there is still insufficient knowledge on the development of a town during the reign of King Henry VI.

Două planuri necunoscute ale Craiovei din a doua jumătate a secolului al XVIII-lea – jumătatea secolului al XIX-lea

In this study, we publish two plans of Craiova, discovered at the Military-Historical Archive of Moscow: a plan made during the occupation of Wallachia in 1771–1774 and another made either during the occupation after the 1848 revolution (1848–1851) or during the first year of the Crimean War (August 1853 – April 1854). Both plans support the idea that the town underwent organic development, which took into account the local landforms and the way man intervened. Its location in the Jiu Valley played a significant role in the emergence and evolution of this centre, as the course of the river was accompanied by an important road, Craiova being at the intersection with other major traffic routes of this region of the country. The valleys bordering the urban core had the role of delimiting the original inhabited area and the position of the “Bănia” area, with the church of St. Dumitru, as a strategic area and centre of power, on the edge of the coast overlooking the valley towards the west, is evident. Separately, across another small valley, the heart of the town developed, the market, the area with the best economic outlook, not coincidentally located at the crossroads of the main east-west and south-north axes. The medieval town evolved around these two cores, but development and population growth meant the valleys bordering it were overtaken by the 18th century. How the streets converged in the town underlines the idea of gradual growth, and the concentration of roads around the focal point that was the town market marked the layout of Craiova. Human intervention up to the 1830s and 1840s took place not only through the building of dwelling houses, shops and workshops but also through the construction of major landmarks represented by churches and monasteries, around which the neighbourhood (mahala) gravitated. Once the process of modernization began, the anthropic footprint became even more important through the extensive building actions initiated after the Organic Regulation, some of which are visible in the second plan studied. Unfortunately, we could not identify the plan’s authors among the Russian army surveyors of those periods. The two cartographic documents contribute to a better knowledge of Craiova in the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the following century, adding to the already known plans (the Austrian plan of 1790 and the Romanian one of 1845).

Historical spatial structures in small towns and their role in the cultural landscape: a case study of towns in the polish region of Warmia

Historical town centers have a different layout and functions than do contemporary urban districts. The urban layout and architecture of medieval towns constitute tangible cultural heritage that shapes the local landscape. The aim of this study was to analyze and evaluate historical spatial structures in small towns, and to describe their role in the evolution of the regional cultural landscape.The study examined medieval towns in the region of Warmia in north-eastern Poland. An attempt was also made to explore the impact that historical towns exert on the local cultural landscape. The study demonstrated that a medieval urban spatial layout makes a fundamental contribution to the local landscape and regional identity. The study also revealed that well-preserved historical structurescan drive local development and effectively promote regions.

Biting into the truth: Connecting oral pathology and stable isotopes through the paradigmatic example of a hyper-specialized marine diet in Medieval Pontevedra (NW Iberia)

Human feeding patterns have been reconstructed in Archaeology by analysing either oral pathology or stable isotope ratios in human skeletal remains. However, no clear agreement has been developed between these two methodologies. The main objective of this study is to determine if we can establish a link between them when analysing a population with a hyper-specialized diet, in this case marine resources (and millet/maize). To reach this goal we developed a conjoined multi-isotope analysis using collagen and bioapatite (δ13Ccol, δ15Ncol and δ13Ccar) and a detailed study of oral health (caries, antemortem loss, periapical lesions, periodontal disease, calculus, and wear). All available skeletons with at least one preserved tooth from two cemeteries of the medieval town of Pontevedra (n = 34) were studied. The buried individuals belonged to the guild of fishers and artisans, professions which were dominant among the families of medieval Pontevedra. A detailed FTIR-ATR study of extracted bone bioapatite showed a high correlation between bioapatite carbonate content, carbonate typical vibrations, and FTIR-ATR indices related to bone diagenesis, which is in line with previous research. No significant correlations were found with bioapatite yield and isotopic composition (δ13Ccar and Δ13C), ruling out possible diagenetic effects. The diet was based on marine fish protein with contributions of millets (e.g., δ13Ccar -11.9 ± 1.8‰) that seems to be slightly higher in individuals linked to artisanal guilds. The oral pathology study shows severe dental wear from an early age (Grade 2–4 in permanent dentition for 20% of infants and 60% of juveniles in M1), as well as moderate-high presence of caries in permanent dentition (64%, 22/34) and dental calculus (72%, 24/33). Both the oral pathology and the isotopic signal differ from that observed in other areas of the Iberian Peninsula. This study points to the existence of connections between findings of the two methodologies, and specifically an association between intense dental wear and high consumption of marine resources and millet. At the same time, this analysis implies the necessity of caution in estimation of age by dental wear in populations linked to the sea.

Urbanity, Decline, and Regeneration in Later Medieval England: Towards a Posthuman Household Microhistory

Abstract It is proposed that combining a microhistorical approach with the frameworks offered by household archaeology and posthumanism provides a way of rethinking what urbanity means in archaeological (specifically later medieval) contexts. This approach is deployed to challenge generalising approaches which obscure the complexity, vibrancy, and generative capacity of past urbanities. Focussing on the question of the fortunes of later medieval small towns in England, a posthuman household microhistory of two households in the town of Steyning (southern England) is presented. This demonstrates how a focus on the practices undertaken by, and relational constitution of, households can reveal difference and open new avenues for understanding past urbanity.

Cultural heritage beyond juridification: towards a place-first research agenda

PurposeThis paper aims to propose a research agenda towards a holistic, grounded and flexible approach to cultural heritage that can address social challenges and transformations in the context of place. It critiques the dominant/hegemonic cultural heritage narratives, deriving from juridification and calls for a grounded approach in the way cultural heritage is framed and experienced.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual, focusing on the need to open a line of enquiry into the relationship between legal texts, cultural heritage narratives and social challenges and transformations. It follows the letter of the international conventions on cultural heritage against the worked example of the medieval town of Rhodes in Greece.FindingsThe paper sets the relevant research priorities for the investigation of the effective relationship between cultural heritage and social challenges in the context of place, and further stretches the need to evaluate the role of legal and regulatory texts to that effect.Originality/valueThe paper identifies new priorities for thinking about the effects of juridification/the law, cultural heritage and social challenges/transformations in a place-specific context. It seeks to open new avenues of scientific explorations and new interdisciplinary dialogues between a variety of disciplines that are relevant to the way a place engages and addresses social challenges and transformations.