Medievalists.net » Urban Studies http://www.medievalists.net Where the Middle Ages Begin Sun, 06 Dec 2015 19:35:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.9 The Power of Poo: Waste and the Medieval Environment http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/20/the-power-of-poo-waste-and-the-medieval-environment/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/20/the-power-of-poo-waste-and-the-medieval-environment/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2015 22:26:33 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=61899 This study will compare the ways in which three vastly different European cities and their civic institutions, London England - the Chartered Capital of a Kingdom, Siena Italy - an Oligarchic Republic, and Gdansk Poland - the reluctant territory of a Theocratic state

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/20/the-power-of-poo-waste-and-the-medieval-environment/feed/ 0 Fair Trade?: A Look at the Hanseatic League http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/11/fair-trade-a-look-at-the-hanseatic-league/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/11/fair-trade-a-look-at-the-hanseatic-league/#comments Sun, 11 Oct 2015 22:21:21 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=61726 In the 14th century, an ongoing feud ensued between the Hanseatic League and non-Hanse merchants. Here's a quick look at the rise and fall of the one of the most powerful organizations of the Late Middle Ages.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/11/fair-trade-a-look-at-the-hanseatic-league/feed/ 0 Small-town life in a late medieval Burgundy: the case of Cluny http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/02/small-town-life-in-a-late-medieval-burgundy-the-case-of-cluny/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/02/small-town-life-in-a-late-medieval-burgundy-the-case-of-cluny/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2015 05:20:17 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=61484 To serve the domestic needs of the mother community, a town grew up at the gates of the abbey in which traders and merchants, men of law and craftsmen of all sorts soon established themselves.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/10/02/small-town-life-in-a-late-medieval-burgundy-the-case-of-cluny/feed/ 0 The Politics of the Gate: Byzantine City Walls and the Urban Negotiation of Imperial Authority http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/17/the-politics-of-the-gate-byzantine-city-walls-and-the-urban-negotiation-of-imperial-authority/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/17/the-politics-of-the-gate-byzantine-city-walls-and-the-urban-negotiation-of-imperial-authority/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2015 07:04:36 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=60422 From its violent birth as the surviving portion of a civilization engulfed by invaders to its violent death as a lone city overwhelmed by irresistible assault, the Byzantine Empire was a state walled against perpetual siege.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/08/17/the-politics-of-the-gate-byzantine-city-walls-and-the-urban-negotiation-of-imperial-authority/feed/ 0 Prostitution in the Medieval City http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/21/prostitution-in-the-medieval-city/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/21/prostitution-in-the-medieval-city/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2015 10:20:16 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59893 Prostitution was a vice that was was considered a necessary evil because of "men’s lust". Ecclesiastics felt that if brothels weren’t available to men in cities, they would find other inappropriate outlets for their entertainment. In an effort to curb potential problems, civic officials permitted prostitution to function within the city walls so long as it was regulated and turned a profit.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/21/prostitution-in-the-medieval-city/feed/ 0 Cracking down on illegal gambling in Medieval Livonia http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/20/cracking-down-on-illegal-gambling-in-medieval-livonia/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/20/cracking-down-on-illegal-gambling-in-medieval-livonia/#comments Mon, 20 Jul 2015 11:03:05 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59845 Just like their modern day counterparts, medieval cities had to deal with their own criminal underworlds - the sex trade, gambling, and violence taking place within their walls. At the International Medieval Congress, held earlier this month at the University of Leeds, these issues were explored as part of session #706: Perceiving and Regulating Vices.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/20/cracking-down-on-illegal-gambling-in-medieval-livonia/feed/ 0 The City of Rome in the Middle Ages http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/15/the-city-of-rome-in-the-middle-ages/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/15/the-city-of-rome-in-the-middle-ages/#comments Wed, 15 Jul 2015 19:37:54 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59760 Let us begin by considering the importance of the idea of Rome in the medieval mind. On the one hand there was the ancient prestige of the City, the capital of the greatest empire the world had known, the seat of a civilisation and art so far above what most of the Middle Ages could attain.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/15/the-city-of-rome-in-the-middle-ages/feed/ 0 Public Space, Urban Identity and Conflict in Medieval Flanders http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/10/public-space-urban-identity-and-conflict-in-medieval-flanders/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/10/public-space-urban-identity-and-conflict-in-medieval-flanders/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2015 19:49:27 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59553 Ideas of public space can say a lot about the societies that create them. A clear example of this was its use in Flanders during the medieval period. People within Flanders found themselves in a unique situation having one of the highest amounts of urban densities in Europe. This allowed for a distinct urban identity emerge.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/10/public-space-urban-identity-and-conflict-in-medieval-flanders/feed/ 0 The Experience of Growing Up in Medieval Society http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/10/the-experience-of-growing-up-in-medieval-society/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/10/the-experience-of-growing-up-in-medieval-society/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2015 13:23:26 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59534 This session (#508) was one of several at Leeds devoted to exploring childhood in the Middle Ages. Our presenters talked about the stereotypes of adolescence, and what the coroner’s rolls revealed about the deaths (and lives) of medieval children.

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]]> http://www.medievalists.net/2015/07/10/the-experience-of-growing-up-in-medieval-society/feed/ 0 Pigs and Prostitutes: Streetwalking in Comparative Perspective http://www.medievalists.net/2015/06/28/pigs-and-prostitutes-streetwalking-in-comparative-perspective/ http://www.medievalists.net/2015/06/28/pigs-and-prostitutes-streetwalking-in-comparative-perspective/#comments Sun, 28 Jun 2015 23:45:37 +0000 http://www.medievalists.net/?p=59281 'No one shall keep pigs which go in the streets by day or night, nor shall any prostitute stay in the city.'

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