The medieval towns consisted of an urban structure that was characterized by feudal and commercial purpose arisen at the beginning of the eleventh century, from agricultural development and, especially, after the end of the Roman Empire. After the barbarian invasions, the housing nuclei were again populated by a society with economic ends.
This society took advantage of the proximity of these settlements with ports and important commercial routes to boost the local economy. Generally, these cities were attended by peasants to sell different types of food, and artisans also came to offer manufactured products.
As they expanded, medieval cities acquired a social structure, gave way to the emergence of the feudal system typical of the Middle Ages and were characterized by architectural models that marked a milestone in the history of civilization.
History
The growth of the cities in Europe began from the bases abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire, in places that until then had been used as religious headquarters, but that little by little began to repopulate. Thus, at the beginning of the 11th century and during the 12th century, new towns of different origins were founded.
The size of these medieval spaces was quite small, as they barely had three or eight thousand inhabitants. However, they were a historical phenomenon of great importance to the world and their ideals of organization differed from settlements in towns or villages.
goals
Due to the urban characteristics that medieval cities possessed -such as the proximity to ports and important trade routes-, they were formed in favor of economic benefit, so they became the center of production and the exchange of goods.
Those who most frequented these places were the peasants, who sold all kinds of food; and artisans, who offered manufactured products such as tools, clothing, and ceramics.
With this, a culture specialized in work was created and, in turn, represented an escape door for those fleeing the repression of the ancient empires.
In fact, the cities of the Middle Ages were considered as access to a better life and during their heyday the motto “the air of the city makes free” emerged.
characteristics
The founding of medieval cities, although not a previously planned project, was configured based on a model that was followed in almost all the territories in which it existed, and this responded to the needs of social and geographical life, so some characteristics also varied.
Social organization
With the establishment of the peasants, artisans and merchants, the term "bourgeoisie" emerged, which consisted of a new social class that forged wealth that gradually spread until they acquired power, but through trade and not through possession of land.
The desires of the bourgeoisie were summed up in being able to create an order in the city and in the form of government themselves, in order to free themselves from the feudal lords, have the free will to travel, negotiate and trade, be able to acquire - or inherit - properties and also choosing who to marry.
Likewise, feudalism was implemented as a social regime, a product of the cultural, social and economic transformations of the century.
The characteristics of this model consisted of labor exploitation, the transformation from a natural economy to a commercial one, the presence of slavery, division of social classes (feudal and peasant), settlements as a center for crafts and commerce, and political division.
On the other hand were the monarchs. These, with the intention of diminishing the power of the feudal lords, granted "letters of privilege", also known as "franchises" or "fueros" to the bourgeoisie.
Said documents declared freedoms and freed the bourgeois from feudal subjugation, who in return, and together with the city, paid taxes to the king.
Parts
The main environmental characteristic of medieval cities was their proximity to ports and commercial areas, due to their great economic function.
In addition to this characteristic, in most European countries the features of medieval cities were always similar, so much so that they established a pattern:
- They were located in spaces with difficult access. Mainly, medieval cities were established on hills, islands or places near rivers to ward off enemies.
- They were surrounded by great walls. The objective was protection and defense, since taxes were collected on the merchandise that entered at the access doors. They had an opening and closing hours.
- Streets of free traffic. The public roads were narrow alleys that connected the center of the city with the access and exit points. They were traveled on foot and, although initially they had muddy and / or paved soil, little by little they were paved.
- The market. There were two types: the space designated specifically in a square in the center of the city and the one that was deployed through the main streets.
- The monasteries. They were small towns occupied by those of a religious order, but also a minimal population was made up of artisans and workers.
- The church square. In the open air, it was a space for religious meetings or processions in front of the main church.
On the other hand, the houses in the cities were tall, with three floors distributed at the base by a shop for commerce and the next two floors for the home. They were built in wood.
In the center of the city, in addition to the important buildings, there was also the communal palace - or town hall -, cathedrals, episcopal palaces, urban merchants' palaces and squares where weekly, monthly and / or annually they celebrated with fairs for everything public.
In the outer part of the wall the so-called “suburbs” were located, those concentrations of houses that could not enter, but that with the passage of time were included with the expansion of the walls.
Likewise, outside the walls there were some few secular schools, the first universities were founded and hospitals began to be built, but not all medieval cities had these buildings.
References
- Percy Acuña Vigil (2017). The medieval city. Taken from pavsargonauta.wordpress.com.
- Juana Moreno (2017). The medieval city and its parts. Taken from unprofesor.com.
- José Pedroni (2018). The medieval city. Taken from: sites.google.com.
- Arteguias (2007). The medieval city. Taken from arteguias.com.
- Wikipedia (2018). Medieval city. Taken from Wikipedia.com.