The session started by exploring Ludlow as an example of medieval town with castle, market place and church all enclosed within a defensive wall. This model can be applied to numerous such places and whilst some have grown from that base others have found that their raison dtre has moved on and they have, in a sense, stood still.
The session then explored two aspects of medieval towns: religion and trade.
Part one looked at the concept of place being centred on religion. The introduction of Christianity to Europe and thence to Britain brought the establishment of parishes with churches at their centre. Administration and government was closely linked to the church and cathedral cities were the centres of power and wealth. Much money was spent on building and a variety of styles in cathedral building demonstrate the improvement in techniques as the Middle Ages progressed. Cathedrals became centres of learning, healing, employment and land ownership. Different architectural styles from Saxon to Perpendicular were explored.
Part two looked at the development of trade routes and the cities associated with trade. There were extensive networks and the emergence of a merchant class challenged the assumed authority of the church. Buildings reflected the wealth of the traders and examples from Gent and Bruges illustrated the way in which these secular buildings challenged the aesthetic of the church as being all powerful on the urban skyline. The importance of the market square was explained as were city walls and gates. Gates in particular were identified as being a very significant threshold and the zone in which there was a transition between city life and the outside world. The session was called stadtluft macht frei (city air makes you free) to reflect the impression that within the city was to be found civilisation and culture and freedom and outside oppression and uncouthness. The importance of open space was explained with the example of the parvis at Notre Dame
Places mentioned
Some of the places mentioned: Salisbury Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral, Ludlow, Bruges, Gent, Genoa, Venice, Hanseatic Ports, Work to add to A3 sheet after the sessionplan of an English medieval cathedral (eg Lincoln Cathedral) and find a photograph of the Shambles in York that looks down the street and then draw a cross section of the street showing just how narrow it is compared to the height of the buildings around.
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