The Medieval Town in England 1200-1540

This book brings together twelve outstanding articles by eminent historians to throw light on the evolution of medieval towns and the lives of their inhabitants. The essays span the period from the dramatic urban expansion of the thirteenth century to the crises in the fifteenth century as a result of plague, population decline and changes in the economy. Throughout the breadth of current debates surrounding the history of urban society is fully explored.

Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction: The English town in the Middle Ages Richard Holt and Gervase Rosser. 2. Towns in English Medieval Society R H Hilton. 3. The English borough in the thirteenth century G H Martin. 4. The first half-century of the borough of Stratford-upon-Avon E M Carus-Wilson. 5. Small town society in England before the Black Death R H Hilton. 6. Suburban growth D J Keane. 7. Craftsmen and the economy of London in the fourteenth century E M Veale. 8. Gloucester in the century after the Black Death Richard Holt. 9. Ralph Holland and the London radicals 1438-1444 Caroline M Barron. 10. The commercial dominance of a medieval provincial oligarchy: Exeter in the late fourteenth century Maryanne Kowaleski. 11. The essence of medieval urban communities: The vill of Westminster 1200-1540 Gervase Rosser. 12. Ceremony and the citizen: The communal year at Coventry 1450-1550 Charles Phythian-Adams. 13. Urban decline in late medieval England R B Dobson. Index.