The Rise of Cities in North-West Europe (Themes in International Urban History, Series Number 4)

For more than fifty years no synthesis has been written which systematically examines the growth and development of cities in north-west Europe. Adriaan Verhulst takes as his subject the history of urban settlements and towns in the region between the rivers Somme and Meuse from the late Roman period (fourth century) to the end of the twelfth century. This region comprises Flanders and Liège, two of the most urbanized areas, not only in the southern Netherlands but in northwestern Europe as a whole until the twelfth century. Fifteen towns are studied in all, and, supported by numerous maps, Professor Verhulst provides rich details of the impact of political, military, ecclesiastical, as well as social and economic, factors on the developing towns as they were transformed from regional markets to centres of industry and international commerce. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 4 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Maps......Page 8 Editor’s preface......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 A Note on place-names......Page 13 1 The transformation of the Roman towns......Page 17 The Meuse Valley......Page 18 The Scheldt Valley......Page 24 The North Sea coast......Page 31 Conclusion......Page 37 2 The nadir of urban life (sixth–seventh centuries)......Page 40 The Meuse Valley......Page 42 The Scheldt Valley......Page 49 The North Sea coast......Page 56 Conclusion......Page 58 The emporia on the southern North Sea and Channel coast......Page 60 The Meuse Valley......Page 63 Between North Sea and Scheldt......Page 67 The Viking raids......Page 75 Conclusion......Page 82 4 The urbanization of the high Middle Ages (tenth–eleventh centuries)......Page 84 The Meuse Valley......Page 86 Ghent......Page 91 The group of ecclesiastical towns: Arras, Tournai, Cambrai......Page 95 Bruges, Saint-Omer, Douai......Page 104 The tenth-century fortresses on the River Scheldt: Antwerp, Ename, Valenciennes......Page 114 Urban development in Brabant......Page 126 Conclusion......Page 129 The urban community and its organisation, the urban population and its origins......Page 135 Merchants’ guilds......Page 139 Sworn communes......Page 141 From sworn commune to aldermen’s rule......Page 143 Hanses......Page 147 Urban industry and commercial expansion......Page 149 The metal industry in the Meuse Valley......Page 150 The cloth industry in Flanders......Page 151 Flemish foreign trade......Page 153 Conclusion......Page 156 6 Conclusion......Page 165 Bibliography......Page 173 Index of cities and towns......Page 187 General index......Page 189 Verhulst examines fifteen towns, mainly situated on the rivers Meuse and Scheldt and along the North Sea coast of present day Belgium, Holland and France. He details the impact of political, military, ecclesiastical, economic and social factors on the development of towns from market towns to industrial centers. Arranged chronologically, the book charts the settlement and subsequent growth of the towns from the fourth to the twelfth centuries. Well illustrated with maps and with a full bibliography, this book will prove essential reading for students and scholars of historical and urban geography. Examines fifteen towns, mainly situated on the rivers Meuse and Scheldt and along the North Sea coast of present-day Belgium, Holland and France. The author provides details of the impact of political, military, ecclesiastical, economic and social factors on the development of these towns A Concise Study Of Large Time Frame (fourth-twelfth Centuries) Charting The Growth And Development Of Cities In North-west Europe.