Life in a mediæval city : $b illustrated by York in the XVth century — John Shaqi
Life in a mediæval city : $b illustrated by York in the XVth centuryBenson, Edwin
History
Life in a mediæval city : $b illustrated by York in the XVth century
Benson, Edwin
York (England) -- History; York (England) -- Social life and customs
Within the city there was a number of sub-entities, each
self-contained and definitely marked off, often by enclosing,
embattled walls. Such was the Minster, which stood within its close.
The Liberty of the Minster of St. Peter included the parts of the city
immediately round the Minster, the Archbishop's Palace, and the Bedern
(a small district in the city where some of the Minster clergy lived
collegiately), and groups of houses and odd dwellings scattered
throughout other parts of the city and the county and elsewhere.
Individual monasteries formed further such sub-entities; for instance
St. Mary's Abbey, which was actually outside the city walls, but
within its own defensive walls; the Franciscan Friary near the Castle;
Holy Trinity Priory; the royal Hospital of St. Leonard. The Castle,
which obviously had to be enclosed and capable of maintaining and
enduring isolation, was independent of the city. Each of these
ecclesiastical institutions enjoyed a large measure of freedom from
the rule of the municipal authorities. The city was also subdivided
into parishes, which, of course, were not enclosed by walls. The
parish boundaries, although less well defined than those of the areas
above mentioned, were none the less distinctly marked.
B. STREETS
Streets, as we use the word to-day, were quite few in number. They
were usually called gates and were mostly continuations of the great
high-roads that came into and through the city, after crossing the
wild country that covered most of northern England, a desert in which
a city was an oasis and a sanctuary. In the lofty and graceful open
lantern-tower of All Saints, Pavement, a lamp was hung to guide
belated travellers to the safety and hospitality that obtained within
the city walls. For the same purpose a bell was rung at St. Michael's,
Ouse Bridge.
There were a few buildings along the high-roads just outside the great
entrances, the Bars. Besides the few hovels and huts there were
hospitals for travellers. There were four hospitals for lepers, the
most wretched of all the sufferers from mediæval lack of cleanliness.
Most of the streets were mere alleys, passages between houses and
groups of buildings. They were very narrow and often the sky could
hardly be seen from them because of the overhanging upper storeys of
the buildings along each side. Goods in the Middle Ages and right down
to the nineteenth century were carried in towns by hand. Carriages and
waggons and carts were not very numerous and would have no need to
proceed beyond the main streets and the open squares. If men must
journey off their own feet, they rode horses. Pack-horses were used
regularly to carry goods, where nowadays a horse or, more probably, a
steam or motor engine would easily pull the goods conveniently placed
on a cart or lorry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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