Topic 2 Required Reading

Kevin Reilly, The Human Journey, Chapter 5

Website: Medieval Towns – http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Towns/

Website: Medieval Town Life – http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Towns/Medieval-Town-Life.html

Website: Italian Cities – http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Towns/Italian-Cities.html

Website: Medieval England – daily life in medieval towns – http://www.britainexpress.com/History/Townlife.htm

Primary Sources:

Website: Documents Concerning the Origin of Guilds, 884-930 – http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/930orgngild.asp

Website: Guibert de Nogent: The Revolt in Laon, 1115 – http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/guibert-laon.asp

Website: Account of the setting up of self-government in Ipswich in A.D. 1200 – http://users.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/ipswich2.html

Website: The Chronicles of Venice: How the Doges Were Chosen – http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/dogesvenice.asp

Website: Southampton Guild Organization, 14th Century – http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/Halsall/source/guild-sthhmptn.asp

Discussion Prompts:

After reading Chapter 5 and the material at the websites, and viewing the video, please make a 300-word initial post that answers the following questions about the primary sources:

Some of the primary sources are legal documents while others are memoirs or narratives. How might their nature make a difference in what they contain? Does one type of primary source seem more reliable than the others? Taken together, what insights do the documents give you into the concerns, hopes, and preoccupations of European urban dwellers in the Middle Ages?