medieval period

1. TITLE
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: PLANNING THOUGHTS & PHILOSOPHY-2022
Submitted to
S.M. Goutham konikar, M.Tech. URP,(Ph.D.),
DST Inspire Fellow/Faculty
Submitted By:
Student Name, M.Tech. URP,
School of planning and architecture,
University of Mysore.
SUITABLE PICTURE/LOGO
REPRESENTING YOUR TOPIC

2. INTRODUCTION TO MEDIEVAL PERIOD
By the 5th century A.D After the fall of Rome came a period called middle ages or
medieval times
EUROPE AFTER THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Barbarian kingdoms conquered Rome, Europe was plagued by constant warfare
They destroyed many fine buildings and works of art that had existed during Roman
times.
warfare disrupted trade, destroyed Europe’s cities & forced people to rural areas
The population of western Europe became mostly rural
Many of the old arts and crafts were lost
Learning declined; few people could read or write
Hence, cities collapsed & went backwards to the period of 500 years. This indeed was a
chaotic phase of life

3. In the west, europe grew weak & fell into the middle ages known as
“Dark Ages” ( Dark Ages – it is term that brings images of wars,
destruction and death
(It is the largest city and the byzantine empire become a centre for
trade & roman culture)

4. CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDEIVAL PERIOD
t is the largest city and the byzantine empire become a centre for trade & roman culture)
1. GEOGRAPHY/PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
 Eastern Roman empire- shift of capital from Rome
to Byzantine (Constantinople)
 Rise of Feudalism
 Rise of Islamic culture in Persia, which evently
took over Eastern Europe, North Africa and some
parts of Spain.
2. SOCIO ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
 Insecurity of life increased the importance
religion
 Agriculture is the basis for wealth
 lands divided up into self sufficient manners
 peasants(serfs) worked the land and paid rent in
exchange for protection

5. CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDEIVAL PERIOD
3. SOCIO ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
 western civilization declined
 The whole Roman Empire and other countries
were divided into smaller units
 Trade was disintegrated
 Protection and defence became of Paramount
importance
 Development of Feudalism-King, knights &
peasants
Feudalism :
“Hierarchical” system of government in which local
lords governed their own lands but owned military
services and other support to a greater lord

6. The king had plenty of land; but the could not control
it all. So he gave land to lords
Lords then gave their land to knights in exchange for
protection, service at war, loyalty.
Knights let serfs(peasants) work the land and they got
protection food and shelter.
kings
Tenants-in-chief
Knights(lords)
Peasants
Feudalism ( social system)
Problem with the feudalism
No strong central government
 king must ask his lords for knights in time of war
 king must ask his lords for money to pay for
things
 lords hold most of the power
 lords constantly fighting among themselves

7. ROLE OF CHURCH AND CHRISTIANITY
 a new force called christianity – many followers look
up the faith and a big network evovled in villages from
pope to preist.
Center of religious and social life
 All christians belonged to one church –Roman
catholic church
 provide leardership in an unstable time
s important if not more important than many

8. Clergy in roman catholic church
Pope : he was the spiritual ad political leader
of the chruch
Cardinals and bishops: cardinals helped the
pope run the chruch . The bishops ran the
dioceses,areas with several churches
Priests: individual churches and administered
the sacraments including comminication
,matrimony to most catholics
Monks and nuns: monks and nuns lived in
isolated communinities. They learned to read
latin ,grew their own food and copied and
translated religious texts.

9. The church role in society
Services: provide people with sacraments ( baptism) religious ceremonies ( in which
a member of the church received the grace of god
Art and architecture : -most art was for religious purposes
- Most people couldn’t read ,art helped tell christ’s story
Monasteries- place where religious followers called monks and nuns practiced a life
of prayer and worship. They also studied christian works and copied the bible
Political roles: strong ties to europes nobility –local princes were officials bishops
Education- a group of people who live by rules specific to their order- separate
themselves from society to focus on prayer –made up of monks, nuns and friars
Universities –cathedrals became the centre of education and power of bishops
-As cities grew cathedrals expanded into universities
- taught greek and roman philosophy

10. • Founded on irregular terrains, occupying hills tops or islands
• Towns were walled and fortified –like an island in a hostile
world.
• Irregular road pattern inside the fortification wall-to
confuse the invaders; but roads were paved
• The most commanding position was occupied by the church
• Roads generally radiated from church plaza & market plaza
to gates with secondary lateral roadways connecting them

11. Medieval City
HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: PLANNING THOUGHTS & PHILOSOPHY-2022
Submitted to
S.M. Goutham konikar, M.Tech.
URP,(Ph.D.),
DST Inspire Fellow/Faculty
Submitted By: Azizulah Mohiby
Student Name, M.Tech. URP,
School of planning and architecture,
University of Mysore.

12. Medieval City
The medieval towns usually grew up around a castle or monastery, or
followed the contour of a hillside, or a river-bank. As a result, they
had steep, meandering streets, with irregular width. As the land available
within the walls of the medieval towns was limited, the streets were narrow.
Fig 1: medieval city
The cities founded on irregular terrains, occupying hill tops or island which
build by merchant, craftsman and shopkeeper against feudalism, hence
local loyalties grew up.
Towns were walled and fortified like an island in a hostile world with
irregular roads pattern inside the fortification wall to confuse the invaders,
but the roads were paved where the most commanding position was
occupied by the church, since the commanding position of church give a
singular unity of the town.

13. CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDEIVAL CITIES/TOWNS
• The most common meeting place was the market square
under the supervision of Guilds.
• Civic buildings around it.
• Open spaces, the Piazza (public square or marketplace),
streets, the plazas developed as an integral part of site.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDEIVAL OPEN SPACE
• Demarcated by continuous row of public buildings
• Monuments stand off the main street
• Open Centre for congregation
• Sides appear to be closed
• Proportion was to enhance principal buildings-
width not more than twice the height

14. CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDEIVAL HOUSE
 House were simple, living and sleeping spaces
were in the upper floor, the ground floor used
for storage, workshops and kitchen.
 Waste disposal within house rarely provided
(only some had privies).
 Thatch covered roof, walls, floors and
sometimes used as fire proof for roof.
 Streets were usually paved and maintained by
the owner of the property facing upon them.

15. Medieval town foundation
The process of medieval urbanization proceeded from West -->
East and from South --> North. The great urban colonization of
much of Europe was characterized by Bastides, planned,
geometric new towns. It was a period of great colonization in
which the urban ideal was firmly implanted on a largely rural
continent. Medieval colonization has been compared by some
with that of classical Greece.
Not only new towns but existing villages and hamlets are
extended, spontaneously or by design, and cities grow and
flourish widely.

16. a. Size
In terms of size, the medieval city was designed and
organized for a limited population and built on a
pedestrian scale (cf. Classical Greece):
Medium sized towns not over 50 ha [124 acres]
Small sized towns 4-10 ha [10-25 acres}
b. Orientation
Medieval Cities of Europe were orientated in relation to their
topography.
Intentional orientation is not noticeable; layouts of towns and
cities do not observe the four cardinal points as in Antiquity.
c. Shape
The shape or outline of town plans was delineated by
the wall which would best protect the city.
A wall had to have the shortest circumference
possible and take advantage of topographical
features. Obviously, this often limited the use of
geometric shapes; yet simple, geometric plans were
adopted whenever possible, especially in flat country.
d. LOCATION
For obvious historical reasons, the most characteristic
developments took place in Germany. The thinly populated
country with much fewer remainders of Roman town
planning than Italy and France brought forth a much wider
variety of urban forms. Thus, German examples of medieval
towns will outnumber by far those from other European
countries, exactly as Italy comes to the fore in the
Renaissance and France during the 17th and 18th centuries.

17. CLASSIFICATION
Medieval towns can be classified according to function e.g.:
• especially in Scandinavia and Britain
•Farm Towns -
• Toledo, Edinburgh, Tours, Warwick
•Fortress Towns -
• York, Chartres
•Church Towns -
• Florence, Siena
•Merchant Prince Towns -
• Hanseatic League towns
•Merchant Guild Towns -

18. fig. Farm town fig. Merchant Guild Towns
fig. Fortress town fig. Merchant Prince Towns

19. Three main
important
town
Carcassonne
Mont Saint
Michel
NORDLINGEN
Important Towns Of Medieval Times

20. TOWN PLANNING PRINCIPLES OF CARCASSONNE.
1. Carcassonne is a fortified medieval walled city in south western
France
2. The City of Carcassonne’s double row of fortified walls run almost two
miles long and accentuated by 56 imposing watchtowers
3. The fortification was protected by the construction of a defensive wall
some 1,200 m in length and a moat.
4. The Roman heritage: its ideas of law, organization and administration
of cities, city life, and its municipal organization was preserved.
5. The city of Carcassonne followed a irregular pattern (organic growth)
of planning composing of market square, castle and church.
6. Marketplace near the town gates
7. Church of St. Nazaire at one end
8. The market square has narrow streets which also follows an irregular
pattern.

21. TOWN PLANNING PRINCIPLES OF NORDLINGEN
1. This pretty medieval town, with a population of 20000, is
situated entirely inside a massive meteorite crater 25 km
across.
2. 25 km meteor crater created about 15 million years ago.
3. Free town under the Roman Empire
4. Played an important role in trade.
5. Wall around town surrounded by a moat
6. Organic layout of town
7. Radial pattern of irregular roadways
8. Church plaza at the focal point of town

22. THANK YOU

23. Medieval Technology
 Agricultural Tools
• The plow is considered to be one of the most important (and oldest) technologies developed.
• In the Middle Ages, however, the plow was radically improved and was used with multiple-
oxen teams.
• there was a dramatic increase in agricultural productivity, and subsequently, the population of
these areas.
 The Harnessing of Time
• Mechanical clocks were first used in China, more for astronomical and astrological purposes
rather then for telling the time.
• the first clocks were created about 5000 to 6000 years ago by the great civilizations in the
Middle East and North Africa.

24.  The Use of Iron and Mining in the Middle Ages
 One of the most important developments in the Middle Ages was the experimentation and developments in
iron production.
 The above ground reduction furnace had been developed
 This iron could then be forged by local smiths into parts for plows, spades, pitchforks, and shoes for horses.
Weaving and the Textile Industry
 cloth making that the first industrialization occurred during the Middle Ages.
 All cloth was woven by hand on a loom and the most common materials of this time period were wool,
cotton, silk, and linen.
 During the Medieval Age, wool was the dominant textile with linen as the next important manufactured
textile produced.

26. LITERATURE IN MEDIEVAL PERIOD
Medieval literature is defined broadly as any work written in Latin or the vernacular between c. 476-
1500, including philosophy, religious treatises, legal texts, as well as works of the imagination.
Language & Audience
Literary works were originally composed in Latin, but poets began writing in vernacular (the common language of the
people) as early at the 7th century. Vernacular literature was further popularized in Britain in the Kingdom of Wessex
by Alferd the Great(871-899) in an attempt to encourage widespread literacy and other regions then followed suit.

27. Religion in the Middle Ages
 Religion in the Middle Ages, though dominated by the Catholic Church, was far more varied than only orthodox Christianity.
 Practices such as fortune-telling, dowsing, making charms, talismans, or spells to ward off danger or
bad luck, incantations spoken while sowing crops or weaving cloth, and many other daily observances
were condemned by the medieval Church which tried to suppress them.
 Jewish scholars and merchants contributed to the religious make-up of medieval Europe as well as
those who lived in rural areas who simply were not interested in embracing the new religion and,
especially after the First Crusade.

28. Women in the Middle Ages
 How Women Lived So far you have been reading mostly about the lives of men in the Middle Ages.
Unfortunately, there is less information about women in Europe during this time. However, there were some
women whose lives were so extraordinary that they became famous.
 Poor Health In the Middle Ages, people had very different ideas about health and medicine than we do today.
Many people died from diseases, and few lived as long as the average modern American.
 Although women had fewer options than men, it was possible for women to go into business with their
husbands. And if their husbands died, they were allowed to continue to work.

29. ART AND ARCHITECTURE
 After the Edict of Milan legalized Christianity, new public places of worship were built in quick
succession in Rome, Constantinople and the Holy Land under Constantine the Great.
 Built in Constantinople after the Nika riots, the Hagia Sophia was the largest single roofed structure of
the Roman world.
 Magnificent halls built of timber or stone were the centres of political and social life all over the early
Middle Ages.
 Carolingian art was produced for a small group of figures around the court, and the monasteries and
churches they supported.

30. SOCIETY
 The High Middle Ages was a period of tremendous expansion of population. The estimated population of
Europe grew from 35 to 80 million between 1000 and 1347.
 Accounting methods improved, partly through the use of double-entry bookkeeping.
 Bills of exchange also appeared, enabling easy transmission of money.
 As many types of coins were in circulation, money changers facilitated transactions between local and
foreign merchants.