Paul Hindle

Paul Hindle's slim volume Medieval Town Plans (64 pp. including index) is a short but useful example of how history, geography and archaeology can (and should) be used together. His goal is to consider the growth of the medieval town in conjunction with economic growth and trade. He contends that while early settlements grew up around fortified areas, later towns tended to grow out of market areas instead of defensive sites.

Next, he illuminates strategies to chart how towns grew, which include not only the common sources used by historians (charters and the like) but also maps, archaeological reports, and (probably most commonly overlooked by historians) the town itself -- pointing out features that most often are original and less likely to have changed or moved. He then considers the major features of medieval towns, such as markets, churches and walls, and shows how to trace them in relation to other changes.

The large number of clear reproductions of town plans and maps and photographs are possibly the best feature; he takes care to illustrate every step of his method with good examples. The text is short but easily readable. Hindle gives a clear and very practical introduction to a toolset useful to anyone interested in medieval urban history.… (meer)