There are
many different methods and theories that are popular in the study of medieval
towns and their natural context. The subject is not limited to a single discipline,
but is multidisciplinary in its nature and can be approach in a great variety
of ways. As this blog is concerned with medieval landscapes it could be
interesting to raise a few questions putting the study of urban settlements
into the context of landscape studies as a whole. We will start by exploring a
bit the Historical English Landscape Tradition which has dominated much of
European studies of historical landscapes.
My previous studies have mostly been focused
on British material, where we actually find quite a gap in literature and
articles discussing the natural context of medieval towns. This is mostly a
result of the historical geographical heritage in England in which English landscape
archaeology and landscape studies in general have their roots. This particular
branch of study is commonly known as “the English landscape tradition”. The
English landscape tradition is mostly in methodology based on the works of
geographer W.G. Hoskins and archaeologist O.G.S. Crawford and as studies of
urban landscape is also very interdisciplinary in its nature. The now deceased
Hoskins appears as the central character and idol of this movement and the
story of his life is in many ways important in order to understand the roots of
the English landscape tradition .
One of the more interesting episodes of
Hoskins life is the fact that he spent five years in London during the second
world war. As a man grown up wandering around the countryside of Devon it is
understandable that he hated the mere idea of living in this urban metropolis.
Apparently he spent these years in reflection with a certain sadness in seeing
all his countrymen living this in his opinion “rootless life” (Johnson 2007:
37-8).
This experience, in combination with Hoskins
inspiration from romantic authors such as William Wordsworth (Johnson 2007:
20-22) contributed to his mostly rural and picturesque ideals of historical
landscape. It should also be noted that Hoskins promoted investigations of
local history rather than regional or nationwide studies. This was rooted in
the idea that you must be connected with your object of study, both physically
and mentally, in order to understand that particular landscape. It should also
be noted that as Hoskins considered himself mentally directly connected with
his medieval ancestors (see post below) he must therefore have considered that
linkage through related blood should make this connection even stronger. This
has obviously had a huge impact on landscape studies in Britain, which are
nowadays mostly focused on small local studies without making comparisons to
larger areas of land. Assumptions and generalisations are made by analysing
smaller case studies without reference to a larger picture.
This ideal in many ways speaks against
studies of urban landscapes which are vast areas in the present mostly
considered non-rural. These places does not usually provoke the romantic
picturesque nostalgia so highly valued by Hoskins and are therefore not deemed
valid objects of study to landscape historians or archaeologists. This is reflected
in much of the work done on Englands historical landscape focused on fields,
farmlands and villages in quite small areas or regions. Large scale
interpretations are more rarely found and almost none of them analysing urban
settlements as more than a backdrop for the rural civilisation. This might be
legitimized by the fact that in medieval times agricultural society dominated
the landscape and was a central part of the feudal world. It can therefore be
argued that rural forms of life is a better representation of the medieval
world than the urban or aristocratic ones.
In conclusion, it is sad that studies of
urban landscapes is so underrepresented in the vast world of English landscape
studies. This is especially true since the coming of the post-processual era in
archaeology, where we before could find at least several attempts at tackling
this subject. England is an interesting country to study from this perspective,
and there are still many questions yet to be answered.
