10 largest cities of the Middle Ages.

 Few people associate the Middle Ages with the age of cities. We have a picture of an era when most of Europe's population lived in villages or near castles. However, cities began to play an important role, especially in the late Middle Ages. That is why it is worth taking a look at the cities that occupied the largest area, had the largest population, and were important cultural and economic centers in the region. Here is a compilation of the 10 largest medieval cities.

Medieval towns were built around new centers (a castle, a monastery, or an expanding village) or were a continuation of the towns that had existed in the previous epoch. This last statement concerns, first and foremost, the Mediterranean area.

In the early Middle Ages, the interest of the inhabitants of southern Europe in the cities of the northern part of the continent is low. (cf. Samsonowicz H., 2014: p. 284) The role of political and cultural centers was assigned rather to castles and monasteries. This starts to change around the 10th century.

Cities grew mainly where they were crossed by trade routes. Hence the growing role of Kyiv and Novgorod in Ruthenia, Krakow in the kingdom of the Piasts or Prague under the Přemyslid rule. At the same time, their role as political and religious centers grew. An example of such a city can be Gniezno, one of the 10 oldest cities in Poland, where the focal point was the Piast coronation cathedral and the relics of St. Wojciech.

The growth of cities in Europe actually begins in the 11th and 12th centuries. (Samsonowicz H., 2019: p. 287) In Poland even later, along with the dissemination of location, rights, and city privileges.

The expanding area of ​​cities depended on the interest of the population in urban life. Thanks to the development of craftsmanship, an increase in trade contacts between states, and a change in feudal relations, medieval cities began to attract people from the countryside. Not only peasants and artisans but also knights.

In the later Middle Ages (around the fourteenth century) in Europe, the division into states began to gain importance. (Samsonowicz H., 2014: pp. 119-121) The development of cities opened up new paths of promotion and made it possible to free oneself from feudal relations, which were stronger in the countryside. Cities increasingly held an important position in the formation of much later civil society. During the Middle Ages, many - from Italian city-states to German city-states - were based on self-government and were relatively independent of local kings and lords.

In Poland, the culture of free cities has not developed on the same scale as in the west. In spite of everything, we can also speak of the growing importance of urban autonomy. Especially in relation to Krakow. The more it is visible in the late Middle Ages when cities became the main driving force of the Prussian Union.

Describing the 10 largest cities in the Middle Ages, I will focus primarily on the centers that developed mainly in the 11th-15th centuries.

10 largest cities of the Middle Ages

1. Constantinople - this city deserves not only first place in the ranking. It was an unrivaled model for many medieval cities. At least when it comes to power, wealth, and architecture. Although its construction dates back to late antiquity, until the thirteenth century it was a power that was unmatched in the west. Around 1200 (just before the conquest by the Crusaders), it had about 400,000 inhabitants. At the same time, the largest cities in the West could have no more than 150,000. In addition, the population of Constantinople was richer, usually healthier, and better educated than the inhabitants of Paris or Venice (Samsonowicz H., 2014: p. 30)
2. Paris (110,000 around 1200, 228,000 around 1300) - some medieval cities grew rapidly between the 13th and the first half of the 14th century. For Paris, the transfer of the king's residence to that city and the founding of a university were of particular importance. Therefore, the city made a quick career from a provincial center during the Merovingian era to one of the 10 largest cities of the Middle Ages. Around 1300, Paris had (temporarily) more inhabitants than Constantinople. The Sorbonne's mightiest heads dealt with theological and legal dilemmas. (see Geremek B., 1972: pp. 8-37)
3. Thessalonica - Little is said about the areas between the Balkans and the Peloponnese in the Middle Ages. That is why historians forget about Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki) in popular statements. Due to its location, new political structures were constantly emerging here. Nevertheless, Thessalonica was the capital of successive kingdoms and empires. Even in the period of constant wars in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it could count up to 150,000. residents.
4. Milan - the city already existed here in the 4th century BC however, it made a real career by joining the Lombard League in the 12th century. Milan took an active part in the League's struggle with Frederick Barbarossa. Completely demolished in the course of the fighting, it nevertheless joined the 10 largest cities of the Middle Ages thanks to the help of the League, which invested in its reconstruction. In the 14th century, the city became an independent principality. The area of ​​the city was covered with magnificent buildings at that time, the most impressive of which is the Duomo cathedral. (On Italian cities see: Gierowski J. A., 1985; Mohlo A. et al., 1994)
5. Venice - mentioning the largest medieval cities, you cannot forget about Venice. One of the most important and powerful cities in the Middle Ages, it attracted the attention of many rulers. Urban structures occupied the surface of islands and artificial islands in the sea lagoon. Initially, a fishing village built on stilts, it grew in strength as a trading center from the 8th century. The inhabitants had excellent access to the sea and easier contact with the entire area around the Mediterranean Sea, and at the same time were safe from land invasions. (cf. Mohlo A. et al .: pp. 423-426)
6. Genoa - a city in northern Italy. The beginnings of settlement in this area date back to the 4th millennium BC. As a medieval port city, it began to play a special role from the 11th century. In the Middle Ages, it was one of the main centers of trade, and from the 16th century also of finance, in Europe. No wonder that new residents came here during the period of the greatest development. Like Venice, Genoa belongs to the medieval and modern maritime republics.
7. Florence - to this day one of the most beautiful Italian cities. The most intensive development of the city began at the end of the 11th century. From a town with 25 thousand. inhabitants have grown to 70 thousand. The city also increased the area from 24 to 75 ha. The peak population in the Middle Ages falls at the beginning of the 14th century.
8. Bruges - Medieval Flemish cities turned out to be not so big, but equally important in history. They occupied an area in the northern part of what is now Belgium. Bruges received city rights in the 12th century and by the beginning of the next century, it developed as a major center of trade with maritime republics. Although today it may seem like a small town, it can be safely classified as one of the 10 largest cities of the Middle Ages. Especially in the late Middle Ages, it grew to be the site of the first European stock exchange. Thanks to its position in the world of medieval trade and finance, it is called one of the "cradles of European capitalism". (For Flemish cities see: Samsonowicz H., 1958)
9. Antwerp - of the Flemish cities that dealt with trade, Antwerp was another important center. The city remembered the Roman times but began to gain economic importance after Bruges weakened. At the end of the 15th century, trade interests began to move here. Although Antwerp began to gain importance in the Renaissance, the population grew five or even tenfold at the end of the previous era.
10. Ghent - Like the rest of the Flemish cities, Ghent began to develop in the 11th century. By the thirteenth century, it had grown so much that it was the largest city north of the Alps, outside of Paris. The main commodity on which the local bourgeoisie grew rich was wool. As trade developed, the inhabitants of Ghent, however, switched to the sale and production of cloth and imported wool from England and Scotland.

Looking at the Middle Ages we are dealing with a very long and very diverse period. Therefore, it is not easy to choose the 10 largest medieval cities. While some cities were just emerging, others were already growing, and still, others experienced collapse or temporary difficulties. The greatest difficulty is to calculate the number of inhabitants. The bourgeoisie as a state did not begin to develop until the end of the epoch. Then also more detailed records of the population appear. The early Middle Ages have weaker documentation. Therefore, in the calculations, you can often find ranges from 80 to 200 thousand. residents. What to do with this? What was the position of such cities in relation to other centers?

You can focus on the surface. Medieval cities, as a rule, were not great. However, they grew quite rapidly from the 11th century onwards. Especially in Flanders and the Apennine Peninsula. The Middle Ages are an interesting epoch for cities, as we see their flourishing and the birth of early capitalism. The development of trade and agriculture plays a special role. However, these dynamic changes are not conducive to calculations and comparisons.

We see a similar tendency as in Western Europe in medieval Poland. The 10 oldest Polish cities have been developing especially since the 13th century (I mean cities that today are within Polish borders and were in some way related to the Polish crown in the Middle Ages, including Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań, Toruń, Elbląg, Lublin or Sandomierz). Contrary to appearances, a good period for the bourgeoisie is the period of district breakdown. The townspeople also benefited from the change of dynasty. Especially in the union with Hungary under Ludwik Andegaweński.

Although Polish cities were not included in the above list of the 10 largest medieval cities, they played an important role in international trade. Especially Krakow, which has become an important political, scientific, and craft center. (on the development of the craft see: Samsonowicz H., 2014: pp. 79-80)

It is worth adding here that medieval Polish cities grew and developed also thanks to locations under German law. This meant not only a better organizational structure. The population was largely German-speaking. This will be even more visible after the incorporation of Prussian cities in the 15th century.

The construction of new cities in the Middle Ages was based mainly on older settlements. They were castles or villages that played an important position on trade routes or played a political role. For example, Łomża received city rights only in the 15th century. Although a stronghold existed in the area from the 9th century. The area where the stronghold was located was an important point on the Prussian-Masovian border. Hence the interest of the rulers and local princes in the expansion of this place. The expansion meant not only that the area and type of buildings were increased. Buildings were built that determined the urban character of the settlement. First of all, the town hall and the church.

The largest cities of the Middle Ages were most often centers of great independence from the rulers, impressive growth rates, and the role they played in the European landscape. Many of them played an important role in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Bibliography:

• Bronisław Geremek, Everyday Life in Villona's Paris, PIW 1972
• Józef Andrzej Gierowski, History of Italy, Ossolineum 1985
• Anthony Mohlo et al., City-States in Classical Antiquity and Medieval Italy, The University of Michigan Press 1994
• Henryk Samsonowicz, Studies in the history of cities in the Middle Ages, AMU 2014
• Henryk Samsonowicz, Hansa, ruler of the seas, Book and Knowledge 1958