Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/339

 Medieval Life in Country and Town II. THE TOWNS AND GUILDS 409. Importance of Town Life. It is hardly necessary to point out that the gradual reappearance of town life in western Europe is of the greatest interest to the student of history. The A CASTLE WITH A VILLAGE BELOW IT A village was pretty sure to grow up near the castle of a powerful lord and might gradually become a large town cities had been the centers of Greek and Roman civilization, and in our own time they dominate the life, culture, and business enter- prise of the world. Were they to disappear, our whole life, even in the country, would necessarily undergo a profound change and tend to become primitive again like that of the age of Charlemagne. 410. Origin of the Medieval Towns. A great part of the medieval towns appear to have originated on the manors of feudal lords or about a monastery or castle. The French name for towns,