Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/582

 498 Outlines of European History Unimpor- tance of town life in the early- Middle Ages Reappear- ance of towns in the eleventh century Origin of the medieval Compactness of a medi- eval town The Roman towns were decreasing in population before the German inroads. The confusion which followed the invasions hastened their decline, and a great number of them disappeared altogether. Those which survived and such new towns as sprang up were, to judge from the chronicles, of very little importance during the early Middle Ages. We may assume, therefore, that during the long period from Theodoric to Frederick Barbarossa by far the greater part of the population of England, Germany, and northern and central France were living in the country, on the great estates belonging to the feudal lords, abbots, and bishops.-^ It is hardly necessary to point out that the gradual reappear- ance of town life in western Europe is of the greatest interest to the student of history. The cities had been the centers of Greek and Roman civilization, and in our own time they dominate the life, culture, and business enterprise of the world. Were they to disappear, our whole life, even in the country, would neces- sarily undergo a profound change and tend to become primitive again, like that of the age of Charlemagne. A great part of the medieval towns, of which we begin to have some scanty records about the year looo, appear to have originated on the manors of feudal lords or about a monastery or castle. The French name for town, ville, is derived from " vill," the name of the manor, and we use this old Roman word when w^e call a town Jacksonz^z//^ or Harris27/7/<?. The need of protection was probably the usual reason for establishing a town with walls about it, so that the townspeople and the neighbor- ing country people might find safety within it when attacked by neighboring feudal lords (Fig. 178). The way in which a medieval town was built seems to justify this conclusion. It was generally crowded and compact com- pared with its more luxurious Roman predecessors. Aside from the market place there were few or no open spaces. There 1 In Italy and southern France town life was doubtless more general than in northern Europe.