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Urban history of the medieval Low Countries: research trends and new perspectives (2000–10)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2011

JELLE HAEMERS
JELLE HAEMERS*
Affiliation:
Department of Medieval History, University of Leuven, Blijde Inkomststraat 21 – bus 3307, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Extract

The historiography of medieval cities in the Low Countries has long been influenced by the legacy of Henri Pirenne (1862–1935) and his pupils. The Belgian historian and his followers used new (positivist) methods to study history, such as critical source analysis and teaching in seminars, which had a great impact on contemporary scholars in Belgium and elsewhere. Furthermore, Pirenne's selection of original research topics drastically changed the study of medieval history on the Continent. Influenced by research trends in France and Germany, Pirenne did ground-breaking new research, for instance, in the field of urban history. His publications on the origins of towns, on the ‘early democracies’ in the Low Countries, and on the socio-economic background of urban growth and decline inspired many colleagues and his students. His research on particular topics in the field of urban history has, until the present day, been a fruitful starting point for many Ph.D. students. Three of these topics constitute the subject of this review article: first, the origins of towns; secondly, the social history of urban politics and thirdly, the economy and finances of cities. This review of recent Ph.D. theses on the urban history of the Low Countries will demonstrate the importance of Pirenne's legacy, paying close attention to the valuable refinements that have been made to his findings in the last decade. Moreover, the actual research trends and the fresh perspectives of young scholars on the Low Countries’ history can be of great use for scholars of the history of cities in other regions in late medieval Europe.

Type
Research Article
Information
Urban History , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , August 2011 , pp. 345 - 354
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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References

1 A bibliography and analysis of Pirenne's work can be found in Lyon, B., Henri Pirenne: A Biographical and Intellectual Study (Ghent, 1974)Google Scholar; particularly on urban history: Boone, M. and Billen, C., ‘L'histoire urbaine en Belgique: construire l'après-Pirenne, entre tradition et rénovation’, Città e storia, 5 (2010), 3–22Google Scholar; Boone, M., À la recherche d'une modernité civique. La société urbaine des anciens Pays-Bas au bas Moyen Âge (Brussels, 2010), 13–33Google Scholar.

2 See Pirenne's Medieval Cities, their Origins and the Revival of Trade (Princeton, 1925). For what follows see Marez, G. Des, ‘Le développement territorial de Bruxelles au Moyen Âge’, in 1er Congrès International de Géographie Historique (Brussels, 1935), vol. III, 1–90Google Scholar; Blockmans, F., Het Gentsche stadspatriciaat tot omstreeks 1302 (Antwerp, 1938)Google Scholar; Bonenfant, P., ‘Une capitale au berceau: Bruxelles’, Annales ESC, 4 (1949), 298–310Google Scholar; Verhulst, A., The Rise of Cities in North-Western Europe (Cambridge, 1999)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 P. Charruadas, ‘Bruxelles et ses campagnes. Croissance économique et actions aristocratiques, haut Moyen Âge–XIIIe siècle’ (University of Brussels Ph.D. thesis, 2008). A summary in idem, ‘Les premiers siècles de l'histoire de Bruxelles (11e–13e siècles). La perspective des rapports ville-campagne’, Cahiers Bruxellois, 41 (2009), 31–42; and in his ‘La genèse de l'aristocratie urbaine à Bruxelles au miroir de l'historiographie italienne (XIIe–XIVe siècles). Entre service militaire à cheval et activités civiles lucratives’, Histoire urbaine, 21 (2008), 49–68.

4 C. Deligne, ‘Bruxelles et le bassin de la Senne. Gestion hydraulique et dynamiques urbaines, Moyen Âge–19e siècle’ (University of Brussels Ph.D. thesis, 2001), published version: Bruxelles et sa rivière. Genèse d'un territoire urbain, 12e–18e siècle (Turnhout, 2003); B. Vannieuwenhuyze, Brussel, de ontwikkeling van een middeleeuwse stedelijke ruimte (University of Ghent Ph.D. thesis, 2008), publication is scheduled for 2011.

5 NB: the name Brussels is derived from ‘Broek-zele’, which means settlement next to the swamp. Vannieuwenhuyze, B., ‘Wegen in beweging. De in- en uitvalswegen van middeleeuws Brussel voor de 13de eeuw’, Cahiers Bruxellois, 41 (2009), 7–29Google Scholar. See also Charruadas, P. and Deligne, C., ‘La ville au milieu des marais: dynamiques entre économie urbaine et zones humides dans la région de Bruxelles, XIIe–XVIe siècles’, Aestuaria, 9 (2007), 65–82Google Scholar.

6 See his famous Histoire de Belgique (Brussels, 1900–32) and ‘The formation and constitution of the Burgundian State (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries)’, American Historical Review, 14 (1909), 477–502.

7 Translated as Belgian Democracy. Its Early History (London, 1915) and, with a more correct title: Early Democracies in the Low Countries. Urban Society and Political Conflict in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (New York, 1963).

8 E.g. Tilly, C. and Blockmans, W. (eds.), Cities and the Rise of States in Europe, A.D. 1000 to 1800 (Oxford, 1994)Google Scholar.

9 J. Haemers, ‘Stedelijke opstanden en staatsvorming in het graafschap Vlaanderen, 1477–1492’ (University of Ghent Ph.D. thesis, 2006); published version: For the Common Good. State Power and Urban Revolts in the Reign of Mary of Burgundy, 1477–1482 (Turnhout, 2009). See also ‘Factionalism and state power in the Flemish Revolt (1477–1492)’, Journal of Social History, 42 (2009), 1009–39; and Dumolyn, J. and Haemers, J., ‘Patterns of urban rebellion in medieval Flanders’, Journal of Medieval History, 31 (2005), 369–93CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

10 F. Buylaert, ‘Eeuwen van ambitie. Edelen, steden en sociale mobiliteit in laatmiddeleeuws Vlaanderen’ (University of Ghent Ph.D. thesis, 2008); published version: Eeuwen van ambitie. De adel in laatmiddeleeuws Vlaanderen (Brussels, 2010). See also his ‘The “Van Boschuysen Affair” in Leyden. Conflicts between elite networks in late medieval Holland’, Francia 35 (2008), 95–113. M. Van Dyck, ‘De pacificering van de Europese samenleving. Repressie, gedragspatronen en verstedelijking in Brabant tijdens de lange zestiende eeuw’ (University of Antwerp Ph.D. thesis, 2007). See also idem, ‘De stad als onafhankelijke variabele en centrum van moderniteit. Langetermijntrends in stedelijke en rurale criminaliteitspatronen in de Nederlanden (1300–1800)’, Stadsgeschiedenis, 1 (2006), 7–26.

11 Pirenne, H., ‘The stages in the social history of capitalism’, American Historical Review, 19 (1914), 494–515 (quotation on 504)CrossRefGoogle Scholar. See also his Les villes du Moyen Âge: essai d'histoire économique et sociale (Paris, 1927). Of course, in the past century, many scholars have modified many of Pirenne's hypotheses concerning the economic evolution of the medieval west. However, analysing these refinements would lead us too far afield.

12 Bonney, R. (ed.), Economic Systems and State Finance (Oxford, 1995)Google Scholar, and idem (ed.), The Rise of the Fiscal State in Europe c. 1200–1815 (Oxford, 1999).

13 B. Lambert, ‘De Genuese aanwezigheid in laatmiddeleews Brugge (1435–1495). Een laboratorium voor de studie van instellingen en hun rol in de economische geschiedenis’ (University of Ghent Ph.D. thesis, 2011). A preliminary study of the Rapondi family can be found in his The City, the Duke and their Banker. The Rapondi Company and the Formation of the Burgundian State (1384–1430) (Turnhout, 2006). See also Haemers, J. and Lambert, B., ‘Pouvoir et argent. La fiscalité d'état et la consommation du crédit des ducs de Bourgogne (1384–1506)’, Revue du Nord, 91 (2009), 39–59Google Scholar.

14 D. Kusman, ‘Financiers du prince ou “usuriers publics”? Le rôle des banquiers piémontais dans les villes du duché de Brabant (XIIIe–XIVe siècles)’ (University of Brussels Ph.D. thesis, 2008); publication is scheduled for 2011. See also his study on the most famous Piedmontese banker in Brabant: ‘Jean de Mirabello dit van Haelen (ca. 1280–1333). Haute finance et Lombards en Brabant dans le premiers tiers du XIVe siècle’, Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, 77 (1999), 843–931.