How Urban was Medieval England?
Christopher Dyer argues for an upgrading of the town’s importance in the Middle Ages.
Medieval England is usually described as overwhelmingly rural. The vast majority of the population – nine-tenths or an even higher proportion – are said to have lived off the land as peasants or rural labourers, and those with power and influence, both lay lords and churchmen, drew their wealth from the broad acres of their country estates. This rural picture is imprinted in our minds by literary images like Piers Plowman sowing his half acre, and Robin Hood roaming in the greenwood. But these characters were part of a medieval rural myth.
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