Myth, image and social process in the English medieval town

Abstract

This essay examines the nature and role of mythical histories in English medieval towns. Myths concerning the origins and special destinies of particular cities were widespread and long-lasting. For contemporaries they acquired meaning through their interaction with changing historical circumstances. Evidence for their circulation in both elite and popular domains is reviewed. Their significance was not unambiguous; they were, rather, contested territory, a means through which townspeople articulated their particular views about the nature and purpose of urban society. Their effect, therefore, could be to assist both in the formation and in the transformation of that society. Issue is taken with the argument that the early modern period saw a weakening of the potential force of such myths.

Nature, the past and the English town: a counter-cultural history

“…They were forever looking to the past to justify current political agendas as well as their overall status and identity, frequently rehearsing and embroidering their foundations myths, and jealously guarding their civic histories. 48 Arguably all this changed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with the shakeup in the urban hierarchy and the emergence of 'new' towns whose economic success depended upon innovatory technologies, commercial creativity and the adaptability and industriousness of their workforce. William Hutton recalled that when he first encountered the inhabitants of Birmingham in 1741, 'they were a species I had never seen: They possessed a vivacity I had never beheld: I had been among dreamers, but now I saw men awake.'…”

La Ciudad en La Historiografía Bajomedieval Y Altomoderna Hispana en Los Últimos Treinta Años: Líneas Para El Estudio De La Cultura E Identidad Urbana

“…Construirla es un acto de invocación, de búsqueda y creación que se manifi esta de diversas formas 53 . El colectivo elabora una imagen y un mito sobre sí y la ciudad que habita 54 . Las actuaciones son tomadas como elementos de consolidación identitaria individual y colectiva no en función solamente de la conexión existente entre miembros de un mismo cuerpo, sino en relación a su papel aglutinador frente al otro, frente al extraño, ajeno, que bien podía vivir dentro de la misma ciudad, y servía como elemento de reencuentro de la comunidad consigo misma mediante el acto de su segregación y eliminación 55 .…”

Carleton's book: William FitzStephen's ‘Description of London’ in a late fourteenth-century common-place book*

“…Dr. Gervase Rosser has recently argued a convincing case for the civic context of myths such as that of the Trojan foundation of London. 56 He based his argument on the widespread evidence he found for the popular currency of such myths. The inclusion of the legendary elements from FitzStephen in Carleton's book lends force to his argument.…”