Yes, I'm sure I do have some info on that... but alas, I'm surfin' on the boss's nickel right now so when I get home and access my own links/sources, I'll post something for you.Originally Posted by Feralspirit
Medieval economics is quite important to how many of us build our worlds and regions and towns. There are numerous questions that we all have opinions and theories on but no real facts (how many farms do we need to support a city of "x" size, what's the ratio of noble to commoner in a city of "x" size). So any tips/links you can add would be of true value. Welcome by the way, and knock knock.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
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The medieval demographics made easy is a great place to start. For example right off the bat I can answer your farm question. Good arable land can support about 180 people per acre. Average medieval city density is between 60-100 people per acre so your farmland should be larger than your city by 2-3 times.
Shh, I know, I'm just trying to sound encouraging
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
When did the convention of street names really come about?
I had always assumed that streets were referred to by where they went, with the possibility that one road might have several different "names" depending on who owned it, who used it, and which way they were going on it; and that true, organized street names didn't really exist pre industrial revolution.
The Wikipedia pages for "coracle" and "punt" should give you good information about the size/type of rivercraft that was mostly in use on medieval rivers of western Europe.
Indeed, that's precisely the source I would offer for that question.
As a scholar of medieval economics, I can vouch for most of the info from that source for being quite accurate. I actually created my own formula for populating a local economy, sizes and densities of towns/cities, etc. and the formula I created is almost identical to the one given at that link-source! (medieval demographics is a specialty interest of mine).
Btw, the average size of a medieval village with a population of roughly 300 people would be about 3-4 square miles in total area (fields, meadows, forest).
Yes, the Romans named streets based on 'where they went'.
And although I don't know when the naming of streets began, I can certainly attest to the fact that 11th century Norman London had street names. Many old medieval street names in towns reflect the 'usage' of the street (cobbler's row, wood street, church street, castle street, bridge street, canal street, even "Jew Lane" is fairly common).
But you are correct that these names were rarely 'formalized' and in some cases, a single street or road could have more than one name - depending on who you asked. Official names for all streets usually begins with the Industrial revolution period.
Last edited by WhiteRabbit; 02-11-2009 at 06:32 PM.
I'm not sure about the middle ages, but i know a few facts about Roman cities.
The Romans had official street names, they even had street signs. The problem was that 90% of the people didn't know how to read or write
They did have a chess block building pattern and at most of the cross roads there was a water well. Next to most water well's was a statue.
Both plebians and patricians used these statues for directions more often than the official street names. "Hey let's go to the bathhouse at the three lions." or "Lets meet at the forum, on the corner of the Greek nymph!"
Most people living in the middle ages didn't know how to read and write either, so i suspect something similar would occur. I know a few street names from old towns here in holland, and most of them have a street called Molenweg (mill road), kerkweg (church road), damstraat (damstreet).
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