Mediterranean Cities in the Early Middle Ages, lecture by Caroline Goodson (University of Cambridge), Central European University via Zoom, October 7, 2021, 5:30–7:00 pm 

The Western Roman empire splintered and dissolved in the fifth and sixth centuries, leaving echoes of a coherent political system anchored in the cities. The imperial administrative structures which united the territories of the empire had been prominently urban and governance had taken a predominantly urban, civic shape in antiquity. Cities played a variety of roles in post-Roman kingdoms, sometimes affording a platform for construction of new political authorities, sometimes providing alternative economic networks away from royal or aristocratic centres. In Mediterranean lands, they were bigger, more diverse, and more closely bound to political authority. This evening’s lecture will explore life in cities of the early medieval Mediterranean (c. 500-c.1100), North, South, East and West, looking at civic participation — if such a thing can be identified in the early Middle Ages — and consider the political uses of urbanism.

Caroline Goodson is an archaeologist and historian at the University of Cambridge. 

Advance registration required.