Cities of God? Medieval urban forms and their Christian symbolism

Abstract

Situated in the context of recent geographical engagements with 'landscape', this paper combines 'morphological' and 'iconographic' landscape interpretations to examine how urban forms were perceived in late medieval Europe. To date, morphological studies have mapped the medieval city either by classifying urban layouts according to particular types, or by analysing plan forms of particular towns and cities to reveal their spatial evolution. This paper outlines a third way, an 'iconographic' approach, which shows how urban forms in the Middle Ages conveyed Christian symbolism. Three such 'mappings' explore this thesis: the first uses textual and visual representations which show that the city was understood as a scaled-down world -a microcosm -linking city and cosmos in the medieval mind; the second 'mapping' develops this theme further and suggests that urban landscapes were inscribed with symbolic form through their layout on the ground; while the third looks at how Christian symbolism of urban forms was performed through the urban landscape in perennial religious processions. Each of these 'mappings' points to the symbolic, mystical significance urban form had in the Middle Ages, based on religious faith, and they thus offer a deepened appreciation of how urban landscapes were represented, constructed and experienced at the time.key words urban morphology medieval Europe landscape iconography

Sustopia or Cosmopolis? A Critical Reflection on the Sustainable City

“…At the same time, Plato drew a comparison between the Polis and the human body where the human limbs and faculties represented the larger scale arrangements and order of the 'cosmic body'. In Platonic and in later medieval times, the city was seen as a micro-cosmos that reflected the larger structure and order of the divine macro-cosmos: Cosmopolis [30,34]. In Plato's Cosmopolis, the centre of the city represented the highest order of the moral hierarchy (high reason, represented by the governing 'head' located in the citadel), whereas towards the fringes and outside of the city, the lower moral 'faculties' (or limbs) were represented, from sentries to farmers and wild, uncivilised nature outside the city walls.…”

“…In Plato's Cosmopolis, the centre of the city represented the highest order of the moral hierarchy (high reason, represented by the governing 'head' located in the citadel), whereas towards the fringes and outside of the city, the lower moral 'faculties' (or limbs) were represented, from sentries to farmers and wild, uncivilised nature outside the city walls. Achieving the highest 'Good' becoming a Philosopher King, or a little later for Aristotle, realising one's true human potential [14] was possible only through the symbolic and social geographies embedded in the structural and physical geography of the Polis [11,14,30,33,34].…”

“…In this time, Platonic and Aristotelian thought was flourishing within Christian thinking and it highly influenced writing, thinking and architecture: building the image of the 'Good City' in the shape of cathedral towns [30,34]. Medieval maps (Mappa Mundi) often show a world that is placed over the body of Christ.…”

“…Medieval maps (Mappa Mundi) often show a world that is placed over the body of Christ. Many maps of the city of Jerusalem, for example, show its circle of walls and gates opening towards the four corners of the wind, presenting the city itself as Christ's navel; the centre of the world [30,34]. As Lilley [34] describes in his symbolic deconstruction of the medieval city, the geometry of cities was key to the path to God.…”

“…Many maps of the city of Jerusalem, for example, show its circle of walls and gates opening towards the four corners of the wind, presenting the city itself as Christ's navel; the centre of the world [30,34]. As Lilley [34] describes in his symbolic deconstruction of the medieval city, the geometry of cities was key to the path to God. Not only the physical urban structure often a walled circular shape with a church in the centre and main roads connecting the (divine) centre with the (lower) peripheries played a symbolic role, but also Christian rituals such as processions from the city-periphery to the centre symbolised the path to God.…”