An examination of uses of late medieval urban social space: Coventry and Leicester

ABSTRACT A multi-disciplinary approach allows us to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge about late medieval urban spaces and how they were used. In particular, the mapping of data onto colour-coded maps permits a view of social zoning hitherto not previously examined. While the vast and disparate data cannot often be used with precision, a sampled approach focusing on core and peripheral areas is sufficient to provide at least a schematic picture of the use of social space in towns, and the results highlight a number of urban developments. The fifteenth century appears to be one of great change in the way that large towns were organised economically and socially, and with more social zoning than has previously been recognized.