Life in a mediæval city

The study reconstructs life in fifteenth-century York by surveying its physical layout, major buildings, fortifications, and river port, then examining civic institutions, parish government, and relations with royal and archiepiscopal authorities. It outlines commercial organization, guilds, crafts, markets, overseas trade and monetary matters, alongside social structures and dress. Religious practice and monastic foundations, hospitals, schooling, literacy, and the revival of learning are described in relation to daily routines. Chapters treat entertainments such as plays and festivals, public order and punishments, and the city's governing customs and ceremonies, offering a systematic portrait of urban society and institutions.