London, A Fourteenth-Century City and its People

Resource Overview

A resource of information about the cultural, political and social conditions of urban life in the capital of medieval England during the 1300s.

Historical Context

The medieval period was witness to a legion of political and natural disasters, the rise and fall of empires across the globe, and one of the most devastating pandemics in human history. The fourteenth century was transformative.

Focus on London

Peering through the looking-glass to focus on one of Europe's largest medieval cities, and centre of an international melting pot on the global stage, this is a social history of England's (in)famous capital and its multi-cultural residents in the first half of the fourteenth century.

Sources and Narrative

Using a rich variety of important sources that provide first-hand accounts of everyday life and personal interactions between loved ones, friends, foreigners and foes alike, such as the Assize of Nuisance, Coroners' Rolls, wills, household accounts, inquisitions post mortem and many more, this chronicle begins at the start of the fourteenth century and works its way up to the first mass outbreak of the Black Death at the end of the 1340s.

Historical Significance

It is a narrative that builds a vivid, multi-layered picture of London's inhabitants who lived in one of the most turbulent and exciting periods in European history.