부산대학교 도서관

Derek Keene, The property market in English towns, A.D. 1100-1600, p. 201-226. By 1100 England had a good number of populous towns. A monetized urban property market, based on high land values, already existed by the 10th century. Extensive records survive from the 12th century onwards, and are now being used in ways which make it possible reliably to compare the values of properties over time, and between different localities. Trends in values reflect a complex interaction between demographic, economic, and political change. Town-dwellers displayed a consistent response to the property market throughout the period. Urban property was a means of storing rather than of creating wealth, and its use by private individuals was closely related to career- and life- cycles. The fragmentation of holdings (especially in the period up to 1300) and highly differentiated values, both produced by the market, profondly influenced the physical appearance and the social topography of towns. Legal changes altered the structure of urban estates, making it possible for landlords to maintain control over their holdings in the long term. After 1600, newly built-up areas could thus take on a new form, contrasting with the fragmented pattern of the older urban centres.