Topographical and economic change is mostly attributable to urban elites in Lincoln rather than to distant political figures

Lincoln c. 850-1100 : 

a study in economic and urban growth

By David Cliff - 

PhD Dissertation, University of Huddersfield

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Abstract: The dissertation investigates the increasing number and complexity of towns between c. 850 and c. 1100, through the detailed study of Lincoln in this period. Utilising archaeological and documentary evidence to trace the multifaceted nature of early medieval towns, it confirms that economic change was the principal cause of urban growth. Pottery and coin evidence shed some light upon the progress and nature of economic development.

The role of a significant elite centre or an elite-founded wic are both disputed in considering the origins of urban Lincoln. The questioning of the importance of these reinforces the view that the Vikings had a considerable impact on the development of Lincoln. The nature of their role was to create a small concentration of population, which then served as a focus for the economic growth already underway in the rural economy; which the Great Army must have initially disrupted.


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