The Building Technologies of Medieval Cities - Essay Example

When the military had to settle in populated areas, they used to build their own towns that were typical of the military model. The basic form of these medieval cities was in the fortified walls and castles shaped directly to help the military and weapon siege techniques. Stone city walls restricted external city development, hence the affinity for houses and buildings to be intimately packed together and to be built high. The material of walls used was concrete, which was used in combination with brick and mortar which made the walls strong to defend the city in times of invasion.

Since the supply of land was restricted within the walls, concrete buildings were allowed to 5 stories. The medieval cities also used up a large quality of natural materials, like wood and stone for construction purposes. Lime-mortar and wall reinforcement through the use of sandstone columns allowed Islamic cities to expand when mud-bricks did not allow buildings above a single story (Chant & Goodman, 1999: p137).In addition, the religious buildings in a medieval city were the focus of the common people.

The structure and design of these buildings involved the forms of Roman Basilica but adapted to hold a larger audience. At times, new technologies also experimented which allowed for the establishment of very high cathedrals that subjugated the perceptible room of medieval cities. In medieval cities, the use of horses for transport purposes soon replaced the use of ox, for agricultural use. This was necessary, as the crowded cities were not built to allow for the passage for wheeled vehicles.

To conclude, the medieval building style imposed a level of universality of beliefs, speech, and administration outlines. The communal areas for use or entertainment and religious buildings brought reputation to the head of state. Thus we can say that the medieval cities were socially shaped.