Repetition, Persistence and Generality: Problematising the endurance of medieval urbanity

It is proposed that an approach to difference through repetition, inspired by the writing of Gilles Deleuze, provides a conceptual approach to understand the endurance of urban life in medieval England. Perceptions of urban decline in later medieval England are contradicted by the persistence of urban places and communities. A tension, whereby persistence implies repetition yet decline implies discontinuity and difference, is evident. By developing a framework for understanding medieval urbanity as a series of repetitive processes of differentiation, this paper outlines how we might shift our approach to understanding past urban lives, with implications for how we engage with critical issues in urban studies, including the multiplicity, resilience and sustainability of urban lives.