Many European towns have experienced loss of population, degradation of physical structure and profound economic change at least once since the height of the Roman Empire. This text examines the various causes of these changes, their results and the reasons why some centres survived and flourished. '...significant and welcome.' Antiquaries Journal 'The essays in this collection represent a welcome contribution to the often sterile, if still hotly contested, debate on urban decline in the middle ages.... All of the essays have something new to offer...' History, Vol. 87 '... an enjoyable read... a splendid and stimulating corpus of papers.' Landscape History