Chester Memories: Medieval festival in Chester to mark launch of mapping website

By Chester Chronicle on Aug 25, 09 11:44 AM in Before 1500

HOW different was the Chester of 1500AD to today?

The launch of the Mapping Medieval Chester project website will form part of a festival around Chester on August 29.

The research and website, funded by the Arts and Humanities Council, has created maps of how Chester looked in 1500 and has linked these maps to medieval texts.
Medieval Chester was a truly multi-cultural city, and the project has explored how writers from different ethnic communities and cultural backgrounds imagined and represented the urban space around them.

Researchers have transcribed and edited texts that have never been readily accessible before, including the monk Lucian's 12th-century description of the city in Latin, and Henry Bradshaw's verse celebration of Chester and its patron, St Werburgh.

The project has also uncovered some interesting Welsh poems, which give a less flattering picture of Chester men and women and make fun of the fact that Chester produced weak beer.

The project has attracted international attention for its new research on the medieval city.

A major conference was held at Swansea University in July where experts attended from all over the globe to share their knowledge of place and identity in the medieval city, and to discuss the outcomes of the project.

The Grosvenor Museum, Chester has been a partner in this project and has organised a programme of events on August 29 to launch the website including a medieval city tour.

For further details on the project, visit www.medievalchester.ac.uk.

For information on the Mapping Medieval Chester Festival, visit www.grosvenormuseum.co.uk.

The picture shows Sue Hughes of Grosvenor Museum and David Chesters of St John's Church viewing maps.

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