Summary Urban hierarchy means a new study approach that focuses on the reciprocal concurrence of relationships between urban centers, their complementarity, opposition, support and ongoing collaboration. The goal is to go beyond the single analysis of a city and focus on the interaction between towns and cities and to distinguish their dynamics and the degree of specialization within a political framework. The final objective is to provide a comprehensive historical analysis as urban history requires, open to the advantages of interdisciplinarity and the contributions of the international researchers that will take part in the book. The processes of urban hierarchisation are not only vital for observing the dynamics of cities, but also for studying in depth the response capabilities of the urban systems in the face of new challenges and stimuli. These aspects of the historical analysis of cities are still quite unexplored and, therefore, they will receive a great deal of attention in the book. The initial regional frameworks will not exclude small towns and rural centers since, even though they may look less potentially relevant, they might display greater specific development. Thanks to a renewed methodology and special attention to the empirical basis, it is possible to improve our knowledge of the urban systems of European regions at the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Early Modern Era, shedding light on some aspects of the medieval past that will also influence other scientific areas of humanities. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Urban Hierarchies in Pre-Modern Europe Maria Asenjo-Gonz lez Part I - Urban Networks and Central Place Rouen : p le urbain et centre de consommation Anne Kucab Le r seau erfurtois la fin du Moyen ge. Une construction politique en marge du seigneur Morwenna Coquelin Urban Hierarchies in the Heart of the Po Valley (12th-15th century). Persistence and Change Andrea Gamberini Part II - Capital Cities and Political Actions Rethinking Madrid during the Sixteenth Century. An Approach from Urban Hierarchies David Alonso Garc a About the Urbanization in the Kingdom of Naples. The Campanian Area in 15th-16th Centuries Francesco Senatore Urban Networks 'in Defence of the Realm'. Castilian Cities in Valladolid's Orbit of Influence (1504-1520) Mar a ngeles Mart n Romera Part III - Dynamics of Government. Cooperation, Rivalry and Conflict between Cities The Town of Kol n and its Communication Horizons in the Late Middle Ages Jan Vojt ?ek Urban Hierarchies and the Institutional Fabric of Late Medieval European Towns Arie van Steensel Resistance to Jurisdictional Predominance and Hierarchical Ambitions. Cadahalso versus Escalona (1232-1480) scar L pez G mez The Interaction between the Bohemian Royal Towns and their Relation to the Cities of Central Europe in 1526-1620 Jana Vojt ?kov