Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnPaulB
- Thorps – 20 to 80 Inhabitants.
- Hamlets – up to about 400 inhabitants
- Villages - up to about 1000 inhabitants.
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Thorp is just the Norse word for village, and IIUC in England it pretty much meant the same thing as hamlet or village. Not sure where the idea comes from that it's something smaller.
Settlement size is a compromise between the advantages of living in groups (protection, services, social) and the disadvantage of having to walk a long way to your fields in the morning. So settlements will be smaller if population density is low, and if threats are few and weak.