Archaeology, Economy and Society: England from the Fifth to the Fifteenth Century

Description

Many books have been written on particular aspects of medieval archaeology, or on particular parts of the period, but synthesis across the whole spectrum has not been attempted before. The aim of this book is to examine the contribution that archaeology can make to an understanding of the social, economic, religious and other developments that took place in England from the migrations of the fifth and sixth centuries to the beginning of the Renaissance, showing how society and economy evolved in that time-span. Drawing on the latest available material, the book takes a chronological approach to the archaeological material of the post-Roman period in order to emphasize the changes that can be observed in the physical evidence and some of the reasons for them that can be suggested. The environment in which people functioned and how they expressed themselves - for example in their houses and burial practices, their pottery and their clothes - show how they were constrained by social customs and economic pressures. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Acknowledgements for Illustrations......Page 7 Introduction......Page 8 THE FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES......Page 10 THE LATER SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES......Page 30 THE LATER SEVENTH AND EIGHTH CENTURIES......Page 51 THE NINTH AND EARLY TENTH CENTURIES......Page 73 THE TENTH CENTURY......Page 91 THE ELEVENTH CENTURY......Page 115 THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH CENTURIES......Page 142 THE LATER THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CENTURIES......Page 174 THE LATER FOURTEENTH, FIFTEENTH AND EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURIES......Page 200 Notes......Page 223 Index......Page 248