Britain in the Middle Ages: An Archaeological History
This ebook edition does not include illustrations.As he did in ‘Britain B.C.’ and ‘Britain A.D.’, eminent archaeologist Francis Pryor challenges familiar historical views of the Middle Ages by examining fresh evidence from the ground.The term 'Middle Ages' suggests a time between two other ages: a period when nothing much happened. In his radical reassessment, Francis Pryor shows that this is incorrect and that the Middle Ages were actually the time when the modern world was born. This was when Britain moved from Late Antiquity into a world we can recognize: roads and parishes became fixed; familiar institutions, such as the church and local government, came into being; industry became truly industrial; and international trade was now a routine process.Archaeology shows that the Middle Ages were far from static. Based on everyday evidence, Pryor demonstrates that the British agricultural and industrial revolutions had their roots in this era – as did the explosion of British maritime power in the late 1700s. It stresses the strength of development at the expense of 'revolution' and the profound effect the Black Death had on loosening the grip of the feudal system.The Middle Ages can now be seen in a fresh light as an era of great inventiveness as the author examines such topics as 'upward mobility'; the power of the Church; the role of the Guilds as precursors of trade unions; and the importance of transport infrastructure such as roads, bridges and shipbuilders.
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BRITAIN IN THE MIDDLE AGES
An Archaeological History
FRANCIS PRYOR
This book is dedicated to the memory of
DR CHRIS SALISBURY friend, doctor and archaeologist
CONTENTS
Introduction: Archaeology and the Medieval Period
PART I: On Britons, Saxons and Vikings (650â1066)
1 The North/South Divide of the Middle Saxon Period
3 Rural Life in Late Saxon Times
4 Urban Life in Late Saxon Times
PART II: The Middle Ages (1066â1550)
5 Urban Life in the Middle Ages
6 Rural Life in the Middle Ages
7 Trade, Industry and Security
P.S. Ideas, Interviews & Features â¦
Excavating the Past: Francis Pryor talks to Louise Tucker
Top Ten History/Archaeology Books
| Archaeological Period* | Dates (AD) | Defining or transitional events | Notes |
| Roman | 43â410 | Withdrawal of last Roman troops from Britain c.409 | |
| âSub-Romanâ or Post-Roman | 410â50 | This is sometimes Post-Roman included in the Early Saxon period | |
| âEarly Medievalâ | c. 410â1066 | A term generally used to describe pre-Norman times | |
| Early Saxon | 450â650 | Previously known as Pagan Saxon | |
| Middle Saxon | 650â850 | ||
| Late Saxon | 850â1066 | Norman Conquest (Battle of Hastings 1066) | |
| âSaxo-Normanâ | 850â1150 | A general descriptive term | |
| Middle Ages (or âLater Medievalâ) | 1066â1550 | These may be subdivided thus: | |
| Early Middle Ages | 1066â1350 | 1348â49 first wave of Black Death | |
| Later Middle Ages | 1350â1550 | Dissolution of the monasteries 1536â40. The Reformation (Church of England legally established 1559) | Sometimes referred to as the âTransitional Periodâ |
| Post-Medieval | 1550âpresent |
>* Terms placed in quotes are used in a general sense. They are not archaeological periods sensu stricto.
Archaeology and the Medieval Period
I found the archaeological exploration involved in the writing of my previous book, Britain AD, so fascinating that I decided I had to carry the story forward in time. By comparison with Britain AD, I have fewer axes to grind in this book. This is probably because hypothetical mass-migration and invasion are not contentious issues after the three centuries that followed the Roman withdrawal of AD 410.
In this book I want to take an archaeological look at medieval Britain. The word âmedievalâ can be taken to mean many things. Here I will use it as a chronological label, which for present purposes begins around AD 650, the end of the period known to archaeologists as the Early Saxon. The finish date is harder to pin down, and later we will see that there are good reasons for this, but here I will follow most archaeological opinion by selecting the mid-sixteenth century, say 1550, and the death of Henry VIII (1547).
This is not a textbook, nor is it a book of social or political history.>1 If you are looking for an authoritative account of the Tudors, the Plantagenets or the Peasantsâ Revolt, then this is not it. This will be what used to be called a ânarrative historyâ â except that there is more here about archaeology than about history. I have made greater efforts to explain fields and hedges, waterfronts and trade than the achievements of individual rulers. Another way of describing a narrative account is to see it as a diary or journal of the authorâs own exploration of a particular subject. That, I think, is closer to what I have attempted to do.
Being a prehistorian of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, I am most familiar with the sites and objects of the last four millennia BC, as revealed by excavation. This experience gives me an unusual perspective on medieval times. As we will see shortly, I tend to view the past in the long term. I am more concerned with the processes of social and political change than with a detailed chronicle of the events that marked the progress of those changes. To use a phrase that is currently popular, this book is an attempt to write a sort of âjoined upâ archaeology, where the changes seen in the ground can be related to their causes in the ancient world. This approach is perhaps easier for historians, who are good at identifying key events, their causes and consequences. Archaeologists, on the other hand, have found that the techniques available to them make the identification of historical events a problem.
