The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries 1066 - c. 1280

by Harvey, Barbara

• ISBN13: 9780198731399
• ISBN10: 0198731396
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-24
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This volume provides a readable and authoritative account of the history of the British Isles from the Norman Conquest of England, to the eve of the Welsh against Edward I in 1282 . At the beginning of the period, much of Britain belonged, as did Ireland, to the Vikings. The transformation ofthe archipelago by the end of this period is explored and explained in this volume. Six sharply focused chapters consider the fundamental changes that occurred in this period: the changing political and social structure and the adaptability of the aristocracy instrumental in these changes; thereforms that affected the ecclesiastical landscape; and the effects on economic life of the growth of a monetised economy. The influence of the natural environment and communications on life in medieval times are discussed in the Introduction. The approach is comparative, bringing out both the sharpcontrasts between the experience of the several parts of the British Isles and the similarities. With chapters contributed by a team of experts, Harvey explores the interactions between the parts of the British Isles to provide a clear and incisive history of this fascinating period.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xii
List of Maps	xiii
List of Contributors	xvi
Introduction	1	(1)
Barbara Harvey
The period	1	(2)
The inhabitants	3	(2)
The natural environment	5	(11)
Terrain, soil, and lands use	7	(3)
Woodland and waste	10	(2)
Climate and weather	12	(4)
Commerce	16	(2)
Communications	18	(13)
Conquest and settlement	31	(38)
Robin Frame
The personnel and dynamics of conquest	34	(11)
Settlement and institutions	45	(10)
The fate of native elites	55	(14)
Kingship, government, and political life to c.1160	69	(32)
David Bates
Kingship	73	(4)
Government	77	(7)
Politics	84	(17)
The culture of politics	84	(4)
Successions crises and struggles for hegemony	88	(3)
The politics of the British Isles and northern France	91	(10)
Social bonds and economic change	101	(34)
Richard Britnell
Lordship in 1100	101	(6)
Lordship 1100-1280	107	(5)
Community in 1100	112	(4)
Community 1100-1280	116	(7)
Kinship in 1100	123	(4)
Kinship 1100-1280	127	(8)
The Church and Christian life	135	(32)
Brian Golding
Dioceses	136	(3)
Parishes, parish churches, and chapels	139	(3)
Pilgrimages, shrines, and holy wells	142	(4)
Dissent	146	(1)
The parish clergy: preaching and teaching	146	(4)
Monasticism, old and new, hermits, and anchoresses	150	(5)
Friars	155	(3)
Poor relief and hospitals	158	(1)
Bishops	159	(3)
Papal authority and national and local churches	162	(5)
Cultural affinities	167	(34)
Henrietta Leyser
Texts and languages, old and new	168	(5)
New perspectives	173	(11)
Geoffrey of Monmouth and Arthurian romance	184	(3)
New cathedrals and new eclecticism	187	(6)
New audiences for written English and new uses for Arthurian legends	193	(4)
New schools and universities	197	(4)
Kingship, government, and political life, c.1160-c.1280	201	(42)
Henry Summerson
Ruling Britain and Ireland: agencies and aspirations	201	(9)
Henry II, his allies and enemies, 1160-1175	210	(6)
Angevin apogee and crisis, 1175-1216	216	(6)
Young kings in England and Scotland, 1216-1234	222	(4)
Contrasts in kingship, 1234-1258	226	(5)
English travails, Welsh opportunity, 1258-1272	231	(4)
Kingship and statecraft in the late thirteenth century: the supremacy of Edward I, 1272-1284	235	(8)
Conclusion	243	(22)
Barbara Harvey
English overlordship	243	(2)
Population change	245	(6)
Political structures	251	(4)
Ecclesiastical structures and Christian life	255	(6)
Social change and adaptable aristocracies	261	(4)
Further reading	265	(7)
Chronology	272	(10)
Glossary	282	(10)
Map section	292	(9)
Index	301