Britain in the Middle Ages: An Archaeological History

Britain in the Middle Ages: An Archaeological History
Francis Pryor

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.

BRITAIN IN THE MIDDLE AGES

An Archaeological History

FRANCIS PRYOR

DEDICATION (#ulink_1da788a6-3505-529e-aee3-a91176eb5e84)

This book is dedicated to the memory of

DR CHRIS SALISBURY

friend, doctor and archaeologist

CONTENTS

Cover (#udc5d407b-983d-56de-82c1-eb54f7c26fc1)

Title Page (#u10b41316-7c13-5154-8ba2-14309b2d70a2)

Dedication (#u0bfd8773-82a1-5535-bfe7-3b1010269a48)

Table: Dates and Periods (#u3d84309d-992a-58ad-9f67-6f5bce5dd25b)

Introduction: Archaeology and the Medieval Period (#u597916cb-c06e-55c8-9d37-7e6958ef49b2)

PART I: On Britons, Saxons and Vikings (650–1066) (#u92f36d5a-871e-54c6-aa40-fca0f342c021)

1 The North/South Divide of the Middle Saxon Period (#u13c82ed3-0db4-53b4-84e4-b1cca0e33e26)

2 Enter the Vikings (#u9ba8607a-ded2-5e0f-b8d8-cf4505ac1907)

3 Rural Life in Late Saxon Times (#litres_trial_promo)

4 Urban Life in Late Saxon Times (#litres_trial_promo)

PART II: The Middle Ages (1066–1550) (#litres_trial_promo)

5 Urban Life in the Middle Ages (#litres_trial_promo)

6 Rural Life in the Middle Ages (#litres_trial_promo)

7 Trade, Industry and Security (#litres_trial_promo)

8 The End of the Middle Ages? (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

P.S. Ideas, Interviews & Features … (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Excavating the Past: Francis Pryor talks to Louise Tucker

Life at a Glance (#litres_trial_promo)

Top Ten History/Archaeology Books (#litres_trial_promo)

A Writer’s Life (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Book (#litres_trial_promo)

Archaeology and History in Times of Change

Read on (#litres_trial_promo)

Have You Read?

Find Out More (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Praise (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

DATES AND PERIODS (#ulink_b8875057-ee1d-5731-87b2-980cfbe21fdb)

Terms placed in quotes are used in a general sense. They are not archaeological periods sensu stricto.

INTRODUCTION (#ulink_7a0dabb5-98f2-58dc-a752-bf6583aec70a)

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 ‘medieval’ 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).