Peasants and Production in the Medieval North-East
The peasant economy in north-east England, and indeed throughout the country as a whole, underwent many changes during the later middle ages, but owing to the lack of evidence it has been difficult to come to definite conclusions. This pioneering survey uses previously unexploited sources, principally from tithe data, to offer new interpretations of the patterns for change and the scope for adaptability.
Death had an important and pervasive presence in the Middle Ages. It was a theme in medieval public life, finding expression both in literature and art. The beliefs and procedures accompanying death were both complex and fascinating. Christopher Daniell's approach to this subject is unusual in bringing together knowledge accumulated from historical, archaeological and literary sources. The book includes the very latest research, both of the author and of others working in this area. The result is a comprehensive and vivid picture of the entire phenomenon of medieval death and burial.
Among the most evocative items to be discovered by archaeologists are the scraps of silk and wool and other fabrics that signal so eloquently their owner's status and concerns. Such clothing and textile finds have figured prominently in excavations of medieval sites in London in the past two decades; they have included knitting, tapestries, silk hair-nets and elaborately patterned oriental, Islamic and Italian fabrics, which reveal for the first time the wide range of cloths available to medieval Londoners; there are beautifully made buttons, and buttonholes and edgings which display superb craftsmanship and a high level of needlework skills.
Everyday Life in Medieval England captures the day-to-day experience of people in the middle ages -- the houses and settlements in which they lived, the food they ate, their getting and spending -- and their social relationships. The picture that emerges is of great variety, of constant change, of movement and of enterprise. Many people were downtrodden and miserably poor, but they struggled against their circumstances, resisiting oppressive authorities, to build their own way of life and to improve their material conditions. The ordinary men and women of the middle ages appear throughout. Everyday Life in Medieval England is an outstanding contribution to both national and local history.
