The aim of this book is to promote the thesis that myth may illuminate archaeology and that on occasion archaeology may shed light on myth. Medieval Irish literature is rich in mythic themes and some of these are used as a starting point. Some myths are of great antiquity and some were invented by contemporary authors. It is a challenging source, first explored in the author's earlier work Archaeology and Celtic Myth and this work will elaborate on some of the themes pursued there and introduce some new ones. Combining literary and archaeological evidence chapters deal with the construction of the past, illustrating how the Irish medieval world invented aspects of the past; the abuses of myth presented in later literature; the evidence for the survival of pagan beliefs and practices well into medieval times in Ireland; evidence to illustrate the key elements of the institution of sacral kingship, a consideration of sacred trees; mythology of the underworld and its archaeological expressions and the equine aspects of the myths attached to the Irish goddess Macha (linked to Navan Fort) and her Welsh counterpart Rhiannon. John Waddell brings a lifetimes experience of studying Irish history, Bronze Age archaeology and Celtic mythology in this personal and lively exploration of mythology and its archaeological expression.

Het is een wijdverbreid idee dat (post-)middeleeuwse steden een sterfteoverschot hadden en zij slechts in leven konden blijven door de toestroom van migranten; een fenomeen dat bekend staat als het ‘urban graveyard’-effect. Over details valt te twisten, maar duidelijk is dat de stad en de dood dichter bij elkaar stonden dan tegenwoordig. Met de dood als belangrijk element in de stedelijke samenleving vormen grafvelden een belangrijke bron van kennis over het leven in de post-middeleeuwen. Sinds de jaren 80 van de vorige eeuw is systematisch archeologisch onderzoek van (post)middeleeuwse grafvelden in Nederland op gang gekomen. Veel van het onderzoek is nog niet of slechts beperkt gepubliceerd. Ook ontbreken synthetiserende publicaties waarin vergelijkingen tussen de resultaten van lokaal grafveldonderzoek in steden centraal staan. De stad en de dood presenteert enkele overzichtsartikelen waarin de resultaten van oud archeologisch onderzoek worden vergeleken met resultaten van jongere opgravingen binnen verschillende Nederlandse steden. Naast bio-archeologische aspecten is er tevens aandacht voor grafrituelen. Deze rijk geïllustreerde bundel vormt een belangrijke bouwsteen voor thematische verdieping en is een inspiratiebron voor (inter)nationaal vergelijkend onderzoek. In de tweede – Engelstalige – bundel van Urban Graveyard Proceedings komt een reeks andere geselecteerde Nederlandse en Vlaamse grafvelden aan de orde. English translation:It is commonly believed that in medieval and post-medieval towns and cities death outnumbered births and that these urban centres could only survive through the influx of migrants; a concept which has come to be known as the urban graveyard effect. Whether this was indeed the case for all cities and towns is still debated, but it is certain that urban citizens were more used to death that we are today. The medieval graveyards in which the deceased were interred, then still located within town limits, are an invaluable source of knowledge for reconstructing past lives. Systematic archaeological and osteoarchaeological research of urban graveyards has become the norm in the Netherlands and Belgium since the 1980s. However, many of the studies remain unpublished and larger, overarching publications in which comparisons are made between different studies are still lacking. The urban graveyard presents several studies in which the results of older archaeological and osteoarchaeological research are compared to more recent excavation data from several Dutch cities and towns. Both the archaeological data concerning burial position, orientation, and grave goods as well as osteoarchaeological data such as demographic information and pathological observations are discussed. This well-illustrated volume is a starting point and source of inspiration for more (inter)national comparative research.

It is commonly believed that in medieval and post-medieval towns and cities death outnumbered births and that these urban centres could only survive through the influx of migrants; a concept which has come to be known as the urban graveyard effect. Whether this was indeed the case for all cities and towns is still debated, but it is certain that urban citizens were more used to death that we are today. The medieval graveyards in which the deceased were interred, then still located within town limits, are an invaluable source of knowledge for reconstructing past lives. Systematic archaeological and osteoarchaeological research of urban graveyards has become the norm in the Netherlands and Belgium since the 1980s. However, many of the studies remain unpublished and larger, overarching publications in which comparisons are made between different studies are still lacking. The urban graveyard presents several studies in which the results of older archaeological and osteoarchaeological research are compared to more recent excavation data from several Dutch, Belgian and Danish cities and towns. Both the archaeological data concerning burial position, orientation, and grave goods as well as osteoarchaeological data such as demographic information and pathological observations are discussed. This well-illustrated volume is a starting point and source of inspiration for more (inter)national comparative research.

Caves and rockshelters in Europe have traditionally been associated with prehistory, and in some regions cave archaeology has become synonymous with the Palaeolithic. However, there is abundant evidence that caves and rockshelters were important foci for activities in historic times. During the medieval period (here taken as AD 500–1500) caves were used for short-term shelter, habitation, specialised craft activities, storage, as hideaways and for tending animals. Caves were also used for religious purposes. Caves and ritual in medieval Europe, AD 500–1500 focuses on this neglected field of research – the ritual and religious use of caves. It draws together interdisciplinary studies by leading specialists from across Europe: from Iberia to Crimea, and from Malta to northern Norway. The different religions and rituals in this vast area are unified by the use of caves and rockshelters, indicating that the beliefs in these natural places – and in the power of the underworld – were deeply embedded in many different religious practices. Christianity was widespread and firmly established in most of Europe at this time, and many of the contributions deal with different types of Christian practices, such as the use of rock-cut churches, unmodified caves for spiritual retreat, caves reputedly visited by saints, and caves as places for burials. But parallel to this, some caves were associated with localised popular religious practices, which sometimes had pre-Christian origins. Muslims in Iberia used caves for spiritual retreat, and outside the Christian domain in northern Europe, caves and rockshelters were places for carving symbols among Pictish groups, places for human burial, for bear burials amongst the Sámi, and places for crafting and votive deposition for Norse populations.

Hadrian Cook’s new account of the New Forest in southern England provides an historical narrative of the occupation and use of a vast area that was, for centuries, important as a Royal Hunting Forest and subject to many contentious laws and regulations, but which includes much economically marginal land. Four critical themes are explored through time: the shaping of the natural environment into human prehistory; human intervention through natural resource management; governance and management of the forest over time, stressing pressures on resources and attempts at exclusion of certain social groups; and policies and designations to conserve the New Forest. Cook aims to reflect a complicated narrative around the evolution caused by changing management and economic objectives reflecting governance arrangements at different times. Once the domain of kings, the New Forest is today, in effect, open-access, largely state-owned land, famous for its pretty villages, mosaic of moorland and woodland, roaming horses and cattle, diverse wildlife and miles of open countryside. But this tranquillity belies a complex and contested history.

The study of belief, faith and religious practices can provide a deep insight into historical societies, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish or pagan. They form a constant of human behaviour. Through religion, cult and rituals, multi-layered and complex cultural norms are expressed, demonstrating group affiliation. However, popular devotion and belief in a rural environment can include practices that are out with those of the official religion.Some of these practices discussed in this book can be investigated through archaeology. Important religious sites like churches, monasteries, mosques and synagogues as well as caves, holy wells and hermitages are discussed. Furthermore burials of children, revenants and the condemned are analysed, as they often deviate from normal practice and shed light on particular communities and their beliefs. Rituals concerning the protection of buildings and persons which focus on objects attributed with religious qualities are another area explored. Through archaeological research it is possible to gain an understanding of popular religion of medieval and early modern times and also to draw conclusions about religious ideas that are not written in documents. By bringing together these topics this book is of particular interest to scholars working in the field of archaeology, history and cultural anthropology.The addressed subjects were the theme of an international conference of the RURALIA association held in Clervaux, Luxemburg, in September 2015. Ruralia promotes the archaeology of medieval settlement and rural life. Current research questions in rural archaeology are discussed in an European wide context. The aim is to strengthen the exchange of knowledge in, and the development of, archaeologically comparable studies, and to make archaeological results available to other disciplines.

Excavations in advance of gravel quarrying in the Upper Thames Valley at Horcott Quarry, Fairford, and nearby Arkell’s Land, Kempsford, revealed contrasting pictures. At Horcott, on the second terrace, there was periodic activity from the early Mesolithic onwards. A major earlier Iron Age settlement contained roundhouses and at least 135 four-post structures, suggesting an exceptional focus on grain storage. An early–middle Roman farmstead incorporated a small stone-founded building, while from c AD 250–350 a large cemetery lay in an adjacent enclosure. Two further groups of burials were contemporary with a substantial Anglo-Saxon settlement including a timber hall and 33 sunken-featured buildings. By contrast, at Arkell’s Land, on the first gravel terrace, activity on a significant scale only began in the later 1st century AD. It comprised enclosures, field systems and trackways, with the most intensive settlement, as at Horcott, in the middle Roman period. The site was probably linked to an adjacent estate centre at Claydon Pike. There was no post-Roman occupation.

The kingdom of France was plunged into darkness. Weakened by war and famine, the country risked falling into English hands. As the dauphin Charles desperately aspired to one day become king, a young girl from Domremy, guided by mysterious voices, emerged from the shadows, swearing she would have him crowned in Reims. Driven by her fervour and her boundless will, she who would bear the epitaph of Maid of Orleans, led her small troop to raise the siege in the eponymous city. Behind her, the people of France took up arms with newfound courage, to plunge headlong into one of the greatest epics of all time.

This edited volume sets out the work of a team of scholars from Northwestern University and the University of Southampton led by Matthew Johnson, in collaboration with the National Trust. Between 2010 and 2014, different members of the group carried out topographical, geophysical and building survey at four different late medieval sites and landscapes in south-eastern England, all owned and managed by the National Trust: Bodiam, Scotney, Knole and Ightham. Studies were also undertaken into documentary, map and other evidence. A particularly important element of the research was to synthesise and re-present the ‘grey literature’ at all four sites. This volume seeks to present this work and discuss its archaeological and historical importance. It places the four sites and their landscapes in their setting, as part of the wider landscape of south-east England. It discusses the importance of these places in understanding later medieval elite sites and landscapes in general, and in terms of their long-term biographies and contexts. Central to the volume are the linked ideas of lived experience and political ecology in presenting a new understanding of late medieval sites and landscapes.

A selection of papers from the 13th Viking Congress focusing on the northern, central, and eastern regions of Anglo-Saxon England colonised by invading Danish armies in the late 9th century, known as the Danelaw. This volume contributes to many of the unresolved scholarly debates surrounding the concept, and extent of the Danelaw.

Rosemary Cramp's influence on the archaeology of early Medieval Britain is nowhere more apparent than in these essays in her honour by her former students. Monastic sites, Lindisfarne and Whithorn, are the inspiration for Deirdre O'Sullivan's and Peter Hill's papers; Chris Loveluck discusses the implications of the findings from the newly-discovered settlement at Flixborough in Lincolnshire; Nancy Edwards describes the early monumental sculpture from St David's in South Wales; Martin Carver reviews the politics of monumental sculpture and monumentality; and Catherine Hills reassesses the significance of imported ivory found in graves. Richard Bailey, Christopher Morris and Derek Craig top and tail the book with tributes to Rosemary Cramp and a bibliography of her work.

The Impact of the Edwardian Castles in Wales publishes the proceedings of a conference held in 2007 a year that marked the seventh centenary of the death of King Edward I which set out to review recent scholarship on castles that he built in north Wales after two wars, in 1277 and 1282-83 and a Welsh uprising in 1294-95, and to rethink the effect that their building had upon Wales in the past, present and future. Building upon the seminal work of Arnold Taylor, whose study of the buildings and documentary evidence has been pivotal to Edwardian castle studies for more than fifty years, the volume includes papers which call into question the role of Master James of St George as the architect of the kings new castles; the role of Richard the Engineer, the nature of royal accommodation in the thirteenth century and a detailed look at how households worked, especially in the kitchen and accounting departments. New approaches to castle studies are encouraging a more holistic understanding of the Edwardian castles and their context and to this end papers consider their impact on Welsh society and its princes in the thirteenth century, notably Llywelyn ab Iorwerth ( Fawr , the Great) and his grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales. Their symbolism and meaning through the words of Welsh poets and the mythology behind Caernarfon Castle are also examined, so too is the role of Welshmen in Edward Is armies. The wider context is considered with papers on the Edwardian towns in Wales, the baronial castles in north Wales and Edward I in Scotland and Gascony. The castles still have powerful resonance and the Minister for Heritage in the Welsh Assembly Government considers their role and presentation in Wales today and in the future. Robert Liddiard concludes that the volume 'not only takes our knowledge of the Edwardian castles forward, but also informs the study of castles in the British Isles'.

October 14, 1066, on the hill of Caldbec the armies of William the Conqueror and Harold Godwinson confronted each other in a bloody battle, which will later be called the battle of Hastings. The victory Normandy obtained on that occasion is still perceived as pivotal in determining the common destiny of the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy; it is also around this axis that the future of England is determined, giving the idea of how impactful the Normans had been in influencing the Saxon society. Overall, the course of the battle is relatively well known, thanks to the many medieval authors who mention it, or simply through the research that has been done. However, the before and after the battle remain rather unfamiliar topics. The origins of the conflict can however be easily traced back in early Eleventh century, when a certain Cnut the Great, who was in fact the king of Norway and Denmark, became King of England by marrying Emma of Normandy. Similarly, also the impressive political game between the three contenders to the throne – Harald III of Norway, Godwinson Harold and William the Conqueror – played a determining role for the conquest of England. From Stamford Bridge to appeasement of the North, through the battles of Hastings and London, this book will allow the reader not only to rediscover this pivotal battle and understand the political and strategic aspects of the conquest, but also to learn about Norman and Saxon warriors outfits.

The study of medieval Scandinavian society necessarily involves learning Norse language. Its vocabulary should be considered a vestige of the past as much as archaeological artefacts. These words, indeed, allow everyone to establish a direct contact with the medieval civilization of the North. Thus ‘Le Parler Viking’ was born of out a desire to catalogue in a simple and didactic way the key words of medieval Scandinavian society. Scandinavian legends translations are sometimes interspersed with indigenous words that at times leave the reader confused and doubtful about their true meaning. By collecting these words in one place, the author wants to offer a valuable tool towards the discovery of the fascinating ancient and medieval Scandinavian society . Easily accessible, ‘Le Parler Viking’ aims to be as accurate as possible, addressing both students as well as amateurs and historians. The entries, which are deliberately short, have been organised by theme, so to allow the reader to consult only the sections of interest. Therefore, the most varied aspects of this fascinating society are addressed, including both concrete and abstract concepts, such as weapons and tactics or costumes and traditions. Vikings fans will not be disappointed either as also the most popular terms used by the pirates of the ancient North have been included; even if some of these words do not properly belong to the Viking age, they have nonetheless been included as they represent important linguistic milestones for the XII and XIII century Scandinavia. The author Grégory Cattaneo obtained a PhD in medieval history at the Paris VI Sorbonne and Iceland University. He has been living in Iceland since 2005 and has taught at the University of Iceland between 2007 and 2014.

Art in England fills a void in the scholarship of both English and medieval art by offering the first single volume overview of artistic movements in Medieval and Early Renaissance England. Grounded in history and using the chronology of the reign of monarchs as a structure, it is contextual and comprehensive, revealing unobserved threads of continuity, patterns of intention and unique qualities that run through English art of the medieval millennium. By placing the English movement in a European context, this book brings to light many ingenious innovations that focused studies tend not to recognize and offers a fresh look at the movement as a whole. The media studied include architecture and related sculpture, both ecclesiastical and secular; tomb monuments; murals, panel paintings, altarpieces, and portraits; manuscript illuminations; textiles; and art by English artists and by foreign artists commissioned by English patrons.

The essays in this volume look at the mechanics of debt, the legal process, and its economics in early medieval England. Beneath the elevated plane of high politics, affairs of the Crown and international finance of the Middle Ages, lurked huge numbers of credit and debt transactions. The transactions and those who conducted them moved between social and economic worlds; merchants and traders, clerics and Jews, extending and receiving credit to and from their social superiors, equals and inferiors. These papers build upon an established tradition of approaches to the study of credit and debt in the Middle Ages, looking at the wealth of historical material, from registries of debt and legal records, to parliamentary roles and statues, merchant accounts, rents and leases, wills and probates. Four of the six papers in this volume were given at a conference on 'Credit and debt in medieval and early modern England' held in Oxford in 2000. The other two papers draw upon new important postgraduate theses. Contents: Introduction (Phillipp Schofield) ; Aspects of the law of debt, 1189-1307 (Paul Brand) ; Christian and Jewish lending patterns and financial dealings during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (Robin R. Mundill) ; Some aspects of the business of statutory debt registries, 1283-1307 (Christopher McNall) ; The English parochial clergy as investors and creditors in the first half of the fourteenth century (Pamela Nightingale) ; Access to credit in the medieval English countryside (Phillipp Schofield) ; Creditors and debtors at Oakington, Cottenham and Dry Drayton (Cambridgeshire), 1291-1350 (Chris Briggs) .