Village, Hamlet and Field

Changing Medieval Settlements in Central England

Carenza Lewis, Patrick Mitchell-Fox and Christopher Dyer

This table gives the books price, published date, ISBN reference and other details
Price:	£22.00
Published:	July 2001
ISBN:	0-9538630-3-4
Details:	PB, 246 x 185 mm, 227 pp, 44 black and white illustrations

Synopsis

An important and controversial studies of medieval settlement and landscape , this book addresses a question which has fascinated and perplexed landscape historians: when and why did the nucleated village and its associated common field system arise, and why did it emerge in some areas and not in others?

Drawing on their detailed study of a group of shires in central England, the authors date the origin of the nucleated village to the period 850-1200. They identify a 'village moment' when, in some areas of extensive arable farming, settlement was reorganised. These villages were planned, the result of a deliberate decision: population pressure, resource depletion, market forces or the initiative of a lord may all have influenced their builders. Nucleation was invariably associated with the introduction of a common field system, and has to be seen in the context of the wider regularisation of law and custom in the medieval world. After 1300, as famine and the Black Death took hold, most villages contracted, and in some cases the internal and external pressures led to their desertion.

Reviews

'A corrected, new edition of a highly stimulating work .The book argues that the origin of the nucleated village lies in the period 850 to 1200.'
Northern History 'Lays the basis for a fundamental change of approach to settlement studies.'
Medieval Archaeology 'Essential reading for all those studying the English medieval landscape.'
Agricultural History Review