Essays on the most important aspects of Kent's history at a time of
great growth and change. Duke William's march through Kent on his
way to London after Hastings in 1066 is testimony to the importance
of the county. So too are the royal fortifications at Canterbury,
Dover and Rochester, and the mostly successful strategyof ruling
Kent through a partnership of Crown and Church. The religious
communities at Canterbury Cathedral and St Augustine's became two
of the premier monasteries in England, and (following the death of
Thomas Becket) international centres of pilgrimage. Yet, as well as
times of triumph, these four hundred years witnessed massive
difficulties for the people of Kent, and England. Viking incursions
in two major phases covering two centuries were instrumental, for
example, in the loss of most royal nunneries in Kent and the
sacking of Canterbury in 1011. Socially, too, this was a formative
period in the county's history. Colonization and rural settlement
were shaped by the varied physical landscape, but also by matters
of lordship and landholding that together marked Kent as
distinctive, which would later become enshrined in the Customs of
Kent (1293). Similarly the growth of numerous small towns,
especially coastal and inland ports, highlight the vitality of the
county's commercial development; the provision of ship service to
the king by the confederation of the Cinque Ports denotes a special
relationship that still exists today. These essays provide insights
into a range of topics of importance in the history of Kent during
this seminal period. To provide a context for these, the opening
essay presents an assessment of the kingdom of Kent.
Subsequentchapters consider the development of first rural and then
urban society, the impact of the Vikings, pilgrimage and the
landscape, literacy and learning, the developing monastic way of
life, and parish church architecture. Three multidisciplinary
chapters discuss Canterbury as a case study, while a gazetteer of
place-name elements closes the book. Sheila Sweetinburgh is an
Associate Lecturer at the University of Kent. Among her numerous
publications she has edited Later Medieval Kent, 1220-1540
Contributors: Paul Bennett, Mary Berg, Stuart Brookes, Nicholas
Brooks, John Cotter, Paul Cullen, Gillian Draper, Diane Heath,
Hilary Powell, Andrew Richardson,Sheila Sweetinburgh, Jake Weekes.
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