The relations between medieval East Anglia and countries across the North Sea examined from a variety of perspectives. East Anglia was a distinctive English region during the Middle Ages, but it was one that owed much of its character and identity to its place in a much wider "North Sea World" that stretched from the English Channel to Iceland, the Baltic and beyond. Relations between East Anglia and its maritime neighbours have for the most part been peaceful, involving migration and commercial, artistic, architectural and religious exchanges, but have also at times beencharacterised by violence and contestation. All these elements have played a significant role in processes of historical change that have shaped the history both of East Anglia and its North Sea world. This collection of essays discusses East Anglia in the context of this maritime framework and explores the extent to which there was a distinctive community bound together by the shared frontier of the North Sea during the Middle Ages. It brings together the work of a range of international scholars and includes contributions from the disciplines of history, archaeology, art history and literary studies. David Bates is Professorial Fellow in History at the Universityof East Anglia, Robert Liddiard is Professor of History at the University of East Anglia. Contributors: Anna Agnarsdottir, Brian Ayers, Wendy R. Childs, Lynda Dennison, Stephen Heywood, Carole Hill, John Hines, David King, Robert Liddiard, Rory Naismith, Eljas Oksanen, Richard Plant, Aleksander Pluskowski, Christopher Scull, Tim Pestell, Charles West, Gareth Williams, Tom Williamson.

The German Ocean examines archaeological and historical evidence for the development of economies and societies around the North Sea from the beginning of the twelfth century until the mid sixteenth century. It draws in material from Scandinavia to Normandy and from Scotland to the Thames estuary. While largely concerned with the North Sea littoral, when necessary it takes account of adjacent areas such as the Baltic or inland hinterlands. The North Sea is often perceived as a great divide, divorcing the British Isles from continental Europe. In cultural terms, however, it has always acted more as a lake, supporting communities around its fringes which have frequently had much in common. This is especially true of the medieval period when trade links, fostered in the two centuries prior to 1100, expanded in the 12th and 13th centuries to ensure the development of maritime societies whose material culture was often more remarkable for its similarity across distance than for its diversity. Geography, access to raw materials and political expediency could nevertheless combine to provide distinctive regional variations.Economies developed more rapidly in some areas than others; local solutions to problems produced urban and rural environments of different aspect; the growth, and sometimes decline, of towns and ports was often dictated by local as much as wider factors. This book explores evidence for this 'diverse commonality' through the historic environment of the North Sea region with the intention that it will be of interest not only to historians and archaeologists but to those who live and work within the historic environment. This environment is a common European resource with much to contribute to a sustainable future - the book provides an archaeological contribution to the understanding of that resource.

The relations between medieval East Anglia and countries across the North Sea examined from a variety of perspectives. East Anglia was a distinctive English region during the Middle Ages, but it was one that owed much of its character and identity to its place in a much wider "North Sea World" that stretched from the English Channel to Iceland, the Baltic and beyond. Relations between East Anglia and its maritime neighbours have for the most part been peaceful, involving migration and commercial, artistic, architectural and religious exchanges, but have also at times beencharacterised by violence and contestation. All these elements have played a significant role in processes of historical change that have shaped the history both of East Anglia and its North Sea world. This collection of essays discusses East Anglia in the context of this maritime framework and explores the extent to which there was a distinctive community bound together by the shared frontier of the North Sea during the Middle Ages. It brings together the work of a range of international scholars and includes contributions from the disciplines of history, archaeology, art history and literary studies. Professor David Bates is Professorial Fellow in History, RobertLiddiard is Professor of History, at the University of East Anglia. Contributors: Anna Agnarsdottir, Brian Ayers, Wendy R. Childs, Lynda Dennison, Stephen Heywood, Carole Hill, John Hines, David King, Robert Liddiard,Rory Naismith, Eljas Oksanen, Richard Plant, Aleksander Pluskowski, Christopher Scull, Tim Pestell, Charles West, Gareth Williams, Tom Williamson.

The German Ocean examines archaeological and historical evidence for the development of economies and societies around the North Sea from the beginning of the twelfth century until the mid sixteenth century. It draws in material from Scandinavia to Normandy and from Scotland to the Thames estuary. While largely concerned with the North Sea littoral, when necessary it takes account of adjacent areas such as the Baltic or inland hinterlands. The North Sea is often perceived as a great divide, divorcing the British Isles from continental Europe. In cultural terms, however, it has always acted more as a lake, supporting communities around its fringes which have frequently had much in common. This is especially true of the medieval period when trade links, fostered in the two centuries prior to 1100, expanded in the 12th and 13th centuries to ensure the development of maritime societies whose material culture was often more remarkable for its similarity across distance than for its diversity. Geography, access to raw materials and political expediency could nevertheless combine to provide distinctive regional variations. Economies developed more rapidly in some areas than others; local solutions to problems produced urban and rural environments of different aspect; the growth, and sometimes decline, of towns and ports was often dictated by local as much as wider factors. This book explores evidence for this `diverse commonality' through the historic environment of the North Sea region with the intention that it will be of interest not only to historians and archaeologists but to those who live and work within the historic environment. This environment is a common European resource with much to contribute to a sustainable future - the book provides an archaeological contribution to the understanding of that resource.

Medieval East Anglia - one of the most significant and prosperous parts of England in the middle ages - examined through essays on its landscape, history, religion, literature, and culture. East Anglia was the most prosperous region of medieval England; far from being an isolated backwater, it had strong economic, religious and cultural connections with continental Europe, with Norwich for a time England's second city. The essays in this volume bring out the importance of the region during the middle ages. Spanning the late eleventh to the fifteenth century, they offer a broad coverage of East Anglia's history and culture; particular topics examined include its landscape, urban history, buildings, government and society, religion and rich culture. Contributors: Christopher Harper-Bill, Tom Williamson, Robert E. Liddiard, P. Maddern, Brian Ayers, Elisabeth Rutledge, Penny Dunn, Kate Parker, Carole Rawcliffe, James Campbell, Lucy Marten, Colin Richmond, T. M. Colk, Carole Hill, T.A. Heslop, A.E. Oliver, Theresa Coletti, Penny Granger, Sarah Salih

Essays reflecting the interests and scholarship of one of our most important and influential historians. For almost four decades Carole Rawcliffe has been a towering figure among historians of the later Middle Ages. Although now best known for her pioneering contributions to medical history, including major studies of hospitals, leprosy and public health, her published works range far more broadly to encompass among other subjects the English nobility, Members of Parliament, the regional history of East Anglia and myriad aspects of political and social interaction. The essays collected in this festschrift, written by a selection of her colleagues, friends and former students, cover a wide spectrum of themes and introduce such diverse characters as an estranged queen, a bankrupt aristocrat, a female apothecary, a flute-playing Turkish doctor and a medieval "Dad's Army" conscripted to defend England's coasts. Linda Clark is Editor of the 1422-1504 section of the History of Parliament; Elizabeth Danbury is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Information Studies, University College London. Contributors: Jean Agnew, John Alban, Brian Ayers, Caroline Barron, Christopher Bonfield, Carole Hill, Peregrine Horden, Hannes Kleineke, Nicholas Vincent.

In recent years, major new archaeological discoveries have redefined the development of towns and cities in the Japanese archipelago. The uncovering of the plans of major port towns such as Sakai, Kusado Sengen and Ichijodani, and the revealing of early phases in the development of cities such as Kamakura and Hakata provide an important new resource in understanding the cultural and economic processes which shaped medieval Japan. This fully illustrated book provides a sampler of these findings for a western audience. The new discoveries from Japan are set in context of medieval archaeology beyond Japan by accompanying essays from leading European specialists. The global significance of Japanese medieval archaeology is assessed through comparing the development of towns in Japan and northern Europe. The medieval period in Japan and northwest Europe saw urban growth with towns not only providing centres of administration but also fostering economic development. The pressures which led to such growth, however, be they political or social, were universal in character. following basic requirements of food, shelter, security and spiritual nourishment, towns provided commercial infrastructures, transport and storage facilities, and the setting for trade, craft specialists and art. Chapters include 'The archaeology of medieval towns in Japan and europe: an introduction' (Brian Ayers and Simon Kaner); 'Permanent urban frameworks ('armature') and economic networks in northern France c.700 - c.1000' (Henri Galinie); 'Medieval urbanism and culture in the cities of the Baltic: with a comparison between Lubeck, Germany, and Sakai, Japan' (Manfred Glaser); 'The development of Hakata as a medieval port town' (Oba Koji); 'The establishment and transformation of Japan's medieval capital, Kamakura' (Oka Yoichiro); 'Ichijodani: the archaeology of a Japanese medieval castle town' (Ono Masatoshi); 'Japanese medieval trading towns: Sakai and Tosaminato' (Richard Pearson); and 'Medieval ceramic production in the aegean, 1100 - 1600 AD: some considerations in an east-west perspective' (Joanita Vroom).