The landscape of medieval England was the product of a multitude of hands. While the power to shape the landscape inevitably lay with the Crown, the nobility and the religious houses, this study also highlights the contribution of the peasantry in the layout of rural settlements and ridge-and-furrow field works, and the funding of parish churches by ordinary townsfolk. The importance of population trends is emphasised as a major factor in shaping the medieval landscape: the rising curve of the eleventh to thirteenth centuries imposing growing pressures on resources, and the devastating impact of the Black Death leading to radical decline in the fourteenth century. Opening with a broad-ranging analysis of political and economic trends in medieval England, the book progresses thematically to assess the impact of farming, rural settlement, towns, the Church, and fortification using many original case studies. The concluding chapter charts the end of the medieval landscape with the dissolution of the monasteries, the replacement of castles by country houses, the ongoing enclosure of fields, and the growth of towns.

Expert coverage and new assessments of the reign of King Stephen, set in social, political and European context. The turbulent reign of King Stephen is here subjected to a full assessment by leading scholars in the field. All of the most important aspects are fully covered: the impact of developments under Henry I on the origins of civil war; relations with the continent, as they affected Stephen's overall strategy and the foundation of religious houses; the opportunities which lured foreign mercenaries to England; mid-twelfth century legal developments and trends inrevenue-raising; baronial and episcopal allegiances; violent disorder and civil unrest; and the sequence of events which unfolded during the political crisis of July 1141. Taken together, they provide the fruits of the most recent research into and the most up to date interpretations of the intense political and military activity of the reign. CONTRIBUTORS: MARJORIE CHIBNALL, JUDITH GREEN, DAVID CROUCH, JANET BURTON, THOMAS BISSON, BRUCE O'BRIEN, GRAEME WHITE, PAUL DALTON, STEPHEN MARRITT, HUGH THOMAS, EDMUND KING

No single recent enterprise has done more to enlarge and deepen our understanding of one of the most critical periods in English history. ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL Anglo-Norman Studies, published annually and containing the papers presented at the Battle conference founded by R. Allen Brown, is established as the single most important publication in the field (as a glance at bibliographies of the period will confirm), covering not only matters relating to pre- and post-Conquest England and France, but also the activities and influences of the Normans on the wider European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern stage. Among other subjects, this year's articles look at Norman architecture and its place in north-west European art; shipping and trade between England and the Continent; Dudo of St Quentin; and castles and garrisons.

This book examines the processes by which effective royal government was restored in England following the civil war of Stephen's reign. It questions the traditional view that Stephen presided over 'anarchy', arguing instead that the king and his rivals sought to maintain the administrative traditions of Henry I, leaving foundations for a restoration of order once the war was over. The period from 1153 to 1162, spanning the last months of Stephen's reign and the early years of Henry II's, is seen as one primarily of 'restoration' when concerted efforts were made to recover royal lands, rights and revenues lost since 1135. Thereafter 'restoration' gave way to 'reform': although the administrative advances of 1166 have been seen as a watershed in Henry II's reign, the financial and judicial measures of 1163-65 were sufficiently important for this, also, to be regarded as a transitional phase in his government of England.

This book, covering the close of Stephen's reign (1135-54) and the early phase of Henry II's (1154-89), examines the government of England in the aftermath of civil war. It suggests that the extent of "anarchy" under Stephen has been exaggerated and that there was much administrative continuity from one reign to the next. Previous studies of Henry II's government have often neglected his earliest years, but here there is a reassessment of the significance of financial and judicial measures during 1163-65, as "restoration" gave way to "reform."

The landscape of medieval England was the product of a multitude of hands. While the power to shape the landscape inevitably lay with the Crown, the nobility and the religious houses, this study also highlights the contribution of the peasantry in the layout of rural settlements and ridge-and-furrow field works, and the funding of parish churches by ordinary townsfolk. The importance of population trends is emphasised as a major factor in shaping the medieval landscape: the rising curve of the eleventh to thirteenth centuries imposing growing pressures on resources, and the devastating impact of the Black Death leading to radical decline in the fourteenth century. Opening with a broad-ranging analysis of political and economic trends in medieval England, the book progresses thematically to assess the impact of farming, rural settlement, towns, the Church, and fortification using many original case studies. The concluding chapter charts the end of the medieval landscape with the dissolution of the monasteries, the replacement of castles by country houses, the ongoing enclosure of fields, and the growth of towns.