Studies of the uses of literacy for the exercise of political and economic power, in Latin Christendom and the wider world. This pioneering collection of studies is concerned with the way in which increasing literacy interacted with the desire of thirteenth-century rulers to keep fuller records of their government's activities, and the manner in whichthis literacy could be used to safeguard or increase authority. In Europe the keeping of archives became an increasingly normal part of everyday administrative routines, and much has survived, owing to the prolonged preference forparchment rather than paper; in the Eastern civilisations material is more scarce. Papers discuss pragmatic literacy and record keeping in both West and East, through the medium of both literary and official texts. Thelate Professor RICHARD BRITNELL taught in the Department of History at the University of Durham. Contributors: RICHARD BRITNELL, THOMAS BEHRMANN, MANUEL RIU, OLIVER GUYOTJEANNIN, GERARD SIVERY, MANFRED GROTEN, MICHAELNORTH, MICHAEL PRESTWICH, PAUL HARVEY, GEOFFREY MARTIN, GEOFFREY BARROW, ROBERT SWANSON, NICHOLAS OIKONOMIDES, ELIZABETH ZACHARIADOU, I.H. SIDDIQUI, TIMOTHY BROOK, YOSHIYASU KAWANE

Studies on the cultural, social, political and economic history of the age. This collection presents new and original research on the long thirteenth century, from c.1180-c.1330, including England's relations with Wales and Ireland. The range of topics embraces royal authority and its assertion and limitation, the great royal inquests and judicial reform of the reign of Edward I, royal manipulation of noble families, weakening royal administration at the end of the century, sex and love in the upper levels of society, monastic/layrelations, and the administration of building projects. Contributors: RUTH BLAKELY, NICOLA COLDSTREAM, BETH HARTLAND, CHARLES INSLEY, ANDY KING, SAMANTHA LETTERS, JOHN MADDICOTT, MARC MORRIS, ANTHONY MUSSON, DAVIDA. POSTLES, MICHAEL PRESTWICH, SANDRA G. RABAN, BJORN WEILER, JOCELYN WOGAN-BROWNE, ROBERT WRIGHT. THE EDITORS are all in the Department of History, University of Durham.

`An indispensable series for anyone who wishes to keep abreast of recent work in the field'. WELSH HISTORY REVIEW Volume VI of Thirteenth Century England sees a new impetus behind this biennial series. The conference which generates the studies - a generous thirteen in this volume - has now moved to Durham, where Professor MICHAEL PRESTWICH is Pro-Vice Chancellor and Professor ROBIN FRAME and Dr RICHARD BRITNELL are members of the History Department. It is the publishers' hope that, like Anglo-Norman Studies, the series will now be recognised as one which any library with a serious interest in medieval history will need to possess. This latest volume in the series takes a broad chronological approach, covering a wide range of topics over a period extending from the late twelfth to the early fourteenth century, the so-called `long thirteenth century'. Embracing different aspects of the economic, social and political history of the period, subjects include naval warfare under Richard I; England's relations with Wales and Scotland; the purchasing practices of great households, and the management of the Winchester estates; the expulsion of Jews in 1290; and the construction and political message of the Vita Edwardi Secundi. Two articles concern women, one looking at the role of queens in granting pardons, the other at the fate of widows in the aftermath of rebellion. Contributors: JOHN GILLINGHAM, BARBARA HARVEY, MARK PAGE, PETER COSS,JENS ROEHRKASTEN, ROBERT C. STACEY, SUSAN CRANE, J.J. CRUMP, FIONA WATSON, JOHN PARSONS, PAULA DOBROWOLSKI, CHRIS GIVEN-WILSON, WENDY CHILDS

The Winchester pipe rolls - the estate accounts of the bishops of Winchester - constitute one of the most remarkable documentary survivals from medieval England, and are without parallel anywhere in the world, supplying detailed evidence for agriculture, prices, wages, the land market and peasant society in an exceptionally well-preserved sequence from 1209 onwards. They have attracted the attention of historians of medieval economy and society for over acentury, first in deposit in the Public Record Office, more recently in Hampshire Record Office. The essays collected here celebrate their survival and demonstrate their quality, putting them into perspective as a documentary source, and assessing how far their evidence is representative of England as a whole. The volume also demonstrates some of the new ways in which they are being put to use to enhance knowledge of medieval England, with a numberof the articles concerned with recent research projects. The book is completed with a handlist of these records up to 1455, the year in which the bishopric administration started to keep its accounts in registers rather than rolls. Contributors: RICHARD H. BRITNELL, BRUCE M. S. CAMPBELL, JOHN LANGDON, JOHN MULLAN, MARK PAGE, K. J. STOCKS, CHRISTOPHER THORNTON, NICHOLAS C. VINCENT. The late RICHARD BRITNELL was Professor of History at the University of Durham.

Aspects of the political, social, cultural, economic and ecclesiastical history of medieval England re-examined. This collection presents new and original research into the long thirteenth century, from c.1180-c.1330, with a particular focus on the reign of Edward II and its aftermath. Other topics examined include crown finances, markets and fairs, royal stewards, the aftermath of the Barons' War, Wace's Roman de Brut, and authority in Yorkshire nunneries; and the volume also follows the tradition of the series by looking beyond England, with contributions onthe role of Joan, wife of Llywelyn the Great in Anglo-Welsh relations, Dublin, and English landholding in Ireland, while the continental connection is represented by a comparison of aspects of English and French kingship. Contributors: David Carpenter, Nick Barratt, Emilia Jamroziak, Michael Ray, Susan Stewart, Louise J. Wilkinson, Sean Duffy, Beth Hartland, Francoise Le Saux, Henry Summerson, Janet Burton, H.S.A. Fox, David Crook, Margo Todd,Seymour Phillips

An indispensable series for anyone who wishes to keep abreast of recent work in the field. WELSH HISTORY REVIEW The continued vitality and rich diversity of thirteenth-century studies is demonstrated in this latest volume in the series. Economic and social history is particular well-served, with a close examination of the concept of "bastard feudalism", while a detailed exploration of the cloth industry and trade, together with a paper on London wardrobes, with their implications of conspicuous consumption, add much to our knowledge of the commercial world during the period. There is also a particular focus on English relations with Wales and Scotland under Edward I, and on the early history and development of parliament. Other subjects treated include the nature of Englishness; the serjeants of the Common Pleas; English verse chronicles; and Henry III's marriage plans. Professor MICHAEL PRESTWICH, Professor ROBIN FRAME and the late Professor RICHARD BRITNELL taught at the Department of History at the University of Durham. Contributors: SUSAN REYNOLDS, J.R. MADDICOTT, SCOTT L. WAUGH, DEREK KEENE, PAUL BRAND, JOHN H. MUNRO, THEA SUMMERFIELD, REBECCA READER, MICHAEL PRESTWICH, BJOERN WEILER, J. BEVERLEY SMITH, ALAN YOUNG, MICHAEL HASKELL, HUGO SCHWYZER

This series is home to scholarship of the highest order covering a wide range of themes: from politics and warfare to administration, justice and society. The topics of the papers in this book range from the sublime to the macabre: romance, rape, money, politics and religion. Wide-ranging papers cover many themes: the role of knights in the civil war at the end of John's reign, the politics of Ireland at the time of Richard Marshal's rebellion, the crusading context of the de Montfort family, the Petition of the Barons of 1258, and the government of England during Edward I's absence on crusade form one group of papers which illuminate the politics of the period. The history of the Jews in their final days in England is examined, as are the techniques used to supply Edward I's armies. Legal matters are considered, with papers on manorial courts, capital punishment, and the offence of rape. Romance is treated in a historical context with Edward I's marriage plans of 1294. Also included is discussion of the dissemination of the Sarum rite, the building of Westminster Abbey, ecclesiastical mints, and Matthew Paris's maps. Contributors: MARTIN ALLEN, DAVID CARPENTER, DAVIDCROOK, KATHERINE FAULKNER, PETER EDBURY, PAUL HARVEY, RICHARD HUSCROFT, NIGEL MORGAN, MARK ORMROD, ZEFIRA ROKEAH, CORINNE SAUNDERS, BRENDAN SMITH, KATHERINE STOCKS, HENRY SUMMERSON, MARK VAUGHN.

England's economy between 1050 and 1550 mirrored that of much of continental Europe in its growing dependence upon trade over both short distances and long. The essays in this collection are the fruit of forty years of research into the complex and interrelated issues involved. Describing this change can be achieved in part through quantitative indices, such as the number and size of towns, markets and fairs, and the volume of monetary circulation. A full account also requires a discussion of widespread changes of work experience, customary practices and moral values as households became more dependent upon markets. In addition, the evidence of transformative commercial growth in the medieval period gives rise to numerous questions concerning its relationship to more modern times. Modern economic growth and modern capitalism have often been contrasted starkly with medieval economic stagnation and traditionalism, but recent research implies a more continuous process of economic development than that implied by these older stereotypes. Many of the items in this collection are also relevant to this more discursive aspect of medieval commercialisation.

In this series of essays on the society and economy of England between the eleventh and the sixteenth centuries, fourteen contributors address many of the most important themes in an era that experienced profound change in rural, commercial, urban and industrial life. Subjects covered include the growth of London, the commercial and urban development of the north, Italian merchants and banking, overseas trade, taxation, farm servants, hunting and poaching, changing relations between landlords and tenants, the expansion of the economy in the twelfth century and the great slump of the fifteenth.

This book analyzes the economic and social development of Britain and Ireland between 1050 and 1530. It compares economic institutions, the structure of production and rates of economic development and is richly supplied with up-to-date evidence. After considering the principal geographical, cultural and political constraints on economic development, the book examines in detail the development of towns and trade, settlement patterns, agriculture and relations between lords and tenures. The book is structured so that it can be used on both short courses and longer ones, with the material divided at 1300 in order to facilitate its adaptation for different study needs.

The contributors to this collection of essays in honour of the distinguished medieval historian Edward Miller pay tribute by writing on the society and economy of England between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. They address many of the most important themes of an era that witnessed profound change in rural, commercial, urban and industrial life, and they focus in particular on the progress achieved and the problems encountered. The subjects covered include the growth of London, the commercial and urban development of the north, Italian merchants and banking, overseas trade, taxation, farm servants, hunting and poaching, changing relations between landlords and tenants, the expansion of the economy in the twelfth century, and the great slump of the fifteenth. The book has been written by leading experts, and is a major contribution to English medieval economic and social history.