This book challenges the notion that economic crises are modern phenomena through its exploration of the tumultuous 'credit-crunch' of the later Middle Ages. It illustrates clearly how influences such as the Black Death, inter-European warfare, climate change and a bullion famine occasioned severe and prolonged economic decline across fifteenth century England. Early chapters discuss trends in lending and borrowing, and the use of credit to fund domestic trade through detailed analysis of the Statute Staple and rich primary sources. The author then adopts a broad-based geographic lens to examine provincial credit before focusing on London's development as the commercial powerhouse in late medieval business. Academics and students of modern economic change and historic financial revolutions alike will see that the years from 1353 to 1532 encompassed immense upheaval and change, reminiscent of modern recessions. The author carefully guides the reader to see that these shifts are the precursors of economic change in the early modern period, laying the foundations for the financial world as we know it today.

First full analysis of the rich records surviving from medieval English town courts. Town courts were the principal institution responsible for the delivery of justice and urban administration within medieval towns. Their records survive in large quantities in archives across England, and they provide an unparalleled insight into the lives and work of thousands of men and women who lived in these towns. The court rolls tell us much about the practice of law at the local level within towns, as well as yielding a broad range of perspectiveson the economy, society and administration of towns. This volume is the first collection dedicated to the analysis of town courts and their records. Through a wide range of approaches, it offers new interpretations of the role that these courts played. It also demonstrates the wide range of uses to which court records can be put to in order to more fully understand medieval urban society. The volume draws on the records of a considerable number of towns and their courts across England, including London, York, Norwich, Lincoln, Nottingham, Lynn, Chester, Bromsgrove and Shipston-on-Stour. RICHARD GODDARD is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Nottingham; TERESA PHIPPS is Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of History at Swansea University. Contributors: Christopher Dyer, Richard Goddard, Jeremy Goldberg, Alan Kissane, Maryanne Kowaleski, JaneLaughton, Esther Liberman Cuenca, Susan Maddock, Teresa Phipps, Samantha Sagui

Develops an understanding of Warwickshire's past for outsiders and those already engaged with the subject, and to explore questions which apply in other regions, including those outside the United Kingdom. Published to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the Dugdale Society, which publishes Warwickshire's records, this book brings together a range of scholars - early career researchers, tenured academics, independent scholars and an archivist - all with records of excellence in research and writing, who cover a range of political, social, economic, cultural, architectural and religious subjects from the eleventh to the twentieth centuries. Besides providing original and well-researched interpretations of Warwickshire's past, the book goes further to discuss and analyse the ways in which writing of local history has changed over the last hundred years, paying particular attention to meanings and explanations that have emerged in recent times, from which future developments can be expected. As such the book will appeal not just to those interested in the local history of Warwickshire, but also to everyone concerned with local history in general, and how it should be studied and written.

An examination of Coventry's process of urbanisation from its origins in the Anglo-Saxon past to the eve of the Black Death. The processes by which medieval urban communities were formed and developed can be clearly seen in this study of Coventry. Following a survey of Domesday evidence, the book goes on to look at the mechanisms for economic growth inCoventry during the twelfth century, in which both lay and monastic lords played a significant part. Coventry in the thirteenth century reveals other issues: migration to and from the town, the occupational structure within Coventry, and the urban land market. The story of Coventry's development into the fourteenth century ranges over trade, manufacturing and occupations, and notes changes in the land market. Making extensive use of the town's rich documentation, this study presents the reader with a closely argued analysis of the stages by which Coventry developed from its origins in the Anglo-Saxon past to a vibrant and wealthy urban community on the eve of the Black Death. Dr RICHARD GODDARD teaches in the School of History, University of Nottingham.

This book challenges the notion that economic crises are modern phenomena through its exploration of the tumultuous `credit-crunch' of the later Middle Ages. It illustrates clearly how influences such as the Black Death, inter-European warfare, climate change and a bullion famine occasioned severe and prolonged economic decline across fifteenth century England. Early chapters discuss trends in lending and borrowing, and the use of credit to fund domestic trade through detailed analysis of the Statute Staple and rich primary sources. The author then adopts a broad-based geographic lens to examine provincial credit before focusing on London's development as the commercial powerhouse in late medieval business. Academics and students of modern economic change and historic financial revolutions alike will see that the years from 1353 to 1532 encompassed immense upheaval and change, reminiscent of modern recessions. The author carefully guides the reader to see that these shifts are the precursors of economic change in the early modern period, laying the foundations for the financial world as we know it today.