Northwest Europe in the Early Middle Ages, c.AD 600–1150
A Comparative Archaeology

Using the most recently discovered archaeological and textual evidence, Christopher Loveluck explores the transformation of Northwest Europe, from c.AD 600 to 1150.

Christopher Loveluck (Author)

9781316648544, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 April 2017

490 pages, 45 b/w illus.
24.5 x 17.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.85 kg

'Christopher Loveluck's magisterial survey of the emergence of medieval Europe from its origins in the fading Roman Empire is a solid contribution to the scholarship of the period.' Susan Oosthuizen, Landscape History

Christopher Loveluck's study explores the transformation of Northwest Europe (primarily Britain, France and Belgium) from the era of the first post-Roman 'European Union' under the Carolingian Frankish kings to the so-called 'feudal' age, between c.AD 600 and 1150. During these centuries radical changes occurred in the organisation of the rural world. Towns and complex communities of artisans and merchant-traders emerged and networks of contact between northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle and Far East were redefined, with long-lasting consequences into the present day. Loveluck provides the most comprehensive comparative analysis of the rural and urban archaeological remains in this area for twenty-five years. Supported by evidence from architecture, relics, manuscript illuminations and texts, this book explains how the power and intentions of elites were confronted by the aspirations and actions of the diverse rural peasantry, artisans and merchants, producing both intended and unforeseen social changes.

Part I. Context: 1. Introduction
2. The social fabric of Northwest Europe, AD 600–1150: paradigms and perspectives
Part II. The Age of the Carolingians, c.AD 600–900: 3. Small farming communities of West Francia, AD 600–900
4. Larger farming communities, specialist producers and collectors in West Francia, AD 600–900
5. Farming communities of Anglo-Saxon England and the Atlantic fringes, AD 600–900
6. Expressions of leadership and models for emulation, AD 500–900
7. Conspicuous consumption and secular authority in the landscape, AD 650–900
8. Diocesan towns, AD 600–900
9. Ports and maritime-oriented societies, AD 600–900
Part III. From the Viking Age to Angevin Hegemony: 10. Transformations in architectures and settings of public power, AD 900–1150
11. The rural world, AD 900–1150: lifestyles of old and new aristocracies
12. The rural world, AD 900–1150: social mobility, landscape reorganisation and colonization
13. Major ports and merchant patricians as catalysts for social change, AD 900–1100
14. Towns as regional centres and urban diversity, AD 900–1150
15. Final conclusions.

Subject Areas: Medieval European archaeology [HDDM], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]