This volume brings together an interesting range of papers discussing medieval buildings across Europe. They provide interesting insights to life in the medieval world in several understudied areas of Europe. The papers range from Croatia and Transylvania in the east, Scandinavia in the north and Britain in the west, providing insights into areas that are rarely discussed by books published in western Europe. There is comprehensive range in size and status of buildings, from the smallest, single-roomed house in Byzantine Serbia and rural homes in central Europe to churches in Sweden and monastic hospitals in England. Buildings of high status and low status are discussed, as well as those of a secular and ecclesiastic nature. Materials and craftspeople are considered through a study of brick makers and their identifying marks. This volume aims to open discussions about medieval buildings beyond simply architectural features and typologies, and furthers the discipline through this process. Buildings can reveal details of the lives of their occupants and therefore enrich our knowledge of life in medieval Europe.

Het is een wijdverbreid idee dat (post-)middeleeuwse steden een sterfteoverschot hadden en zij slechts in leven konden blijven door de toestroom van migranten; een fenomeen dat bekend staat als het ‘urban graveyard’-effect. Over details valt te twisten, maar duidelijk is dat de stad en de dood dichter bij elkaar stonden dan tegenwoordig. Met de dood als belangrijk element in de stedelijke samenleving vormen grafvelden een belangrijke bron van kennis over het leven in de post-middeleeuwen. Sinds de jaren 80 van de vorige eeuw is systematisch archeologisch onderzoek van (post)middeleeuwse grafvelden in Nederland op gang gekomen. Veel van het onderzoek is nog niet of slechts beperkt gepubliceerd. Ook ontbreken synthetiserende publicaties waarin vergelijkingen tussen de resultaten van lokaal grafveldonderzoek in steden centraal staan. De stad en de dood presenteert enkele overzichtsartikelen waarin de resultaten van oud archeologisch onderzoek worden vergeleken met resultaten van jongere opgravingen binnen verschillende Nederlandse steden. Naast bio-archeologische aspecten is er tevens aandacht voor grafrituelen. Deze rijk geïllustreerde bundel vormt een belangrijke bouwsteen voor thematische verdieping en is een inspiratiebron voor (inter)nationaal vergelijkend onderzoek. In de tweede – Engelstalige – bundel van Urban Graveyard Proceedings komt een reeks andere geselecteerde Nederlandse en Vlaamse grafvelden aan de orde. English translation:It is commonly believed that in medieval and post-medieval towns and cities death outnumbered births and that these urban centres could only survive through the influx of migrants; a concept which has come to be known as the urban graveyard effect. Whether this was indeed the case for all cities and towns is still debated, but it is certain that urban citizens were more used to death that we are today. The medieval graveyards in which the deceased were interred, then still located within town limits, are an invaluable source of knowledge for reconstructing past lives. Systematic archaeological and osteoarchaeological research of urban graveyards has become the norm in the Netherlands and Belgium since the 1980s. However, many of the studies remain unpublished and larger, overarching publications in which comparisons are made between different studies are still lacking. The urban graveyard presents several studies in which the results of older archaeological and osteoarchaeological research are compared to more recent excavation data from several Dutch cities and towns. Both the archaeological data concerning burial position, orientation, and grave goods as well as osteoarchaeological data such as demographic information and pathological observations are discussed. This well-illustrated volume is a starting point and source of inspiration for more (inter)national comparative research.

It is commonly believed that in medieval and post-medieval towns and cities death outnumbered births and that these urban centres could only survive through the influx of migrants; a concept which has come to be known as the urban graveyard effect. Whether this was indeed the case for all cities and towns is still debated, but it is certain that urban citizens were more used to death that we are today. The medieval graveyards in which the deceased were interred, then still located within town limits, are an invaluable source of knowledge for reconstructing past lives. Systematic archaeological and osteoarchaeological research of urban graveyards has become the norm in the Netherlands and Belgium since the 1980s. However, many of the studies remain unpublished and larger, overarching publications in which comparisons are made between different studies are still lacking. The urban graveyard presents several studies in which the results of older archaeological and osteoarchaeological research are compared to more recent excavation data from several Dutch, Belgian and Danish cities and towns. Both the archaeological data concerning burial position, orientation, and grave goods as well as osteoarchaeological data such as demographic information and pathological observations are discussed. This well-illustrated volume is a starting point and source of inspiration for more (inter)national comparative research.

Caves and rockshelters in Europe have traditionally been associated with prehistory, and in some regions cave archaeology has become synonymous with the Palaeolithic. However, there is abundant evidence that caves and rockshelters were important foci for activities in historic times. During the medieval period (here taken as AD 500–1500) caves were used for short-term shelter, habitation, specialised craft activities, storage, as hideaways and for tending animals. Caves were also used for religious purposes. Caves and ritual in medieval Europe, AD 500–1500 focuses on this neglected field of research – the ritual and religious use of caves. It draws together interdisciplinary studies by leading specialists from across Europe: from Iberia to Crimea, and from Malta to northern Norway. The different religions and rituals in this vast area are unified by the use of caves and rockshelters, indicating that the beliefs in these natural places – and in the power of the underworld – were deeply embedded in many different religious practices. Christianity was widespread and firmly established in most of Europe at this time, and many of the contributions deal with different types of Christian practices, such as the use of rock-cut churches, unmodified caves for spiritual retreat, caves reputedly visited by saints, and caves as places for burials. But parallel to this, some caves were associated with localised popular religious practices, which sometimes had pre-Christian origins. Muslims in Iberia used caves for spiritual retreat, and outside the Christian domain in northern Europe, caves and rockshelters were places for carving symbols among Pictish groups, places for human burial, for bear burials amongst the Sámi, and places for crafting and votive deposition for Norse populations.

The study of belief, faith and religious practices can provide a deep insight into historical societies, whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish or pagan. They form a constant of human behaviour. Through religion, cult and rituals, multi-layered and complex cultural norms are expressed, demonstrating group affiliation. However, popular devotion and belief in a rural environment can include practices that are out with those of the official religion.Some of these practices discussed in this book can be investigated through archaeology. Important religious sites like churches, monasteries, mosques and synagogues as well as caves, holy wells and hermitages are discussed. Furthermore burials of children, revenants and the condemned are analysed, as they often deviate from normal practice and shed light on particular communities and their beliefs. Rituals concerning the protection of buildings and persons which focus on objects attributed with religious qualities are another area explored. Through archaeological research it is possible to gain an understanding of popular religion of medieval and early modern times and also to draw conclusions about religious ideas that are not written in documents. By bringing together these topics this book is of particular interest to scholars working in the field of archaeology, history and cultural anthropology.The addressed subjects were the theme of an international conference of the RURALIA association held in Clervaux, Luxemburg, in September 2015. Ruralia promotes the archaeology of medieval settlement and rural life. Current research questions in rural archaeology are discussed in an European wide context. The aim is to strengthen the exchange of knowledge in, and the development of, archaeologically comparable studies, and to make archaeological results available to other disciplines.

The kingdom of France was plunged into darkness. Weakened by war and famine, the country risked falling into English hands. As the dauphin Charles desperately aspired to one day become king, a young girl from Domremy, guided by mysterious voices, emerged from the shadows, swearing she would have him crowned in Reims. Driven by her fervour and her boundless will, she who would bear the epitaph of Maid of Orleans, led her small troop to raise the siege in the eponymous city. Behind her, the people of France took up arms with newfound courage, to plunge headlong into one of the greatest epics of all time.

The Impact of the Edwardian Castles in Wales publishes the proceedings of a conference held in 2007 a year that marked the seventh centenary of the death of King Edward I which set out to review recent scholarship on castles that he built in north Wales after two wars, in 1277 and 1282-83 and a Welsh uprising in 1294-95, and to rethink the effect that their building had upon Wales in the past, present and future. Building upon the seminal work of Arnold Taylor, whose study of the buildings and documentary evidence has been pivotal to Edwardian castle studies for more than fifty years, the volume includes papers which call into question the role of Master James of St George as the architect of the kings new castles; the role of Richard the Engineer, the nature of royal accommodation in the thirteenth century and a detailed look at how households worked, especially in the kitchen and accounting departments. New approaches to castle studies are encouraging a more holistic understanding of the Edwardian castles and their context and to this end papers consider their impact on Welsh society and its princes in the thirteenth century, notably Llywelyn ab Iorwerth ( Fawr , the Great) and his grandson, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales. Their symbolism and meaning through the words of Welsh poets and the mythology behind Caernarfon Castle are also examined, so too is the role of Welshmen in Edward Is armies. The wider context is considered with papers on the Edwardian towns in Wales, the baronial castles in north Wales and Edward I in Scotland and Gascony. The castles still have powerful resonance and the Minister for Heritage in the Welsh Assembly Government considers their role and presentation in Wales today and in the future. Robert Liddiard concludes that the volume 'not only takes our knowledge of the Edwardian castles forward, but also informs the study of castles in the British Isles'.

October 14, 1066, on the hill of Caldbec the armies of William the Conqueror and Harold Godwinson confronted each other in a bloody battle, which will later be called the battle of Hastings. The victory Normandy obtained on that occasion is still perceived as pivotal in determining the common destiny of the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy; it is also around this axis that the future of England is determined, giving the idea of how impactful the Normans had been in influencing the Saxon society. Overall, the course of the battle is relatively well known, thanks to the many medieval authors who mention it, or simply through the research that has been done. However, the before and after the battle remain rather unfamiliar topics. The origins of the conflict can however be easily traced back in early Eleventh century, when a certain Cnut the Great, who was in fact the king of Norway and Denmark, became King of England by marrying Emma of Normandy. Similarly, also the impressive political game between the three contenders to the throne – Harald III of Norway, Godwinson Harold and William the Conqueror – played a determining role for the conquest of England. From Stamford Bridge to appeasement of the North, through the battles of Hastings and London, this book will allow the reader not only to rediscover this pivotal battle and understand the political and strategic aspects of the conquest, but also to learn about Norman and Saxon warriors outfits.

The study of medieval Scandinavian society necessarily involves learning Norse language. Its vocabulary should be considered a vestige of the past as much as archaeological artefacts. These words, indeed, allow everyone to establish a direct contact with the medieval civilization of the North. Thus ‘Le Parler Viking’ was born of out a desire to catalogue in a simple and didactic way the key words of medieval Scandinavian society. Scandinavian legends translations are sometimes interspersed with indigenous words that at times leave the reader confused and doubtful about their true meaning. By collecting these words in one place, the author wants to offer a valuable tool towards the discovery of the fascinating ancient and medieval Scandinavian society . Easily accessible, ‘Le Parler Viking’ aims to be as accurate as possible, addressing both students as well as amateurs and historians. The entries, which are deliberately short, have been organised by theme, so to allow the reader to consult only the sections of interest. Therefore, the most varied aspects of this fascinating society are addressed, including both concrete and abstract concepts, such as weapons and tactics or costumes and traditions. Vikings fans will not be disappointed either as also the most popular terms used by the pirates of the ancient North have been included; even if some of these words do not properly belong to the Viking age, they have nonetheless been included as they represent important linguistic milestones for the XII and XIII century Scandinavia. The author Grégory Cattaneo obtained a PhD in medieval history at the Paris VI Sorbonne and Iceland University. He has been living in Iceland since 2005 and has taught at the University of Iceland between 2007 and 2014.

The essays in this volume look at the mechanics of debt, the legal process, and its economics in early medieval England. Beneath the elevated plane of high politics, affairs of the Crown and international finance of the Middle Ages, lurked huge numbers of credit and debt transactions. The transactions and those who conducted them moved between social and economic worlds; merchants and traders, clerics and Jews, extending and receiving credit to and from their social superiors, equals and inferiors. These papers build upon an established tradition of approaches to the study of credit and debt in the Middle Ages, looking at the wealth of historical material, from registries of debt and legal records, to parliamentary roles and statues, merchant accounts, rents and leases, wills and probates. Four of the six papers in this volume were given at a conference on 'Credit and debt in medieval and early modern England' held in Oxford in 2000. The other two papers draw upon new important postgraduate theses. Contents: Introduction (Phillipp Schofield) ; Aspects of the law of debt, 1189-1307 (Paul Brand) ; Christian and Jewish lending patterns and financial dealings during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (Robin R. Mundill) ; Some aspects of the business of statutory debt registries, 1283-1307 (Christopher McNall) ; The English parochial clergy as investors and creditors in the first half of the fourteenth century (Pamela Nightingale) ; Access to credit in the medieval English countryside (Phillipp Schofield) ; Creditors and debtors at Oakington, Cottenham and Dry Drayton (Cambridgeshire), 1291-1350 (Chris Briggs) .

Duke William of Normandy (1027-1087) is best known for his conquest of England but his eventful and chaotic youth is often forgotten. William inherited the Dukedom at the age of eight when his father, Robert the Magnificent, died in 1035 on his return from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. However, many of the barons who had sworn allegiance to the young Duke before his father had left, now refused to obey a bastard. They dragged Normandy into civil war, immersing the province in blood and fire. The young Duke himself narrowly escaped death a number of times and had to go into hiding. He reappeared in 1040 resulting in further revolts increasing in intensity in 1046. It becomes imperative that the young Duke imposes his authority on his Dukedom. William now enters an episode which will determine the rest of his life at the battle of Val es dunes. The result of this battle will not only determine the future of Normandy but also that of England and France itself.

Twenty-three contributions by leading archaeologists from across Europe explore the varied forms, functions and significances of fortified settlements in the 8th to 10th centuries AD. These could be sites of strongly martial nature, upland retreats, monastic enclosures, rural seats, island bases, or urban nuclei. But they were all expressions of control - of states, frontiers, lands, materials, communities - and ones defined by walls, ramparts or enclosing banks. Papers run from Irish cashels to Welsh and Pictish strongholds, Saxon burhs, Viking fortresses, Byzantine castra, Carolingian creations, Venetian barricades, Slavic strongholds, and Bulgarian central places, and coverage extends fully from north-west Europe, to central Europe, the northern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Strongly informed by recent fieldwork and excavations, but drawing also where available on the documentary record, this important collection provides fully up-to-date reviews and analyses of the archaeologies of the distinctive settlement forms that characterised Europe in the Early Middle Ages.

Quests for cod, herring and other sea fish had profound impacts on medieval Europe. This interdisciplinary book combines history, archaeology and zooarchaeology to discover the chronology, causes and consequences of these fisheries. It crosscuts traditional temporal and geographical boundaries, ranging from the Migration Period through the Middle Ages into early modern times, and from Iceland to Estonia, Arctic Norway to Belgium. It addresses evidence for human impacts on aquatic ecosystems in some instances and for a negligible medieval footprint on superabundant marine species in others (in contrast with industrial fisheries of the 19th–21st centuries). The book explores both incremental and punctuated changes in marine fishing, providing a unique perspective on the rhythm of Europe’s environmental, demographic, political and social history. The 21 chapters – by experts in their respective fields – cover a range of regions and methodological approaches, but come together to tell a coherent story of long-term change. Regional differences are clear, yet communities of the North Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic, North and Irish Seas also followed trajectories with many resonances. Ultimately they were linked by a pan-European trade network that turned preserved fish into wine, grain and cloth. At the close of the Middle Ages this nascent global network crossed the Atlantic, but its earlier implications were no less pivotal for those who harvested the sea or profited from its abundance.

The mosques of the Djebel Nafūsa, little known and under threat, personify the continuity of traditions and faith of the Ibadites, who have retained their grip over the centuries on this rugged landscape, despite their many trials and tribulations. This book is the result of a mission carried out in 2010 with the photographer Axel Derriks and examines twenty or so mosques, bringing to light their architectural features and linking them to medieval Ibadite texts.

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, raised an army to invade England and to seize the throne. Maixent, a young boy from a poor family, became the unexpected companion of a nobleman named Tancrède de Hautmesnil on his way to join the Norman chief on the coast. From there, on the 28th of September and taking advantage of favourable winds, the fleet set off to launch the assault on England. Aboard the many ships, men feared the capricious seas, but, as soon as dawn broke, the enemy coast was already in sight. They would soon be in Hastings for the decisive battle.

This PhD thesis discusses the practices of wealth depositing in the 1st–9th century AD eastern Baltic (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). Wealth deposits are one or more valued object/s that is/are hidden deliberately as an intended separate deposition in a selected place in a specific, distinguishable manner. Wealth depositing is regarded as an important cultural practice which relates to and derives from various past social phenomena and changes respectively in spatial and temporal terms. It is emphasised that wealth deposits should be analysed as a cohesive corpus of material, regardless of specific artefact types, functional groups, production material, environment of concealment, and most importantly without any predetermined interpretation categorisations.The dissertation presents different patterned practices of concealing valuables in the 1st–9th century AD eastern Baltic through a detailed contextual analysis of their main material characteristics: artefacts, their assemblages and appearance, environment of concealment, chronology and location in the cultural landscape. The study demonstrates how depositional practices change in time and space, and analyses relations between specific depositional practices and developments on a wider social scale. A comparative analysis of wealth deposits and important social changes in contemporary society based on overall archaeological material is presented. The key regional and cross-regional practices of wealth depositing in the 1st–9th century AD eastern Baltic are identified. Additionally, further comparisons are drawn between depositional practices in the eastern Baltic and other parts of the Baltic Sea region, especially Scandinavia.This thesis contributes to the discussions of concepts of value and depositional practices in a long-term and cross-regional perspective. A further aim is to look beyond the problematic ‘why?’-questions posed in the studies of wealth deposits, and move instead to more comprehensible questions of ‘how?’: how do depositional practices change in time and space, and how are these processes related to developments in a broader social context?The book contains a catalogue of all the 1st-9th century AD Eastern Baltic deposits analysed in the dissertation with descriptions of objects, environments of concealment, find circumstances, illustrations/photos and further references.