This thesis is composed of an introduction and five chapters. The introduction examines the various sources which can be used in establishing the actions of the family (chronicles, charters, central government rolls and so on) and attempts to make some general remarks about them. From this discussion of the sources, chapters one and two move on to examine the careers of the ten members of the family who, over the course of nine generations, ruled over the lands which were acquired between 1066 and 1316. The composition of these estates and the ways in which they came into the family's possession is also considered here. Chapter three looks at the family's demesne manors, examining the various franchises which the family held, the revenues these estates produced - in so far as they can be recovered - and the location and economic structure of the demesne manors in England, Ireland and Wales. Chapter four examines the household officials employed by the family and identifies those who formed the most prominent members of the de Verduns' following. The chapter also discusses the tenantry, seeking to establish why individuals were granted lands by the family and identifying any relationships between the tenants of their English estates and those found living in their Irish lordships. Chapter five looks at the family as a unit. The various cadet lines are identified where possible, and the patronage and role of younger sons or siblings is discussed. The identities of the de Verduns' wives or husbands are examined and the treatment meted out to widows is explored. So too are the family's possible views of its own identity. This has been done by looking at, for example, naming patterns and the various marriages which were made.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, München, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-127) and index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Facultad de Derecho de Valladolid, 1979. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-290).

This thesis examines the construction of legal arguments in the English ecclesiastical courts, 1193-1300. The primary source materials used are the records of the thirteenth-century provincial Court of Canterbury, the earliest extensive collection of English ecclesiastical court records. The thesis is divided into two sections: 1) the development and use of Romano- canonical procedure in the Court of Canterbury, and 2) the construction of arguments based on procedure, issues of fact, and issues of law, as well as the citation of legal sources. As yet, very little work has been done on the practical aspects of litigation and legal representation in the ecclesiastical courts before the fourteenth century. By combining a broad overview of procedure with a detailed analysis of select documents and cases, this thesis will provide a more in-depth study of legal argument in the ecclesiastical courts than has previously been available. In the thirteenth century, the ecclesiastical courts were operating within an extensive framework of written law, which made the litigants dependent on both the eloquence of their argument and on their ability to cite their sources and offer proofs. The increased complexity of arguments and the appearance of explicit canon and civil law citations at the end of the thirteenth century were almost certainly a result of the development of the roles of advocates in the church courts. This study will use the surviving records from Canterbury to provide a detailed picture of litigation in the period, in particular with regard to the way in which litigants constructed their arguments and accessed representation, and the manner in which legal experts made use of their education when practising in the church courts. This will allow us to further investigate how litigants were able to understand and make effective use of a changing legal system.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between political authority and economic change in the tenth to twelfth centuries AD. This is often interpreted as a period of dramatic economic and political upheaval; enormous growth in commerce, the emergence of an urban network and increasingly centralised polities are all indicative of this process. Ireland has rarely been considered in discussion of this sort but analysis of Ireland’s political economy has much to contribute to the debate. This will be tackled through a consideration of the coinage struck in Ireland between c.995 and 1170 with focus upon the two themes of production and usage. In analysing this material the scale and scope of a monetary economy, the importance of commerce and the controlling aspects of royal authority will each be addressed. The approach deployed is also overtly comparative with material from other contemporary areas, particularly England and Norway, used to provide context. Ultimately, in seeking to analyse these questions within this comparative context, the issue of where economic agency behind changes in the European economy will be considered. Chapters 1 and 2 situate the research within the wider scholarly debate and precise historical context respectively. Chapters 3 to 6 are a consideration of the manner in which the Hiberno-Scandinavian coinage was produced and administered. This reassesses questions of the scale of production, administration and the role of royal authority in the production of the coinage based upon a comprehensive re-categorisation and re-dating of the material. Chapters 7 and 8 concern the use of coins in the urban environment of Dublin and across the entirety of Ireland, with coinage analysed within its archaeological contexts. Ultimately, this thesis suggests that monetary economy and levels of commerce were substantial, variable and yet relatively geographically constrained. When considered in relationship to contemporary political contexts, the importance of royal authority in directing the economy is determined to be minimal with agency behind economic change seen to rest with an urban, mercantile community.

Across medieval Europe, the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain traced a lattice web of popular culture. From the lowest peasant to the greatest king and churchmen, the devout walked pathways that created an economy and contributed to a social and political climate of change. Central to this impulse of piety and wanderlust was the veneration of the Virgin Mary. She was, however, not the iconic Mother of the New Testament whose character, actions, and very name are nearly absent from that first-century compilation of texts. As characterized in the words of popular songs and tales, the mariales, she was a robust saint who performed acts of healing that exceeded those miracles of Jesus described in the Bible. Unafraid and authoritative, she confronted demons and provided judgement that reached beyond the understanding and mercy of medieval codes of law. Holding out the promise of protection from physical and spiritual harm, she attracted denizens of admirers who included poets, minstrels, and troubadours like Nigel of Canterbury, John of Garland, Gonzalo de Berceo, and Gautier de Coinci. They popularized her cult across Europe; pilgrims sang their songs and celebrated the new attributes of Mary. This dissertation uses the greatest collection of these songs, Las Cantigas de Santa Maria compiled in the thirteenth century under the direction of Alfonso X, King of Castile and Leon, to construct the history of a lay piety movement deeply rooted in medieval popular culture. Making the transition from institutionalized, doctrinal saint to popular heroine, Mary becomes a subversive conduit through which culture moved from Latin poetry to vernacular verse and from the monasteries of scholasticism to the popular pathway of Wycliffite reform.

While Scotland was politically unified before the First Scottish War of Independence (1296-1328), it was only nominally so. Scotland shared a rich cultural unity amongst the clans, and it was only through the invasion from England, and the war that followed, that Scotland found a true political unity under King Robert the Bruce. This thesis argues that Scotland had a shared cultural identity, including the way it waged war, and how it came to be united under one king who brought a sense of nationalism to Scotland.

Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI)

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