The two books presented by Walter of Milemete to Edward III in 1326-7 are treated together. Two campaigns of decoration are suggested for the Milemete Treatise: an original campaign c1326-7 and one largely executed by a single artist before Queen Isabella's fall from power c1330. Three campaigns of decoration are suggested for the companion volume the Holkham Secretum. An original campaign, perhaps earlier than that on the Milemete Treatise, but still c1326-7, a second campaign c1327-30 and later work added when the book was repaired c1340-50. The iconography of the Milemete Treatise is related to court models and the 'Flores Historiarum'. The iconography of the Holkham Secretum is seen as having been created in three campaigns related to the different artists who worked on the book. From an analysis of the documentary evidence concerning illuminators in England in the Middle Ages, a model is applied which suggests the existence of three major centres of illumination in England, Oxford, Cambridge and London, as well as minor regional towns which also supported illuminators. The localisation of liturgical manuscripts, the patronage evidence from both secular and liturgical manuscripts as well as iconographical and codicological comparisons, are all used to suggest that the first group of illuminators of the Holkham Secretum were based at oxford. The main group of the Milemete Treatise itself can be associated with these artists, but also with more metropolitan trends and London. The later work on the Holkham Secretum is associated with an 'Ely group' of manuscripts c1340-50, produced by artists who may have been based at Cambridge. 3 it is suggested that some artists may have been trained in one 'centre' or 'workshop', but could be itinerant. other artists appear to be more closely related to Court painting in London through their style and the iconography of their miniatures. At least two of the artists who worked on the Milemete Treatise and Holkham Secretum1 after the initial campaign, but before c1330, fall into the latter category.

Medieval castle slighting is the phenomenon in which a high-status fortification is demolished in a time of conflict. At its heart are issues about symbolism, the role of castles in medieval society, and the politics of power. Although examples can be found throughout the Middle Ages (1066–1500) in England, Wales and Scotland there has been no systematic study of the archaeology of castle slighting. Understanding castle slighting enhances our view of medieval society and how it responded to power struggles. This study interrogates the archaeological record to establish the nature of castle slighting: establishing how prevalent it was chronologically and geographically; which parts of castles were most likely to be slighted and why this is significant; the effects on the immediate landscape; and the wider role of destruction in medieval society. The contribution of archaeology is especially important as contemporary records give little information about this phenomenon. Using information recovered from excavation and survey allows this thesis to challenge existing narratives about slighting, especially with reference to the civil war between Stephen and Matilda (1139–1154) and the view that slighting was primarily to prevent an enemy from using a fortification. The thesis proposes a new framework for understanding how slighting is represented in the archaeological record and how it might be recognised in the future. Using this methodology, a total of 60 sites were identified. Slighting often coincides with periods of civil war, illustrating the importance of slighting as a tool of social control and the re-assertion of authority in the face of rebellion. Slighting did not necessarily encompass an entire site some parts of the castle – halls and chapels – were typically deliberately excluded from the destruction. There are also examples which fit the old narrative that slighting was used to prevent a fortification falling into enemy hands, but these cases are in the minority and are typically restricted to Scotland during the Scottish Wars of Independence. Given the castle’s role in shaping the landscape – acting as a focus for seigneurial power and precipitating the creation and growth of towns – it is important to understand how slighting effected nearby associated settlements. The evidence suggests that larger towns were able to prosper despite the disruption of slighting while smaller settlements were more likely to decline into obscurity. Importantly towns themselves were very rarely included in the destruction of slighting.

It is a pity that Old English poetry is not more widely known, not only because it is beautiful and powerful but because to read it is to experience a different way of thinking. It is also a pity - or opportunity - that many first-year Old English students express a "love-hate" relationship with the language. Therefore, it is worth trying to discover what there is in the poetry to interest the general educated public and create enthusiasts among undergraduates. The multitudinous answers, found herein, have one over-riding answer: the Anglo-Saxon way of thinking. Old English poetry opens a door into a dim past by disclosing, in puzzle-piece hints, that epistemological world, which becomes more fascinating the more one pokes around in it. This dissertation seeks to give the beginning student and the reader from the general educated public a chance to wander in this landscape where, generally, only scholars tread.

In the “Introduction” (1–20) Johnston identifies three “simultaneous developments” which the book should bring together: for one, the “gentry […] emerging into a distinct and quite numerous stratum within the aristocracy”; secondly, the “[r]omance adapt[ing] to this change, opening up a new ideological space for this new class of readers”; and, finally, “book production” – in particular: copying by booklets and the increasing use of paper – “conveniently facilitating provincial copying and circulation of provincially oriented texts”. These three developments, says Johnston, “coalesced to yield a new type of romance” which he dubs gentry romance (14). His aim is to show that the gentry had an active part in the late history of English romance as some of its members – literally – appropriated (specimens of) this genre “most closely related with the aristocracy” (15).