This thesis provides a broad study of the tenurial, administrative and political history of Yorkshire in the first century of English feudalism. It begins by providing a new and more precise chronology for the Norman conquest of Yorkshire and illustrates the importance of castleries and hundreds in the process of take-over. In Chapter 2 the thesis reveals that in the fifty years following the Domesday survey the Normans extended the system of compact lordships based upon castleries, hundreds and hundredal castleries in order to bring the more remote parts of the county under control and to provide protection for its borders. The new men placed in control of these lordships played a vital role in the integration of Yorkshire within the royal system ofjustice and administration. Attention is then paid in Chapter 3 to the scale and pattern of Norman sub-enfeoffment in the period 1086 x 1135. The study throws new light on both the purpose of the system of military service introduced by the Normans and the reasons for the rapid expansion of monasticism in Yorkshire after 1100. Chapter 4 illustrates how after 1135 royal control over the local administration of Yorkshire disintegrated in the face of the political difficulties of King Stephen and the growing power of William earl of York, and Chapter 5 examines how King David of Scotland exploited Stephen's weakness in the northern England to extend his influence within the area. Chapter 6 considers the nature of some of the new enfeoffment tenancies recorded in the 1166 inquest and elucidates the reasons behind the reluctance of magnates to acknowledge their existence and pay scutage upon them. And finally, the thesis concludes in Chapter 7 with a major re-assessment of the nature and strength of lordship and the emergence of property right in the first century of English feudalism.

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This thesis explores the depiction of ecclesiastical restorers in narrative sources in England between c.1070 and 1130. It examines the way in which contemporaries wrote about churchmen who were engaged in restoring the English Church, particularly the actions which were attributed to them. While a great deal has been written about ideas of Church reform from the time, little has been done to set out who might actually be considered a restorer. Narrative sources offer a window through which to assess the themes which most concerned writers of the time. The thesis focuses upon chronicles and saints' Lives to delve into these themes, as it seeks to identify the criteria by which writers assessed churchmen who attempted to restore the Church. Certain common trends will be identified. However, it will also be argued that different contexts and commentators honed the image of the restorer so that the needs of communities and their particular members shaped ideas of the figures under discussion. The examination is split between four chapters, each addressing an important aspect in the depiction of the restorer. Chapter One looks at the importance of material restoration, through the recovery of lost lands and the rebuilding of churches. Chapter Two looks at how writers depicted restorers correcting morals in England and improving monastic customs, particularly saints' cults. Chapter Three explores the notion of ‘right order' and how it was important for churchmen to ensure that the correct hierarchy was restored. The fourth and final chapter examines the personal characteristics expected of a restorer, such as industry, prudence and learning, as well as descriptions of saintly restorers. Finally, the conclusion tests its findings against writing from different times and places, namely other European writing from the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries and tenth-century England.

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This thesis examines the place of the Virgin Mary in the intellectual culture of Benedictine and Cistercian monasticism in medieval England, between c. 1050 and c. 1200. Drawing high profile thinkers, including Anselm of Canterbury (d. 1109), into dialogue with lesser known figures, it reveals the richness of monastic contributions to Marian doctrine and devotion, in many cases for the first time. The shape of the analysis is provided by five key 'moments' from Mary's life, unfolded consecutively across six chapters. Chapters 1 and 2, on Mary's conception, reveal a confident and pioneering monastic culture which drove the evolution of an obscure Anglo-Saxon feast into a theological doctrine, despite fierce opposition at home and abroad. Chapter 3 explains how Mary's virginity was adopted as a blueprint for the monastic life by Ælred of Rievaulx (d. 1167) and Baldwin of Forde (d. 1190), both of whom were inspired by its fruitfulness in the Incarnation of Christ. Chapter 4 brings to light the contributions made to exegesis of the Song of Songs as a poem about Mary's humility by the mysterious Honorius Augustodunensis (d. 1140) and John of Forde (d. 1214). Chapter 5, on the divine maternity, demonstrates how English monastic theologians gave new life to understanding of Mary as Theotokos ('God-bearer') by drawing out its significance for their own spiritual maternity as leaders of religious communities. Chapter 6 shows how Mary was believed to have entered into the pain of the Crucifixion through her own spiritual martyrdom, and how monks sought to share the experience with her by a communion of charity. These and other insights offer a compelling glimpse into the culture of English monasticism between the demise of the Anglo-Saxons and the advent of the friars. Inspired by a desire to understand and ultimately to know Mary, Benedictine and Cistercian monks produced theological and spiritual works which were imaginative, often intimate and occasionally pioneering. Most of all, they were profoundly pastoral, composed in the belief that Mary could inspire and support those who had embarked upon the monastic via perfectionis.