The aim of this thesis is to establish a series of agrarian output indicators, based on tithe receipts, for the period 1350 to 1450 and to interpret this series in the light of current thinking on the medieval economy. Tithe receipts recorded in the accounts of Durham Priory were used for the series. After a broad discussion of the concept of tithe, covering Its origins, significance and historiography, the institution of tithe is examined at the parish and monastic levels. There follows a detailed discussion of the method used to convert the tithe receipts into indicators of agrarian output: this represents a development of methods used by French historians in the 1960s and 1970s. The final two chapters examine the significance of these indicators for our understanding of the economy of the late middle ages. Agrarian output in the parishes between the Tyne and Tees proves to have been comparable to developments on demesne land elsewhere in England. Some significant differences are also observed and discussed.

'Legendary Metal Smiths and Early English Literature' is a study of Christian religious influence on the portrayal of a powerful technology, metallurgy, in Old English verse. Starting from the controversy over the supernatural role of metal smiths in a metrical Anglo-Saxon charm, it proceeds to explore the impact of Christian thought on attitudes to the metal-worker in late antiquity and early medieval Europe. Significant and contentious characterizations of the smith in the Cain legend, the lives of the saints, and legends of Christ are discussed in turn. A chapter on heroic verse and another on wonder-working discuss, among other topics, the theory that Anglo-Saxon metal smiths were regarded with fear and superstition. The thesis put forth by the author in the course of this survey is that the critical approach which explains the concern of Anglo-Saxon literature with smithcraft as little more than an irrational primitivism finds little support in the religious writing of the period. What requires explanation is not the view that metallurgy was a matter of Christian concern, but the assumption that it was not. While this study is primarily concerned with mapping literary themes, it is not confined to the world of the imagination. Holding that themes, in order to be appreciated, must be perceived, where possible, in the light of the historical conditions in which they flourished, it devotes part of its space to a consideration of the latter. It examines the role of the monastic movement in disseminating an idealistic view of industry; describes the achievements of Anglo-Saxon metal-working; and attempts to appreciate some of the real hardships faced by workers in the Anglo-Saxon forge. The insights gained from this approach lead ultimately to a new reading of the metrical Anglo-Saxon charm with which the study began, a reading which, rather than peering backwards into the pagan past, looks forward to subsequent and more familiar examples of the forge in literature.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a detailed study of the texts and manuscripts of the Middle English Guy of Warwick, such as is not presently available. The agenda of this investigation is essentially interdisciplinary. Each chapter considers a different set of evidence (literary, historical, manuscript and linguistic). In addition to which, this study benefits from the opportunities offered by new media, incorporating the results of exhaustive and highly accurate computer-enabled searches of a range of late medieval texts. Through this approach it has been possible to integrate and identify links between different areas of research in a way which has been crucial to dispelling various myths and misconceptions which have, in the past, dominated the critical perception of Guy of Warwick. This thesis encourages a view which emphasises the complexity of the textual tradition of Guy of Warwick and rejects past assumptions which over simplify the circumstances of its production and circulation. Chapter 1 considers the place of Guy of Warwick in late medieval literature and culture, assembling the evidence for sources, relations, transmission and reception. This chapter emphasises the protean nature of the romance, its adaptation and regeneration for different contexts and the evidence for a range of responses. Chapter 2 provides, for the first time, a comprehensive account of all of the Guy of Warwick manuscripts, including full codicological descriptions and giving special consideration to the presentation of Guy of Warwick in each. By combining this codicological data with the linguistic findings of Chapter 3, it has here been possible to review and reject a number of theories, most notably concerning the Auchinleck MS, which misinterpret the significance of the manuscript presentation of Guy of Warwick. Chapter 3 uses linguistic data to clarify the relationship between the manuscript texts and the different versions of Guy of Warwick. Traditional dialect analysis is combined with computer-enabled searches to provide detailed information which establishes the origin and circulation of the texts and their literary and stylistic affiliations, including evidence which rejects the traditional Warwickshire origin for the A-version. The thesis is supplemented on CD ROM by new, accurate transcriptions of all the complete texts of Guy of Warwick and a review of Zupitza's 1875-91 edition, including a list of errors.

This thesis aims to reassert the importance of the supranational dynasties of Europe in medieval history by considering the so-called Angevins of Naples, and specifically Charles II (1285-1309), whose matrimonial policies led to the end of the first phase of the Sicilian War and to the peace of Caltabellotta (1302). In particular, the study emphasizes the fact that the Angevins were part of the Capetian French royal house and thus refocusses the role of the Capetians within Christendom at that time, as their previous historiography has concentrated on their role within France. It investigates the the part that the various marriage combinations played in the Sicilian peace process and how they connected with Charles II's internal family strategies, demonstrating how his plans to keep most of the patrimony for his primogenitus was compromised by deals that meant that large parts of the inheritance had to be passed to daughters instead. The following chapter shows how Charles was prepared to relegate other dynastic interests to achieve these deals and how his unbalanced provision for his sons led to conflict within the dynasty. Moving on to a discussion of the legal side of marriage, the thesis discusses how Charles II was able to work within the canon law on consent, consanguinity and divorce to achieve his aims and how far the aristocratic ideas of the Duby model still conflicted with the Church. Taking the discussion of political marriage beyond the marriage treaties themselves, using the extensive correspondence between the Angevins and the royal house of Aragon, it is argued that the importance of dynastic marriage lay as much in the bonds of friendship forged between houses that were the basis of reciprocal duties and favours that were the warp and weft of medieval political life.

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No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (PhDArchitectureandDesign)--University of South Australia, 2001.

This thesis explores the relationship between prostitute, law, and community in late-medieval London. However much society maligned and marginalised her, the prostitute (and her occupation) was in constant demand and thus became a recurring theme in London’s law books throughout the later medieval period. I argue that this juxtaposition of reviled yet necessary woman in society was a reflection of community concerns: while the promiscuity and financial aspects of prostitution were tolerable, the prostitute’s connections with London’s malefactors were not. / Turning to a variety of legal sources from London’s later-medieval period, particularly London’s civic ordinances, we find that while the prostitute was a constant fixture in these records, laws by and large regulated her movements, and at times even protected the prostitute from both the public and her employers. More commonly, ordinances sought to segregate the prostitute from the wider community because the presence of prostitution was linked to theft, violence, and general disorder. Similarly, records from the Commissary courts – a community court that functioned as a tool for social control – reveal that the community was far more concerned with the containment of offenders whose behaviour might lead to the broader spread of social decay: namely, the pimps and bawds who routinely recruited women into prostitution. / I demonstrate that despite her acknowledged venality, the community tolerated the prostitute as a necessary evil, and possibly even forgave those prostitutes who acted out of desperation. Of greater concern were those individuals who associated with the prostitute: pimps and bawds who encouraged lechery and profited from the sins of others, suspicious persons who drank and committed acts of violence and walked the streets after curfew.

This thesis explores the relationship between prostitute, law, and community in late-medieval London. However much society maligned and marginalised her, the prostitute (and her occupation) was in constant demand and thus became a recurring theme in London’s law books throughout the later medieval period. I argue that this juxtaposition of reviled yet necessary woman in society was a reflection of community concerns: while the promiscuity and financial aspects of prostitution were tolerable, the prostitute’s connections with London’s malefactors were not. / Turning to a variety of legal sources from London’s later-medieval period, particularly London’s civic ordinances, we find that while the prostitute was a constant fixture in these records, laws by and large regulated her movements, and at times even protected the prostitute from both the public and her employers. More commonly, ordinances sought to segregate the prostitute from the wider community because the presence of prostitution was linked to theft, violence, and general disorder. Similarly, records from the Commissary courts – a community court that functioned as a tool for social control – reveal that the community was far more concerned with the containment of offenders whose behaviour might lead to the broader spread of social decay: namely, the pimps and bawds who routinely recruited women into prostitution. / I demonstrate that despite her acknowledged venality, the community tolerated the prostitute as a necessary evil, and possibly even forgave those prostitutes who acted out of desperation. Of greater concern were those individuals who associated with the prostitute: pimps and bawds who encouraged lechery and profited from the sins of others, suspicious persons who drank and committed acts of violence and walked the streets after curfew.