Narrating Places: Memory and Space in Medieval Monasteries
Antonio Sennis
This book compares community definition and change in the temperate zones of southern Britain northern France with starkly contrasting regions Spanish meseta Iceland. Local communities were fundamental to human societies pre-industrial world; crucial supporting their members regulating relationships, as well wider society. While geographical biological work on territoriality is very good, existing archaeological literature rarely time-specific lacks social context; most its premises are too simple for interdependencies early medieval world. Historical work, by contrast, has a weak sense territory no scale; like much there confusion about distinctions - relationships between kin groups, neighbourhood collections tenants small polities. The contributors this address what determined size shape historic past ways that delineated themselves physical terms. roles environment, labour patterns, church proximity residences determining identity also examined. Additional themes include exclusion, an elite body, various stimuli structure. Major issues surrounding local governmental investigated: did larger polities exploit pre-existing communities, or developments governance call into being?
Studies in the early Middle Ages