Place-names, Language and the Anglo-Saxon Landscape

by Nicholas J. Higham (Editor), Martin J. Ryan (Editor)

Overview

The landscape of modern England still bears the imprint of its Anglo-Saxon past. Villages and towns, fields, woods and forests, parishes and shires, all shed light on the enduring impact of the Anglo-Saxons. The essays in this volume explore the richness of the interactions between the Anglo-Saxons and their landscape: how they understood, described, and exploited the environments of which they were a part. Ranging from the earliest settlement period through to the urban expansion of late Anglo-Saxon England, this book draws on evidence from place-names, written sources, and the landscape itself to provide fresh insights into the topic. Subjects explored include the history of the study of place-names and the Anglo-Saxon landscape; landscapes of particular regions and the exploitation of particular landscape types; the mechanisms of the transmission and survival of written sources; and the problems and potentials of interdisciplinary research into the Anglo-Saxon landscape. Nicholas J. Higham is Professor of Early Medieval and Landscape History at the University of Manchester; Martin Ryan lectures in Medieval History at the University of Manchester. Contributors: Ann Cole, Linda M. Corrigan, Dorn Van Dommelen, Simon Draper, Gillian Fellows-Jensen, Della Hooke, Duncan Probert, Alexander R. Rumble, Martin J. Ryan, Peter A. Stokes, Richard Watson.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843836032
Publisher:	Boydell & Brewer, Limited
Publication date:	03/17/2011
Series:	Pubns Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies Series , #10
Pages:	258
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgements ix

List of Contributors x

Abbreviations xi

1 Place-Names, Language and the Anglo-Saxon Landscape: An Introduction 1 Martin J. Ryan

2 The Landscape of Place-Name Studies 23 Alexander R. Rumble

3 Place-Names as Travellers' Landmarks 51 Ann Cole

4 Light thrown by Scandinavian Place-Names on the Anglo-Saxon Landscape 69 Gillian Fellows-Jensen

5 Language and the Anglo-Saxon Landscape: Towards an Archaeological Interpretation of Place-Names in Wiltshire 85 Simon Draper

6 Hunting the Vikings in South Cumbria from Ambleside to Haverbrack 105 Linda M. Corrigan

7 Viking-Age Amounderness: A Reconsideration 125 Richard Watson

8 The Woodland Landscape of Early Medieval England 143 Della Hooke

9 The Pre-Conquest Lands and Parish of Crediton Minster, Devon 175 Duncan Probert

10 Rewriting the Bounds: Pershore's Powick and Leigh 195 Peter A. Stokes

11 That 'Dreary Old Question': The Hide in Early Anglo-Saxon England 207 Martin J. Ryan

12 Boroughs and Socio-Political Reconstruction in Late Anglo-Saxon England 225 Dorn Van Dommelen

Index 241

Editorial Reviews

This volume's strength is in solid empirical research into how early medieval landscape was settled, organised and exploited. MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY

As befits the fruit of an interdisciplinary conference with a wide remit, the essays cover a wide range of themes, with several displaying considerable historical and philological subtlety. LANDSCAPE HISTORY

Contains some excellent material that many will find very rewarding, and it will surely encourage further use of onomastic and documentary sources in the exploration of landscape history. THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW

There is much of interest, ranging from detailed surveys of estate boundaries to wider contributions considering Scandinavian settlement. BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY

From the Publisher