Product Description

This account of London in the medieval period considers the city as the centre of politics, finance, trade and government in England. It describes up-to-date archaeological discoveries that throw new light onto the history of the medieval capital. Excavation has revealed much about the layout, architecture and fabric of the city, and it has provided intimate evidence of the daily lives of ordinary Londoners. The text is a summary of the mass of archaeological evidence that has been discovered since the 1970s. It offers an introduction to the fabric and structure of the ancient city, and it gives us an insight into the lives of medieval Londoners.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #432069 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

A worthy introduction.
I like to think I know London well, that I know medieval London well. This book is a concise introduction to the numerous archaeological excavations that have taken place in the City over the last twenty years or so. And yes, speaking as a historian, I did learn a few new things. Redevelopment in the City is continuous and so this book is useful in drawing a line in 2002 and seeing exactly where we are at. Christopher Thomas has split his narrative into four chronological sections: (1) before the Norman Conquest; (2) 1066-1200; (3) 1200-1350; and (4) 1350-1540. (He rightly points out that line marking the end of the Medieval period should rather be drawn at the Reformation than at 1485 or 1500.)

Within each chapter he addresses different topics in a useful format: topics consist of the layout and development of the City, houses, daily life, markets, defences, docks, palaces, and the religion houses. Much of what he has to say is, no doubt, of intense interest to archaeologists, but his descriptions of developments and of excavations left this historian a little cold, and so I often found myself skipping paragraphs that are replete with detailed descriptions of, for example, the foundations of buildings, of pottery styles and of timber waterfront revetments.

And here we come to the major problem with this book: the lack of fuller visual accompaniment, whether in the form of photographs of the items being described or plans of the sites concerned. That is not to say that there are no such items in this volume. There are 59 figures, many of them taken by the author and many of them of immense value. But there should have been more.

But the book still has value nevertheless. For me, the most useful items are the introductions and conclusions to each chapter. These are very well written and pull all the different strands of the story together in a concise and comprehensible form.

I learned some new things from this book. If the publisher had been less stingy and paid for more illustrations, I might have learned more.