Product Description

As he did in "Britain B.C." and "Britain A.D.", eminent archaeologist Francis Pryor challenges familiar historical views of the Middle Ages by examining fresh evidence from the ground. The term 'Middle Ages' suggests a time between two other ages: a period when nothing much happened. In his radical reassessment, Francis Pryor shows that this is incorrect and that the Middle Ages were actually the time when the modern world was born. This was when Britain moved from Late Antiquity into a world we can recognize: roads and parishes became fixed; familiar institutions, such as the church and local government, came into being; industry became truly industrial; and international trade was now a routine process. Archaeology shows that the Middle Ages were far from static. Based on everyday evidence, Pryor demonstrates that the British agricultural and industrial revolutions had their roots in this era -- as did the explosion of British maritime power in the late 1700s. It stresses the strength of development at the expense of 'revolution' and the profound effect the Black Death had on loosening the grip of the feudal system. The Middle Ages can now be seen in a fresh light as an era of great inventiveness as the author examines such topics as 'upward mobility'; the power of the Church; the role of the Guilds as precursors of trade unions; and the importance of transport infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and shipbuilders.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #92268 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 330 pages

Review
Praise for 'Britain B.C.': 'It bounds along, wonderfully enlivened by Pryor's earthy enthusiasm. If you want to be introduced painlessly to the fascinating debates surrounding our British past, then "Britain BC" is the book for you." Barry Cunliffe, New Scientist 'Francis Pryor is a modern field archaeologist with a reputation second to none!lucid and engaging.' Alan Garner, The Times 'Splendid! a remarkable, imaginative and persuasive account of those other Britons before that [Roman] enslavement: its enthusiastic and confident approach deserves to be very influential' - Christopher Chippendale, Times Literary Supplement

Sunday Telegraph
'Pryor's performance in this book remains a hugely entertaining one.'

The Times Higher Educational Supplement
'This is popular archaeology at its best: engaging, knowledgeable
and provocative, driven by the author's zestful, insatiable curiosity.'

Customer Reviews

very accessible
Its a great read! I am a PhD student involved in medieval studies and find his narrative approach easy to read. The book helps you understand how the real people of the middle ages lived and died. He takes historical events and combines them with archaeological finds to give context and meaning. Its so nice to read a 'normal' book that is factual and informed with out having to trudge through academic papers. Read it as a companion to other 'specialist' books as it is aimed at the informed public not scholars. Go and read this book, it's fun and light but very informative!

A smooth flow of time
Buried deep in this fine work is Francis Pryor's pondering of the question, how much of a 'revolution' was the Industrial one? The question indicates the theme of this book, which stresses continuity. Change was present, but often under very controlled circumstances. For Pryor, an archaeologist-writer who offers his ideas with wit and conviviality, the theme is "continuity" over "revolution". It's easy to highlight changes in a social scene, but as a man dedicated to hard evidence, the background is more important. Here, in the last of a string of books on what his science has found in Britain, continuity is the dominant theme.

Pryor launched his concept with "Britain BC", carried it through with post-Roman times in "Britain AD" and now arrives at the Christian-dominated Middle Ages. The change in religion had little impact on the daily transactions throughout Britain, with the likely shift of taxes from manor to chapel. The time-frame for this book begins about 650 CE and ends with the death of Henry VIII in 1547 CE. Nearly a millennium of time, with plenty of opportunity for "revolutions" - yet no major shifts in daily existence are in evidence. Henry's sequestration of the monasteries produced little in the way of disruption for village or town folk. As Pryor notes in the beginning, the book is about "hedges and fields, waterfronts and trade" rather than about the antics of monarchs or aristocrats. The Black Death had much more impact on society than any of the royals. Apart from the mortality, the economic shifts resulting from this plague were of far longer-lasting significance.

Even before the plague struck, agriculture and manufacturing led to early "free trade" agreements, even reaching across the Channel. Pryor finds such arrangements indicative of wider awareness and interaction than most "classical" histories have granted. Moreover, it's not treaties and other documents that he uses to make these points, but archaeological finds that provide hard evidence of what was transpiring in Britain in the Middle Ages. The Viking and Norse incursions carried a good many people into Britain, but after the initial raids, they came to stay and settled in nicely, thank you. If anything, the Norse' sea-faring skills more likely expanded existing trade arrangements, than disrupted commerce.

Pryor's chapters on urban life are the highlights of this work. After the Norse had become part of British society, population growth became a significant part of the social scene. Numbers rose to a height just before the Black Death that were not attained again until the 16th Century. The author selects various towns, describing their social and economic reactions to the plague and its aftermath. Drawing on his own observations and that of many other workers of recent generations he depicts a scene of nearly continuous development. York, in particular receives detailed attention for a span of nearly five centuries. York has provided a rich archaeological trove for the period - a rising trade community with a reach to distant places.

Reading Pryor is an unending delight, with nothing hidden in arcane academic discourse. He's open about what the evidence says and where uncertainties remain. Only the mildest interest in the past will bring rewards from this book. Readers are encouraged to enter this realm in full confidence that research is sound and the presentation fully accessible. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Misleading Title?
This book is a chatty, readable & amiable amble through various aspects of medieval archaeology.
In many ways it is as much a History of Medieval Archaeology, as a History of Medieval times from an archaeological perspective.
The author is a prehistory specialist, and unfortunately there are significant omissions in this work.
There is negligible reference to the monastic and military medieval world and the book focuses almost exclusively on England. Disappointing.
I had thought that if I found this book sufficiently rewarding, I would acquire "Britain BC" & "Britain AD", by the same author.
I will not be doing so, & am left wondering if this book was mainly written to exploit the success of those previous works?
With the current widespread enthusiasm in Britain for all things historic and archaeological (spawned by the likes of "Time Team", "Worst Jobs in History" and their ilk), surely there is a real gap in the market for a detailed, accessible and informative Guide to the Archaeology of Medieval Britain?
Although a pleasant read, this is not it!