Making a Living in the Middle Ages : The

Dramatic social and economic change during the middle ages altered the lives of the people of Britain in far-reaching ways, from the structure of their families to the ways they made their livings. In this engagingly written economic history, Christopher Dyer provides a vivid new account of British medieval life from the Viking invasions through the Norman conquest to the colonial expansion of the sixteenth century.

Christopher Dyer was professor of medieval social history at the University of Birmingham and is now professor of regional and local history at the University of Leicester

List of illustrations

vii

Preface

ix

Introduction Approaching the economic history of medieval Britain

1

(10)

PART ONE Origins of the medieval economy, c.850--c.1100

11

(90)

Living on the land, c.850--c.1050

13

(30)

Farming

13

(4)

Expansion

17

(9)

Estates and lords

26

(9)

Peasants

35

(8)

Crisis and new directions, c.850--c.1050

43

(28)

The Viking invasions

43

(7)

The growth of the state

50

(8)

The origins of towns

58

(13)

Conquest, c.1050--c.1100

71

(30)

Old aristocracy

71

(9)

New aristocracy

80

(11)

England in 1086

91

(10)

PART TWO Expansion and crisis, c.1100--c.1350

101

(164)

Lords, c.1100--c.1315

106

(49)

Aristocracy and property

106

(13)

Managing the estate

119

(18)

Lords and peasants

137

(8)

Lords and towns

145

(2)

Knights and gentry

147

(5)

Aristocratic achievement?

152

(3)

Peasants, c.1100--c.1315

155

(32)

Families and population

155

(5)

Peasants and their holdings

160

(3)

Peasants and the market

163

(15)

Peasants and lords

178

(5)

Individuals and communities

183

(4)

Towns and commerce, c.1100--c.1315

187

(41)

Urban expansion

187

(10)

The urban environment

197

(4)

Urban occupations

201

(11)

Techniques of trade and manufacture

212

(6)

Urban government

218

(7)

Towns in a feudal economy

225

(3)

Crisis, c.1290--c.1350

228

(37)

Great Famine and Black Death

228

(8)

Contraction and change

236

(10)

Historical debate

246

(5)

Crisis in Scotland

251

(3)

Explanations

254

(11)

PART THREE Making a new world, c.1350--c.1520

265

(98)

The Black Death and its aftermath, c.1348--c.1520

271

(27)

Plague and population, c.1348--c.1520

271

(7)

Low population, c.1348--c.1400

278

(8)

Revolts

286

(7)

The economy, c.1348--c.1400

293

(5)

Towns, trade and industry, c.1350--c.1520

298

(32)

Urban fortunes

298

(15)

Urban economies

313

(9)

Consumers

322

(5)

Old and new

327

(3)

The countryside, c.1350--c.1520

330

(33)

Landlords

330

(10)

Gentry

340

(6)

Farmers

346

(3)

Peasants

349

(14)

Conclusion

363

(3)

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Making a Living in the Middle Ages : The People of Britain 850-1520

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials