Overview
Trees were of fundamental importance in Anglo-Saxon society. Anglo-Saxons dwelt in timber houses, relied on woodland as an economic resource, and created a material culture of wood which was at least as meaningfully-imbued, and vastly more prevalent, than the sculpture and metalwork with which we associate them today. Trees held a central place in Anglo-Saxon belief systems, which carried into the Christian period, not least in the figure of the cross itself. Despite this, the transience of trees and timber in comparison to metal and stone has meant that the subject has received comparatively little attention from scholars. Trees and Timber in the Anglo-Saxon World constitutes the very first collection of essays written about the role of trees in early medieval England, bringing together established specialists and new voices to present an interdisciplinary insight into the complex relationship between the early English and their woodlands. The woodlands of England were not only deeply rooted in every aspect of Anglo-Saxon material culture, as a source of heat and light, food and drink, wood and timber for the construction of tools, weapons, and materials, but also in their spiritual life, symbolic vocabulary, and sense of connection to their beliefs and heritage. These essays do not merely focus on practicalities, such as carpentry techniques and the extent of woodland coverage, but rather explore the place of trees and timber in the intellectual lives of the early medieval inhabitants of England, using evidence from archaeology, place-names, landscapes, and written sources.
Full Product Details
Author: Michael D. J. Bintley (Lecturer in Early Medieval Literature and Culture, Lecturer in Early Medieval Literature and Culture, Birkbeck, University of London) ,
Michael G. Shapland (Specialist in historic buildings, Specialist in historic buildings, UCL field archaeology unit)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 17.80cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 24.80cm
Weight: 0.714kg
ISBN: 9780199680795
ISBN 10: 0199680795
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 03 October 2013
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Undergraduate
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
extremely wide-ranging volume ... presents many intriguing aspects of wood in Anglo-Saxon contexts Nat Alcock, Society for Medieval Archaeology
Author Information
Michael D. J. Bintley studied a BA in English and an MA in Medieval Literature at UCL, before writing an interdisciplinary PhD thesis on Trees and Woodland in Anglo-Saxon Culture (2009). He lectured at University College London, Birkbeck College, and Corpus Christi College, Oxford, before being appointed Lecturer in Medieval Literature at Canterbury Christ Church University in 2012. His research is interdisciplinary, and focuses primarily on landscapes, religion, and society in early medieval England and Scandinavia. Michael G. Shapland recently completed his PhD thesis at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, entitled Buildings of Secular and Religious Lordship: Anglo-Saxon Tower-Nave Churches. He has a background in field archaeology, is an excavator and buildings specialist, and lectures part-time at the University of Winchester. His research focusses on Anglo-Saxon churches and aristocratic practice.
