Westminster Abbey is one of the most important and well-known medieval buildings in Europe but, despite being studied by generations of scholars, there is still much to learn about its history and architecture. The lantern over the centre of the church is a case in point. Edward the Confessor built a great tower here, which is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry. When Henry III was rebuilding the Abbey in the 1250s, a new tower was begun which was to have dominated the Westminster skyline, but it was never finished and 150 years later an octagonal lantern like that at Ely Cathedral was built on the roof. It in turn was demolished in the sixteenth century, and in 1710 Sir Christopher Wren designed a 400-foot tower and spire, but did not live to see it built. His successor, Nicholas Hawksmoor, then produced a range of options for completing the lantern tower: a design was chosen and construction began in 1724. However, King George I died in 1727 and the Abbey had to be cleared of scaffolding for the coronation of his son. Although only the first stage of the new tower and spire had been built, construction never resumed and the inelegant stump was capped with a temporary roof. Subsequently, the lantern was burnt out in 1803 and again in 1941, but its shell remains today basically as Hawksmoor left it. In this study, Professor Warwick Rodwell assembles for the first time all the historical and architectural evidence, to tell the remarkable story of Westminster Abbey's unfinished lantern tower over the last 950 years.

This volume will throw new light on the intellect of the earliest English - the way they thought, the way they viewed the world, and the way they viewed worlds other than this. Previous understanding of the topic, well rooted in the ideas of its time, regarded the English as adherents of two consecutive religions: Paganism governed the settlers of the 4th-6th century, but was superseded in the 7th-10th century by Christianity. Of the two, Christianity, a religion of the book, documented itself thoroughly, while in failing to do so Paganism laid itself open to centuries of abuse, conjecture or mindless admiration. In developing new objectives, the papers here demonstrate that beliefs varied from place to place and were expressed in material culture. Through archaeology therefore, these beliefs can be rediscovered. Aware of the fact that even the best archaeology provides no open access to the mind, the contributors record, and study, signals of belief rather than what was believed. The premise of this volume is therefore that paganism was not a religion with supraregional rules and institutions but a loose term for a variety of local intellectual world views. The same courtesy is extended to Christianity. Both religions are treated as sources on which people, local people - the true agents of Anglo-Saxon England - eclectically drew. A range of material culture and locations across Northern Europe are explored, looking at signals of belief from the landscape, water cults, burial rites, the hall and animals in life and art. Each author looks across the sea to Scandinavia, as well as to the woods and fields, mires and mounds of Old England, resulting in a new perspective on the intellectual preoccupations and anxieties of a crucial age.

This volume tells the complete story of the Westminster Abbey chapter house, which ranks as one of the spectacular achievements of European Gothic art and architecture; and that is precisely what its builder, King Henry III, intended. Begun in the mid-1240s, and completed within a decade, its pre-eminence was recognized in its own day, when the chronicler Matthew Paris described Westminster as having 'a chapter house beyond compare'. Papers by leading scholars in the field of medieval art and architecture reveal the reasons for the construction of the chapter house and trace the possible influences upon the master mason in charge of the project. The subsequent history of the structure is revealed as it evolved from a meeting place of the king's Great Court, the predecessor of the English Parliament, and as a royal treasury into a repository for government archives after the Dissolution, home to the Public Record Office until the late 1850s, and its subsequent restoration at the hands of Sir George Gilbert Scott. Now under the care of English Heritage, the chapter house has just been cleaned and restored again, leading to the spectacular light-filled building that we see today, to which full justice is done by this richly illustrated book, filled with pictures of the architectural and sculptural details, the medieval tilework and the wall painting that justify the motto inscribed in the chapter house floor: 'as the rose is the flower of flowers, so is this the house of houses'.

This collection of papers follows on from a conference, held in Sherborne in June 2005, marking the thirteen-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the bishopric by Aldhelm of Malmesbury. This volume looks at the work of Aldhelm and the foundation of the see of Sherborne in the wider context of his career and his world. At the Sherborne symposium, Katherine Barker commissioned a performance of Aldhelm's Carmen rhythmicum by a rune-singer and an instrumentalist. The large audience at Sherborne were transfixed by the experience of listening, with the text and a translation before them, to a musical recitation and performance of this long Latin poem, which - perhaps for the first time in a thousand years - conveyed something of its emotional power. The rhythms and message of Aldhelm's poem came alive in a remarkable way and readers of this volume can gain much of the same experience by listening to the accompanying CD, with the text and translation of the Carmen rhythmicum before them.

This groundbreaking, authoritative and best-selling study of the Vikings establishes the facts behind their rise to prominence, and cuts away the myths about their military and seafaring skills, reputation, and exploits. The author applies modern military thinking to the Viking art of war and examines their tactics, seamanship, mobility, strategy, and how they exploited victories and dealt with defeats. Learn how the Vikings established colonies in hostile territory and defeated a diverse array of enemies, including the Anglo-Saxons, the Franks, the Volga Bulgars, and the wild tribes of Ireland, in three centuries of military adventure. About the AuthorPaddy Griffith was a senior lecturer in war studies at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for 16 years. He is the author of numerous articles and books on the history of warfare, including Battle Tactics of the Western Front, 1916-18 and The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789-1802.

In the 1980s work began on construction of the vast underground Castle Mall shopping centre in Norwich. The associated archaeological excavation was one of the largest of its kind in northern Europe, designed to investigate not only the castle bailey but also pre-Conquest settlement and, for the post-Conquest period, areas of the surrounding medieval city. Although Parts I and II both contain summary accounts of the faunal remains, setting them into their wider context and including additional information on craft activities, the scale of the data made publication of a separate and more specialised report on the faunal remains desirable and this is published here as Part III.

In the 1980s work began on construction of the vast underground Castle Mall shopping centre in Norwich. The associated archaeological excavation was one of the largest of its kind in northern Europe, designed to investigate not only the castle bailey but also pre-Conquest settlement and, for the post-Conquest period, areas of the surrounding medieval city. Documentary evidence that supplements the substantial data presented in the monograph (parts I and II) forms Part IV (EAA occasional paper 23), published separately because of the scale of the data and because it forms a rounded resource in its own right. It provides additional data on medieval and later properties around the entire circuit of the Castle Fee, permitting ease of access to information that might otherwise have been obscured within the complexity of the integrated monograph.

The eight papers presented here provide a useful introduction to medieval broadcloth, and an up-to-date synthesis of current research. The word broadcloth is nowadays used as an overall term for the woven textiles mass-produced and exported all over Europe. It was first produced in Flanders as a luxurious cloth from the 11th century and throughout the medieval period. Broadcloth is the English term, Laken in Flemish, Tuch in German, Drap in French, Klæde in the Scandinavian languages and Verka in Finish. As the concept of broadcloth has deriving from the written sources it cannot directly be identified in the archaeological textiles and therefore the topic of medieval broadcloth is very suitable as an interdisciplinary theme. The first chapter (John Munro) presents an introduction to the subject and takes the reader through the manufacturing and economic importance of the medieval broadcloth as a luxury item. Chapter two (Carsten Jahnke) describes trade in the Baltic Sea area, detailing production standards, shipping and prices. Chapters three, four and five (Heini Kirjavainen, Riina Rammo and Jerzy Maik) deal with archaeological textiles excavated in the Baltic, Finland and Poland. Chapters six and seven (Camilla Luise Dahl and Kathrine Vestergård Pedersen) concern the problems of combining the terminology from the written sources with archaeological textiles. The last chapter reports on an ongoing reconstruction project; at the open air museum in Eindhoven, Holland, Anton Reurink has tried to recreate a medieval broadcloth based on written and historical sources. During the last few years he has reconstructed the tool for preparing and spinning wool, and a group of spinners has produced a yarn of the right quality. He subsequently wove approximately 20 metres of cloth and conducted the first experiment with foot-fulling.

Dorchester-on-Thames and its abbey have been subjects of antiquarian interest for more than 450 years, and during that time much has been written about them. They are, however, still far from being comprehensively studied and recorded. Indeed, the most substantial architectural description of the medieval church was written as long ago as 1845, and a thoroughgoing reappraisal has long been overdue. In this major new study on the origins, history and architecture of Dorchester Abbey, Warwick Rodwell assembles a huge amount of material from observations during repair and conservation and information derived from archaeological excavation, as well as the unexpected discovery of previously unstudied and unpublished topographical and architectural material, housed in several archives. The volume is divided into two parts: the first contains an account of the archaeology of the site and the architectural development of the abbey, while the second comprises a series of detailed notes and observations on the present structure, its fittings and furnishings.

The aim of this volume is to explore Anglo-Saxon perceptions of form and order in their different manifestations, through two main strands texts of all kinds, and art, architecture and archaeology. Contributors come from many different specialisms, enabling wide-ranging discussion, as well contributions from other Insular cultures and a continental European perspective.

The Anglo-Saxon cemeteries at Mucking, Essex, represent the burials of over 800 individuals from the 5th to early 7th centuries. This long-awaited report includes detailed illustrated catalogues in Part i, and comprehensive analysis and discussion of the burials, their relation to the excavated settlement evidence and wider context, in Part ii. The mixed rite Cemetery II is one of the largest and most complete Anglo-Saxon cemeteries yet excavated (282 inhumation burials, 463 cremation burials), while the partly destroyed Cemetery I included further significant inhumations. The quality and quantity of the evidence from graves of the first half of the 5th century, with cultural affinities primarily with the Elbe-Weser area, is unsurpassed. By the later 5th and the 6th century the cemetery was primarily 'Saxon' in character, but with some Anglian and eastern Kentish influences; Frankish (and in one case Alamannic) artefacts were also found. The dating is based on seriation analysis of the inhumation artefact assemblages and is combined with an innovative maximisation of demographic data from soil silhouettes and important evidence for coffin structure and costume. Mucking can now be seen as a particularly extensive Anglo-Saxon settlement, of at least 100+ individuals, commanding an important strategic position in the Lower Thames region; it may have functioned as a meeting place and mart for surrounding areas on both sides of the Thames.

Today New Romney sits a couple of miles inland from the sea but, in common with many towns along this stretch of coast, was once a thriving seaport. Archaeological excavations here by Pre-Construct Archaeology identified evidence for medieval occupation, fishing and seafaring on the foreshore at the northeastern end of the town. This strand area was ravaged by storms, particularly during the 13th century and this is clearly demonstrated in the archaeological record. This publication presents the findings of these excavations but also provides a much broader historical background to the town and an exploration of its role as a Cinque Port, and its relationship with the strand area investigated, through contemporary sources and standing building evidence.

Wulfstan’s account covers a voyage from the root of Jutland to the Vistula Delta – connecting the trading centres of Hedeby and Truso – and provides a rare and vivid view of the south-eastern Baltic Sea region in the early Viking Age, including aspects of inland navigation and local culture. In this book, a panel of scholars presents the original source and debate its geographical, cultural, nautical and economic context in the light of recent investigations.

Regeneration in the 1980s-90s on the south bank of the Thames resulted in archaeological and historical investigations at Platform Wharf, Rotherhithe, and next to London Bridge, in Southwark. The development of both sites from the 14th century is of major interest. The Rotherhithe property was acquired c 1349 by Edward III and the existing house rebuilt by him in 1353-61 with two courts, including a riverside range of apartments. Royal interest ceased after Edward's reign, and the house passed to Bermondsey Priory in 1399. The fragmentation of the site into smaller properties, including ones with industrial uses, is charted. The Southwark site contained three notable residences during the medieval period and tidal mills on the waterfront. The 14th-century moated house of the Dunley family and a pleasure-house built by Edward II, the Rosary, were both acquired by Sir John Fastolf for his own grand London residence in the 1440s. In the later 16th century there was massive immigration into this part of Southwark and by the mid 17th century the former moats and gardens were built over with small properties and alleys. The moat infills produced exceptionally rich assemblages of domestic artefacts and ceramics, the waterside location preserved a wide variety of plants, timber structures and woodworking evidence.

Archaeological investigations at seven sites within the Finsbury Square area have revealed important evidence for the medieval and post-medieval development of this former marshy area north of the city walls. At 127-139 Finsbury Pavement, quarry pits may relate to the development of the 12th- to early 13th-century Finsbury manor house, documented from 1272. Features identified within the manor include a gravel courtyard and the fragmentary remains of a building with masonry foundations. A moat existed to the east of the manor house by the 14th/15th centuries, but was backfilled by the end of the 17th century and then built over. Beyond the manor, widespread quarrying and brick manufacturing occurred during the later 15th century. At 27-30 Finsbury Square, large quantities of leather waste may have been dumped in the 15th and 16th centuries from nearby workshops. Quarrying continued on several sites into the late 16th century. A gravel surface and a boundary wall at the Honourable Artillery Company site represent the enclosure of the area to the north of the manor as the New Artillery Ground in the 1640s. A brick flue and a saw pit at 25-32 Chiswell Street reflect the increasingly industrial nature of the area to the west of the New Artillery Ground during the 18th and 19th centuries which is indicated on contempoary maps.

Accompanying an exhibition at The Courtauld Gallery, this catalogue explores one of the most important and historically neglected art forms of Renaissance Florence: cassoni – pairs of chests that were lavishly decorated with precious metals and elaborate paintings and were often the most expensive of a whole suite of decorative objects commissioned to celebrate marriage alliances between powerful families.