''An important and timely volume...an elegant summary
of complex theory, and synthesis of an impressive body
of material. It will be eagerly read by current and
future generations of archaeologists, and will
demonstrate the significance of historical archaeology
to a much wider scholarly audience.'' Dr Kate Giles,
University of York. The aim of this book is to explore
how medieval life was actually lived - how people were
born and grew old, how they dressed, how they inhabited
their homes, the rituals that gave meaning to their
lives and how they prepared for death and the afterlife.
Its fresh and original approach uses archaeological
evidence to reconstruct the material practices of
medieval life, death and the afterlife. Previous
historical studies of the medieval ''lifecycle'' begin
with birth and end with death. Here, in contrast, the
concept of life course theory is developed for the first
time in a detailed archaeological case study. The author
argues that medieval Christian understanding of the
''life course'' commenced with conception and extended
through the entirety of life, to include death and the
afterlife.Five thematic case studies present the
archaeology of medieval England (c.1[zasłonięte]050-15 CE) in
terms of the body, the household, the parish church and
cemetery, and the relationship between the lives of
people and objects. A wide range of sources is
critically employed: osteology, costume, material
culture, iconography and evidence excavated from houses,
churches and cemeteries in the medieval English town and
countryside. Medieval Life reveals the intimate and
everyday relations between age groups, between the
living and the dead, and between people and things.
Roberta Gilchrist is Professor of Archaeology at the
University of Reading. |
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