The countryside of medieval England (review)

Short notices Astill, Grenville and Annie Grant, eds., The countryside of medieval England, Oxford and Cambridge Mass., Blackwell, 1992; rpt; paper; pp. xi, 282; 50 illustrations; R.R.P. AUS$39.95 [distributed in Australia by Allen & Unwin]. This volume of some ten essays by seven scholars draws on a wide range of sources, both documentary and archaeological, to explore the physical landscape, the patterns of rural life, and the natural environment, of people in medieval England. Thus animals, both kept and hunted, and vegetation, as well as agriculture and contemporary 'technology' are carefully appraised. The result is an amazingly comprehensive guide to the landscape of the past and its exploitation, particularly in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Much of the documentation is presented in excellent diagrams and tables. Particularly readable sections include: 'Documentary evidence: problems and enquiries', by Christopher Dyer; 'Fields' (in many aspects), by GrenvUle Astill; and 'Animal resources', by Annie Grant. While many will turn to the demographic essay, 'Human resources', by Richard Smith, others wtil be more intrigued by the last essay, 'Efficiency, Progress and Change', a joint product of the co-editors concerning productivity, seasonal patterns, inter-regional contacts, markets, etc. The volume interrelates suchfieldsas topography, social and economic history, archaeology, and what was once called 'regional antiquities'. The book may perhaps be seen more as a reference volume than a textbook and, indeed, the very comprehensive index makes clear the complex mix of materials assembled here. The bibliography is nothing short of encyclopedic. Yet the firm emphasis on countries, sites, and scholars assists us to pick our way through this elegant compendium to a multiplicity of earlier studies. John S. Ryan Department of English University of N e w England ...