The twelfth century saw a large number of Arabic texts on natural philosophy translated into Latin for the first time. Many of these texts were astrological, and had originally been translated into Arabic in the eighth and ninth centuries, shortly…
There is the ever-present danger that the study of local history can be seen as parochial and of limited value in understanding the forces that shape the society and economy of a country. This thesis demonstrates the value of local research as a…
This thesis takes as its research area the southern half of Pirehill Hundred, Staffordshire. Despite being in the Mercian heartland, it is an area that has remained on the periphery of discussions by scholars of the early medieval period. To bring…
Charnwood Forest is an upland area in north-west Leicestershire characterised by areas of woodland and distinctive outcrops of pre-Cambrian rocks. The literature to date suggests that medieval Charnwood Forest was a marginal and inhospitable…
This thesis examines the role of place and the landscape in the construction and expression of gentry identity in late medieval Leicestershire. Land has been said to be the gentry’s most prized possession, and the myriad ways in which the gentry have…