Landscapes, Documents and Maps - 9781842172377

Roberts (Geography, University of Durham, emeritus) presents the results of a career studying the settlement history of Northern England, augmenting personal observation with computer models and primary documents relating to land ownership and use. In the North of England in the period described there were Anglo-Saxon, Danish and Norman settlers, all of whom changed the nature of the village in subtle ways. Roberts is concerned with the functions of the villages but even more how their structure shows a conscious plan, particularly the archetypal "village green." He notes practical reasons for planning a village: defense, access to fields, location on trade routes as well as the nature of the landscape. The size and production level of the land is also important to those who decide taxes and tithes. While The Domesday Book is an extreme example of the codification of property, Roberts notes that even an illiterate section of society is capable of measuring and establishing patterns of settlement. With many diagrams, graphs and illustrations, Roberts provides an in-depth look at high medieval villages, Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)