The Ely memoranda and the economy of the late Anglo-Saxon fenland

AbstractConsisting of six short Old English texts written in the early eleventh century, the Ely memoranda illustrate how a major and recently refounded Benedictine abbey managed its landed endowment. Two of the memoranda relate to generous help provided by Ely to Thorney, and four concern Ely's own lands. The collection as a whole reveals much about interaction between monasteries, monastic perspectives on material resources and investment in them, the economy of eastern England, and the context of record-keeping. This article offers a new edition and translation of the texts, and surveys the contribution the memoranda make to understanding of cultural and economic history.</jats:p

The Forum Hoard and Beyond: Money, Gift, and Religion in the Early Middle Ages

The law-code known as ‘IV Æthelred’ has been identified since the mid-nineteenth century as a text concerned with tolls, trading and currency in London, dated to around the year 1000. This contribution argues that ‘IV Æthelred’ may have had little if anything to do with Æthelred II (978–1016). By re-evaluating the law-code’s transmission, contents and date, it is proposed that the text consists of two distinct segments, probably put together around 1100 and surviving only in Latin translation. One part is a series of tenth-century decrees on currency crimes, and represents the most detailed statement on this topic to survive from Anglo-Saxon England. The other relates more specifically to London, laying out the tolls incurred by merchants coming to the city from across northern Europe. Frequent use of French terminology marks this portion of the text out, and suggests a date in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest

The Origins of the Husting and the Folkmoot

In the central Middle Ages, London was marked out by its idiosyncratic institutions, prominent among which were two courts or assemblies: the Folkmoot and the Husting. This article re-examines the early history and origins of both, and suggests that they should be seen as outgrowths of the entities recorded in a legal composition fromthe reign of King Æthelstan (924–39). The latter describes associations formed by the people of London to defend their interests against thieves from surrounding districts. Provisions made in this text for a gathering of leaders, to be held over food and drink, may be a forerunner of the Husting, while a larger judicial body hinted at in the law-code could represent a precursor to the Folkmoot. The internal divisions of London from the twelfth century onwards, the wards, are also considered

Byzantine plate and Frankish mines: the provenance of silver in north-west European coinage during the Long Eighth Century (c. 660–820)

The late seventh century introduction of silver coinage marked a transformation in the economy of North-West Europe, yet the source(s) of silver bullion remains enigmatic. Here, we provide new insights into European silver sources through the ‘long eighth century’ (c. 660-820 AD) via the lead isotope and trace element analysis of 49 coins from England, Frisia and Francia. The results indicate an early reliance on Byzantine silver, followed from c. 750 by a shift to metal from Frankish mines. They generate new insights into the motives for minting, and reveal the strong role of the state in controlling metal resources

Flood Management in Texas: Planning for the Future

This Report examines existing flood-related regulations in Texas and the United States, the Texas State Flood Plan, current flood mitigation strategies in the state, and the potential to implement green stormwater infrastructure. The report offers policy recommendations to clarify and help alleviate the current ambiguities and uncertainties between the Texas State Water Plan and State Flood Plan for future flood mitigation practices, and to simplify the implementation of green infrastructure

UNE SCULPTURE D\u27IVAN DUKNOVlĆ

L\u27auteur clecrit la sculpture en pierre representant Saint Jean I\u27Evangeliste — I\u27un des chefs cl\u27oeuvre de I\u27artiste, bien connu, c le la Renaissance: Ivan Duknović ( lohannes Dalmata) qui se trouve clans une chapelle cle la cathedrale cle la ville croate de Tlogl I . Dans la grande exposition cl\u27Art yougoslave qui s\u27est tenue a Paris en 1971 cette statue a et e exposee; a cette occasion, et pour la premiere fois, en ont ćte photographiee les cotes, le dos et la base sur lacluelle est gravee la signature du sculpteur, que I\u27auteur cle cet ar ticle avait cleja remarquee et publiće. Grace a ces cliches cles cleux profils et cl u clos, cette oeuvre a r evele I\u27habilete cl\u27Ivan Duknović qui, en plein volume, moclele un personnage humain grancleur naturelle, de merne qu\u27i l I \u27avait fai t lors de I\u27execution du peti t »put to« a i l ć clui a et e recemment trouvć a Trogir, l icu cle naissance de I\u27artiste, et qui a et e public clans le dernier numero cle cette revue

Gilds, states and societies in the early Middle Ages

The early medieval gilds of northwest Europe were very different from their later medieval descendants. They were not specifically urban or economic in focus, instead being based on religious devotion, feasting and mutual protection, usually among members united by status and geography. Treatment of gilds differed sharply between the two main representatives of the tradition in the region: the Carolingian Empire and Anglo-Saxon England. In the former, gilds were vilified as coniurationes, spontaneous oath-bound associations, which rulers feared might undermine their authority and that of the hierarchy they represented. But in the latter gilds flourished, especially in the tenth and eleventh centuries, when England produced the first gild statutes of medieval Europe. This contribution examines these two traditions, and the reasons for the break between them. Emphasis is placed on differing visions of governmentality, participation and hierarchy. The Carolingian ruling establishment broached no meaningful governmental or legal action by autonomous associations, and actively suppressed (or, at best, defused) gild action. In England, however, gilds fitted into a more diverse ecology of legal and administrative authority, gaining prominence as vehicles for the collective representation of a new yet important cohort of small landowners or thegns

The land market and Anglo-Saxon society

Over 500 references survive to payment in return for control over land in Anglo-Saxon England. This article considers these documents as a source for social developments. Issues which are explored include the identities of buyers and sellers, changes in the roles of these groups over the period, and the likely aims and concerns of different individuals and institutions who paid for land. A chronology is developed for the participation of various groups in land payments. Payments emerge as a significant component in definitions of status and strategies of land management, albeit closely interwoven with other forms of transaction