Utmark, settlement, marginality and power in medieval lowland England

Abstract

This paper looks at utmark in medieval southern and eastern England, the uncultivated and thinly settled landscapes of which are largely lost to us today, transformed long ago into arable fields and settlements. It will consider the nature and extent of such ‘lowland utmark’, the use of the concept of marginality in understanding such land, and the factors which affected its development, persistence and transformation