Essays on land transfer in English rural communities over the period 1250-1850.

This collection of essays covers most of the important topics in the field of family history, assesses the state of the art, and stresses the themes that will continue to generate interest in the future. Originally published in 1988. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Medieval peasant families are closely identified with the land to which they had a hereditary right, especially in periods of land scarcity. This book concerns the tension between the contrasting trends in the study of village life, showing how they were affected by changes over time and place.

An account of how, in certain parts of sixteenth-century England, challenges to conventional piety anticipated the Reformation. Here is a richly detailed account of the relationship between Lollard heresy and orthodox religion before the English Reformation. Robert Lutton examines the pious practices and dispositions of families and individuals in relationto the orthodox institutions of parish, chapel and guild, and the beliefs and activities of Wycliffite heretics. He takes issue with portrayals of orthodox religion as buoyant and harmonious, and demonstrates that late medieval piety was increasingly diverse and the parish community far from stable or unified. By investigating the generation of family wealth and changing attitudes to its disposal through inheritance and pious giving in the important Lollard centre of Tenterden in Kent, he suggests that rapid economic development and social change created the conditions for a significant cultural shift. This study contends that in certain parts of England by the early sixteenth century piety was subject to dramatic changes which, in a number of important ways, anticipated the Reformation. Dr ROBERT LUTTON teaches in the Department of History at the University of Nottingham.

This comprehensive and innovative book on the Industrial Revolution uses carefully chosen case studies, illustrated with extracts from contemporary documents, to offer new perspectives on the process and impact of industrialization. The authors look at the development of economic structures, the financing of the Industrial Revolution, technological advances, markets and demand, and agricultural progress. The book also deals with changes in demography, the household, families, and the built environment.

Examination of welfare during the last years of the Poor Law, bringing out the impact of poverty on particular sections of society - the lone mother and the elderly.