The Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy looks at the period between the reign of William the Conqueror and that of Henry VIII, bringing together physical evidence for the kings and their courts. John Steane looks at the symbols of power and regalia including crowns, seals and thrones. He considers Royal patronage, architecture and ideas on burials and tombs to unravel the details of their daily lives supported with many illustrations.

In the preceding 25 years to this book’s publication in 1985 there was an extensive and unprecedented burst of archaeological activity in evidence from below-ground deposits, above-ground structures, and artefacts. During the boom of the late 1960s and 1970s, which led to go much central town redevelopment, it was buried remains which yielded the most dramatic information. In the recession of the 1980s it was realised that upstanding remains had a lot to offer as well and they were being subject to ever more sophisticated study techniques. This book examines those recent developments in archaeology and assesses their bearing on the study of medieval English and Welsh history. Taking a series of important themes such as government, religion and the countryside, the book offers a chronological approach from the coming of the Vikings, 850 AD, to the Reformation in 1530. This approach focuses on the impact of man on the urban and rural landscape. An important text for students of ancient history.

By drawing equally on the work of historians and archaeologists, Colin Platt puts forward a view of English medieval society in which there is much that is new and unexpected. Medieval England brings together a wide range of themes, from castle and palace to peasant hovel, from the great cathedrals and monasteries to the parish churches and `alien' cells. The book is fully illustrated, the pictures being an integral part of the text.For this re-issue Professor Platt has written a new preface which updates the work with a survay of archaeological and historical developments in the last decade.

Platt draws equally from the works of historians and archaeologists to put forward a stimulating and illuminating characterisation of the period. Handsomely produced and generously illlustrated.

The two volumes of The Archaeology of Medieval Europe together comprise the first complete account of Medieval Archaeology across the continent. This ground-breaking set will enable readers to track the development of different cultures and regions over the 800 years that formed the Europe we have today. In addition to revealing the process of Europeanisation, within its shared intellectual and technical inheritance, the complete work provides an opportunity for demonstrating the differences that were inevitably present across the continent - from Iceland to Sicily and Portugal to Finland. Forty-one archaeologists from fifteen countries collaborated to produce Volume 1, which was published in 2007 and presented the period from the eighth to the twelfth century. Sixty-six archaeologists from eighteen countries have got together to create Volume 2, which surveys the scene from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. In this second volume, the same broad scheme is followed. After introducing the method and theory of Medieval Archaeology, the focus is on Habitat (environment, rural life, housing and portable artefacts), followed by Power, where war, manufacture, trade and towns are the subjects for discussion. A third theme is the study of Spirituality, an often overwhelming force in medieval life, which archaeologists encounter in landscape, buildings and burial practice. As well as the expected emphasis on Christian Catholic practice, there are major sections showing the importance of Judaism and the Islamic presence in later Medieval Europe. Each volume is comprehensively illustrated throughout in colour and monochrome, with line drawings, tables and maps designed to guide the reader. The book is intended to show what archaeology can do, not only for the archaeologist, but for the historian, the art historian, the environmentalist, the zoologist and the general scientist - in fact, all those scholars, students and general readers, for whom the Middle Ages is a fundamental element in the foundations of modern Europe.

The Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy looks at the period between the reign of William the Conqueror and that of Henry VIII, bringing together physical evidence for the kings and their courts. John Steane looks at the symbols of power and regalia including crowns, seals and thrones. He considers Royal patronage, architecture and ideas on burials and tombs to unravel the details of their daily lives supported with many illustrations.