Trees and Timber in the Anglo-Saxon World

Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-0-19-885551-4
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 272 Seiten, Format (B × H): 170 mm x 244 mm, Gewicht: 526 g

Reihe: Medieval History and Archaeology

Trees were of fundamental importance in Anglo-Saxon society. Anglo-Saxons dwelt in timber houses, relied on woodland as an economic resource, and created a material culture of wood which was at least as meaningfully-imbued, and vastly more prevalent, than the sculpture and metalwork with which we associate them today. Trees held a central place in Anglo-Saxon belief systems, which carried into the Christian period, not least in the figure of the cross itself. Despite
this, the transience of trees and timber in comparison to metal and stone has meant that the subject has received comparatively little attention from scholars.

Trees and Timber in the Anglo-Saxon World constitutes the very first collection of essays written about the role of trees in early medieval England, bringing together established specialists and new voices to present an interdisciplinary insight into the complex relationship between the early English and their woodlands. The woodlands of England were not only deeply rooted in every aspect of Anglo-Saxon material culture - as a source of heat and light, food and drink, and wood and
timber for the construction of tools, weapons, and materials - but also in their spiritual life, symbolic vocabulary, and sense of connection to their beliefs and heritage. These essays do not merely focus on practicalities, such as carpentry techniques and the extent of woodland coverage, but rather explore the
place of trees and timber in the intellectual lives of the early medieval inhabitants of England, using evidence from archaeology, place-names, landscapes, and written sources.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bintley, Michael D J

Shapland, Michael G

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Mittelalterliche, neuzeitliche Archäologie (Europa)
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder

Über Autor(innen)

Michael Bintley is Lecturer in Early Medieval Literature and Culture at Birkbeck, University of London.

Michael Shapland works for the UCL Field Archaeology Unit, Archaeology South-East, where he specialises in historic buildings.