Buch, Englisch, 270 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 598 g
Transport and Society 400-1800
Buch, Englisch, 270 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 598 g
ISBN: 978-0-19-927274-7
Verlag: Oxford University Press
Medieval bridges are startling achievements of design and engineering comparable with the great cathedrals of the period, and are also proof of the great importance of road transport in the middle ages and of the size and sophistication of the medieval economy.
Dr Harrison has undertaken the first thorough study of bridges and in this book he rewrites their history from early Anglo-Saxon England right up to the Industrial Revolution, providing new insights into many aspects of the subject. Dr Harrison looks at the role of bridges in the creation of a new road system, which was significantly different from its Roman predecessor and which largely survived until the twentieth century. He examines the design of bridges, which were built in the most difficult circumstances - broad flood plains, deep tidal waters, and steep upland valleys - and withstood all but the most catastrophic floods. He also investigates the immense efforts put into their construction and upkeep, ranging from the mobilization of large work forces by the old English state to the role of resident hermits and the charitable donations which produced bridge trusts with huge incomes.
The evidence presented in The Bridges of Medieval England shows that the network of bridges, which had been in place since the thirteenth century, was capable of serving the needs of the economy on the eve of the Industrial Revolution. This has profound implications for our understanding of pre-industrial society, challenging accepted accounts of the development of medieval trade and communications, and bringing to the fore the continuities from the late Anglo-Saxon period to the eighteenth century. This book is essential reading for those interested in architecture, engineering, transport, and economics, and any historian sceptical about the achievements of medieval England.
Zielgruppe
Students and scholars of medieval history and archaeology, historians of pre-industrial transport and communications.
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wirtschaftsgeschichte
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
- Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftsgeschichte
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
- Technische Wissenschaften Bauingenieurwesen Brückenbau
- Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
- Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technikgeschichte
Weitere Infos & Material
- 1: Introduction
- Part I: Bridge Construction and the Creation of the English Road System
- 2: Numbers
- 3: Change: 400 to 1250
- 4: Stability: Bridges and the Road System after 1250
- Part II: The Structure of Bridges
- 5: Challenges, Options, Sources
- 6: Early Solutions: Timber Deck Bridges and Causeways
- 7: Vaulted Stone Bridges: From the Eleventh Century to the Late Middle Ages
- 8: The Golden Age of Stone Bridges: From the Late Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century
- 9: Keeping the Bridge Network in Use
- Part III: Economics and Society
- 10: Costs
- 11: Funding Mechanisms
- 12: Conclusions: Bridges, Transport, and Pre-Industrial Society
- Select Bibliography
- Index
