English Medieval Villages

Kevin Roddy's Webpage at UCDavis

Course Description:
This course will, in four sessions, survey the various dimension of village life in England during the Middle Ages, concentrating on the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, where records, both written and archeological are plentiful. At this time, 90-95% of England's population lived such villages. The popular modern image has arisen of a medieval serf as malnourished, oppressed by land owners, without any rights; this course will demonstrate that each one of these generalizations is false: the peasants successfully produced enough food and sufficient excess to market; largely governed themselves in equity; and maintained and extended their significant rights (as, for example, “windfall” allowed them to collect broken branches from the lord’s hunting forest). While not romanticizing village life, the course will lead us in an appreciation of habitual cooperation at the most critical level of medieval society.

Useful Books:
Bennett, Judith M. A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader of Brigstock, c. 1295-1344 (Boston, etc.: McGraw-Hill College, 1999).
Beresford, Maurice W., and John G. Hurst. Wharram Percy Deserted Medieval Village English Heritage Society (London: Batsford, 1990).

Useful internet sites: DT>Population Estimates