Cart
Free US shipping over $10
Proud to be B-Corp

Castles in Medieval Society Charles L. H. Coulson (Honorary Research Fellow School of History, University of Kent)

Castles in Medieval Society By Charles L. H. Coulson (Honorary Research Fellow School of History, University of Kent)

Castles in Medieval Society by Charles L. H. Coulson (Honorary Research Fellow School of History, University of Kent)


$101.79
Condition - New
Only 2 left

Summary

Aims to overturn many traditional assumptions about the nature and purpose of castle-building in the middle ages. This book proposes a fresh understanding of the function and symbolism of castles, and provides insights into the lives of the people who inhabited them.

Castles in Medieval Society Summary

Castles in Medieval Society: Fortresses in England, France, and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages by Charles L. H. Coulson (Honorary Research Fellow School of History, University of Kent)

In this challenging new book Charles Coulson overturns many of the traditional assumptions about the nature and purpose of castle-building in the middle ages. He demolishes the traditional belief that castles were overwhelmingly military in their function, showing how this was simply one aspect of a more complicated whole. He sets out to recreate the medieval understanding of castles as symbolically fortified places of all kinds, from ancient walled post-Roman towns and prestigious religious enclaves to transitory campaign forts. Going back to the original sources, Dr Coulson proposes a new and more subtle understanding of the function and symbolism of castles as well as vivid insights into the lives of the people who inhabited them. Fortresses were only occasionally caught up in war, but constantly were central to the ordinary life of all classes: of the nobility and gentry, of widows and heiresses, of prelates and clergy, of peasantry and townspeople alike. Castles in Medieval Society presents and explores this broad social panorama.

Castles in Medieval Society Reviews

Much of what Coulson proposed was ground-breaking for the time, and the effect is to be seen in the work of the current generation of castle scholars ... This is a book not to be missed * Gill Dowdall-Brown, Casemate *
...There can be no doubt that this is an important, agenda-setting work...nobody with any interest in the medieval castle can afford to ignore it.

Table of Contents

PART I. CASTLES: ANCIENT, VARIOUS, AND SOCIABLE ; 1. A Fresh Look at Early Castles ; 2. Variety Violated: Some Conceptual Problems ; 3. Some Social Relations of 'Castles and Fortresses' ; PART II. CASTLES AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST ; 4. Noble Military 'Liberties', Ethos, and Ethics ; 5. Peacekeeping at Home and Abroad ; 6. Private Property but Public Utility ; PART III. CASTELLANS, COLONIZATION, AND RURAL COMMUNITY ; 7. Castle-Lords, Castle-Lordships, and Noble Civilization ; 8. Colonization and Fortresses ; 9. Population and Fortresses: Protection and Perquisites ; PART IV. CASTLES AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF WIDOWS, GUARDIANS, AND HEIRESSES ; 10. Female Castellans: Prevision not Prejudice ; 11. Ladies of Fortresses and Castle-Children ; Epilogue ; Bibliography ; Index

Additional information

NLS9780199273638
9780199273638
0199273634
Castles in Medieval Society: Fortresses in England, France, and Ireland in the Central Middle Ages by Charles L. H. Coulson (Honorary Research Fellow School of History, University of Kent)
New
Paperback
Oxford University Press
2004-07-01
300
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a new book - be the first to read this copy. With untouched pages and a perfect binding, your brand new copy is ready to be opened for the first time

Customer Reviews - Castles in Medieval Society