'This is an imaginatively-conceived volume that cuts across conventional chronological divisions to offer new insights into the English medieval society and culture. No other volume offers so comprehensive an analysis of all aspects of life in Anglo-Saxon and Norman England. It should be an essential purchase for students and scholars working on England in the central Middle Ages.' Sarah Foot, Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, University of Oxford 'This is a ground-breaking collection that combines intellectual, political and cultural history with archaeological, literary, ecocritical and environmental scholarship in an unprecedented fashion. The result is innovative and interdisciplinary in the very best way - rich in insights, lucid, learned, and original.' Paul J. E. Kershaw, University of Virginia 'This fresh and interesting volume has broadened the normal range of selection for a social history to include such excellent literary scholars as Andy Orchard and Elaine Treharne, matching them with archaeologists and the incomparable Oliver Rackham. It will inspire the young to pursue a speciality from one or other of the chapters and one or two readers might even ponder the volume as a whole and go on to transcend specialities and produce a great social history of the complex kind we so singularly lack.' Paul R. Hyams, Cornell University 'This collection of thirty essays by field leaders, expertly edited by Julia Crick and Elisabeth van Houts, is ... very welcome and has much to offer medieval history. Going far beyond considerations of government, and taking in change alongside continuity, it makes important contributions ... excellent surveys and overviews, accessible to students and non-specialists, reinforcing and enlightening to veterans.' Alex Burghart, Times Literary Supplement
