This volume of essays explores the interaction of Church and town in the medieval period in England. Two major themes structure the book. In the first part the authors explore the social and economic dimensions of the interaction; in the second part the emphasis moves to the spaces and built forms of towns and their church buildings. The primary emphasis of the essays is upon the urban activities of the medieval Church as a set of institutions: parish, diocese, monastery, cathedral. In these various institutional roles the Church did much to shape both the origin and the development of the medieval town. In exploring themes of topography, marketing and law the authors show that the relationship of Church and town could be both mutually beneficial and a source of conflict.
Biography
T.R. Slater, Gervase Rosser
'What we have here is a whole range of new approaches to old or previously intractable problems, and the use of new techniques to try to solve them. The essays in this volume have opened up the debate on the role of the Church in town formation and town life in exciting ways. The book has been beautifully produced by the publisher, and the cartography is quite outstanding.' The Ricardian, Vol. XI, No. 146