Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348
This research looks to present a reinterpretation of medieval forests, the least well understood landscapes of medieval Western Europe. The thesis focuses on the Forest of High Peak and Sherwood Forest and seeks to address several key themes, including the diversity of forest landscapes, the long-te...
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51926/ |
| _version_ | 1848798605815578624 |
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| author | Dicken, Craig Arthur |
| author_facet | Dicken, Craig Arthur |
| author_sort | Dicken, Craig Arthur |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This research looks to present a reinterpretation of medieval forests, the least well understood landscapes of medieval Western Europe. The thesis focuses on the Forest of High Peak and Sherwood Forest and seeks to address several key themes, including the diversity of forest landscapes, the long-term impact of Forest Law, and evidence for power-relations and social dynamics within the forests. A wide variety of sources are utilised within this research, including map analysis and regression techniques, analysis of material culture, documentary sources, place names, church architecture, and funerary monuments.
Evidence is found for forests having had a dynamic landscape character, including not only woodland, but also moorland, farmland, industrial areas, and urban areas, as well as a range of human activities that included mining, glass and charcoal manufacture, ironworking, leatherworking, carpentry, construction, and intensive arable and pastoral farming. Far from being universally oppressive, it emerges that through its protection of woodland Forest Law also preserved common rights and areas of royal demesne, the impact of which was a high degree of peasant agency during the medieval period. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:22:26Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-51926 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:22:26Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-519262025-02-28T14:07:32Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51926/ Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348 Dicken, Craig Arthur This research looks to present a reinterpretation of medieval forests, the least well understood landscapes of medieval Western Europe. The thesis focuses on the Forest of High Peak and Sherwood Forest and seeks to address several key themes, including the diversity of forest landscapes, the long-term impact of Forest Law, and evidence for power-relations and social dynamics within the forests. A wide variety of sources are utilised within this research, including map analysis and regression techniques, analysis of material culture, documentary sources, place names, church architecture, and funerary monuments. Evidence is found for forests having had a dynamic landscape character, including not only woodland, but also moorland, farmland, industrial areas, and urban areas, as well as a range of human activities that included mining, glass and charcoal manufacture, ironworking, leatherworking, carpentry, construction, and intensive arable and pastoral farming. Far from being universally oppressive, it emerges that through its protection of woodland Forest Law also preserved common rights and areas of royal demesne, the impact of which was a high degree of peasant agency during the medieval period. 2018-07-16 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51926/2/Thesis%20v2%20Text%20Final.pdf application/pdf en arr https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51926/3/Thesis%20Figures%20v2%20Final%20-%20High%20Res.pdf Dicken, Craig Arthur (2018) Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. Forest Forests Law Hunting Medieval Royal Peasant Sherwood Peak Landscape Settlement Society Identity Norman Social Dynamics Social Transformations Power Relations Archaeology |
| spellingShingle | Forest Forests Law Hunting Medieval Royal Peasant Sherwood Peak Landscape Settlement Society Identity Norman Social Dynamics Social Transformations Power Relations Archaeology Dicken, Craig Arthur Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348 |
| title | Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348 |
| title_full | Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348 |
| title_fullStr | Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348 |
| title_short | Settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the Impact of forest law on Sherwood and the Peak, c. AD 650 to 1348 |
| title_sort | settlement, landscape and identity in medieval royal forests: the impact of forest law on sherwood and the peak, c. ad 650 to 1348 |
| topic | Forest Forests Law Hunting Medieval Royal Peasant Sherwood Peak Landscape Settlement Society Identity Norman Social Dynamics Social Transformations Power Relations Archaeology |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51926/ |