Meteorological Disasters in Medieval Britain (AD 1000‒1500): Archaeological, Historical and Climatological Perspectives within a Wider European Context

Peter J. Brown

book: Meteorological Disasters in Medieval Britain (AD 1000‒1500)

Open Access Published by De Gruyter 2023

Meteorological Disasters in Medieval Britain (AD 1000‒1500)

Archaeological, Historical and Climatological Perspectives within a Wider European Context

Peter J. Brown

In the series Historical Catastrophe Studies / Historische Katastrophenforschung

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110719628

Overview
Contents

About this book

Open Access

When high-magnitude meteorological hazards impact vulnerable human populations, disasters are the inevitable consequence. Through archaeological and historical evidence, this book investigates how these sudden and unpredictable events affected British medieval populations (AD 1000-1500). Medieval society understood disasters in a practical sense and took steps to minimise risk by constructing flood defences and reinforcing structures damaged by storms. At the same time, natural hazards were widely interpreted through a framework of religious and superstitious beliefs and a wide variety of measures were followed to secure protection against the dangers of the natural world. Disasters, therefore, were interpreted through a duality of understanding in which their occurrence could be the result of spiritual or superstitious triggers but practical solutions were a key component in mitigating their tangible impacts. In evaluating this duality, this book focuses on specific case studies and considers both their diverse historical contexts as well as their consequences for society against the backdrop of significant demographic and climatic change—as a result of the Black Death and the transition to the Little Ice Age.

Author / Editor information

Peter J. Brown, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	V
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
1 Introduction Open Access Download PDF	1
2 Disaster and society in medieval Europe Open Access Download PDF	21
3 A litany of disasters Open Access Download PDF	45
4 In the aftermath: practical responses against hazards Open Access Download PDF	97
5 Systems of protection: religious and superstitious defences against hazards Open Access Download PDF	137
6 Memories of disaster Open Access Download PDF	182
7 Discussion Open Access Download PDF	209
8 An endless chain of catastrophes? Open Access Download PDF	245
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	251
Index Open Access Download PDF	282

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Scholars in Medieval History, Archaeology, Human Geography, Disaster Studies, Historical Climatology
Pages
- Front matter: 10
- Main content: 289
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 64
- Coloured Illustrations: 5
- Tables: 5
Keywords: Natural disasters; medieval beliefs; resilience; flooding

eBook

Published: August 21, 2023
ISBN: 9783110719628

Hardcover

Published: August 21, 2023
ISBN: 9783110719574