This paperback edition of a book first published in hardback in 2002 is a fascinating and provocative study which looks at castles in a new light, using the theories and methods of landscape studies.

Medieval castles were not just showcases for the royal and powerful, they were also the centerpieces of many people's daily lives. A travel guide as well as a historical text, this volume looks at castles not just as ruined buildings, but as part of the cultural and scenic landscape. The 88 photographs illustrate the different architectural concepts and castle features discussed in the text. The book includes glossaries of terminology, an appendix listing all the castles mentioned and their locations, notes, bibliography and index.

Although King John is remembered for his political and military failures, he also resided over a magnificent court. Power and Pleasure reconstructs life at the court of King John and explores how his court produced both pleasure and soft power. Much work exists on courts of the late medieval and early modern periods, but the jump in record keeping under John allows a detailed reconstruction of court life for an earlier period. Power and Pleasure: Court Life under King John, 1199-1216 examines the many facets of John's court, exploring hunting, feasting, castles, landscapes, material luxury, chivalry, sexual coercion, and religious activities. It explains how John mishandled his use of soft power, just as he failed to exploit his financial and military advantages, and why he received so little political benefit from his magnificent court. John's court is viewed in comparison to other courts of the time, and in previous and subsequent centuries.

Medieval East Anglia - one of the most significant and prosperous parts of England in the middle ages - examined through essays on its landscape, history, religion, literature, and culture. East Anglia was the most prosperous region of medieval England; far from being an isolated backwater, it had strong economic, religious and cultural connections with continental Europe, with Norwich for a time England's second city. The essays in this volume bring out the importance of the region during the middle ages. Spanning the late eleventh to the fifteenth century, they offer a broad coverage of East Anglia's history and culture; particular topics examined include its landscape, urban history, buildings, government and society, religion and rich culture. Contributors: Christopher Harper-Bill, Tom Williamson, Robert E. Liddiard, P. Maddern, Brian Ayers, Elisabeth Rutledge, Penny Dunn, Kate Parker, Carole Rawcliffe, James Campbell, Lucy Marten, Colin Richmond, T. M. Colk, Carole Hill, T.A. Heslop, A.E. Oliver, Theresa Coletti, Penny Granger, Sarah Salih

Dedicated to Martin Bell (University of Reading), this book outlines how wetland and inland environments can be related and investigated using multi-method approaches. Papers fall under three themes: coastal and intertidal archaeology; mobility and human-environment relationships; heritage resource management, nature conservation and rewilding.

The first ever archaeologically based study of the turbulent period of English history often known as the 'Anarchy' of King Stephen's reign in the mid-twelfth century, covering battlefields and conflict landscapes, arms, armour and material culture, fortifications and the church.

The purpose of castles - their position and their symbolic nature - is the main focus of this study, which takes into account the importance of their context in the medieval world, as part of a many-faceted society.

Pre-Conquest monastic foundations, (in the present-day counties of Norfolk and Suffolk) in their topographical, social, economic and political environment; evolution of religious devotion in East Anglia since the 7th-century Conversion; the influence of the Anglo-Saxon past on the post-Conquest monastic landscape.