This study of the design, manufacture and use of medieval floor tiles shows the long-lasting influence achieved in the north of England, especially by the Cistercian monasteries. It serves to demonstrate how these monastic houses made use of the resources and contacts available to them. The study focuses on one of the richest medieval floor tile assemblages in the world, with material from 118 sites. Over 500 different designs and 60 mosaic arrangements have been identified. Jennie Stopford examines the monastic influence on northern England's manufacture and use of floor tiles. Split into three sections - Chronological Survey, The Tile Groups, and The Sites and Collections - this in-depth study covers an immense body of work. Contents include: a view of the world - plain mosaic floor tiles and the Cistercians, c.1230-1270; long distance supply and personalised designs, c.1350; standardisation - plain-glazed tiles; the plain tile mosaic group, c.1220-1270; inferior quality plain mosaic, later 13th century; the decorated mosaic tile group, c.1300; parallels to the decorated mosaic tile group, possibly c.1300; the Nottinghamshire tile group, c.1325-1365; fourteenth-century copies; the plain-glazed tile groups; small assemblages dating from the 14th or 15th centuries; the Transpennine tile group, later 15th century; the Huby/Percy tile group, c.1500.

"This dedicated volume of the Journal of the British Archaeological Association draws together ten papers which, collectively, explore something of the art and architecture, styles and uses, of the medieval cloister in England and Wales. Contributors consider the continental context, cloisters in English palaces, Benedictine and Augustinian cloister arcades in the 12th and 13th centuries, architecture and meaning in Cistercian east ranges, late medieval vaulted cloisters in the West Country, cloisters at the cathedrals of Old Sarum, Canterbury, and Lincoln, and assess the extent to which the cloister bosses at Norwich cathedral priory reflect contemporary religious politics. The volume also contains an extended consideration and gazetteer of all Cistercian cloisters in England and Wales."

This volume offers unparalleled coverage of all aspects of art and architecture from medieval Western Europe, from the 6th century to the early 16th century. Drawing upon the expansive scholarship in the celebrated 'Grove Dictionary of Art' and adding hundreds of new entries, it offers students, researchers and the general public a reliable, up-to-date, and convenient resource covering this field of major importance in the development of Western history and international art and architecture.

An investigation into the role of the high-ranking churchman in this period - who they were, what they did, and how they perceived themselves. High ecclesiastical office in the Middle Ages inevitably brought power, wealth and patronage. The essays in this volume examine how late medieval and Renaissance prelates deployed the income and influence of their offices, how they understood their role, and how they were viewed by others. Focusing primarily on but not exclusively confined to England, this collection explores the considerable common ground between cardinals, bishops and monastic superiors.Leading authorities on the late medieval and sixteenth-century Church analyse the political, cultural and pastoral activities of high-ranking churchmen, and consider how episcopal and abbatial expenditure was directed, justifiedand perceived. Overall, the collection enhances our understanding of ecclesiastical wealth and power in an era when the concept and role of the prelate were increasingly contested. Dr Martin Heale is Senior Lecturer inLate Medieval History, University of Liverpool. Contributors: Martin Heale, Michael Carter, James G. Clark, Gwilym Dodd, Felicity Heal, Anne Hudson, Emilia Jamroziak, Cédric Michon, Elizabeth A. New, Wendy Scase, Benjamin Thompson, C.M. Woolgar

For over 25 years The Handbook of British Archaeology has been the foremost guide to archaeological methods, artefacts and monuments, providing clear explanations of all specialist terms used by archaeologists. This completely revised and updated edition is packed with the latest information and now includes the most recent developments in archaeological science. Meticulously researched, every section has been extensively updated by a team of experts. There are chapters devoted to each of the archaeological periods found in Britain, as well as two chapters on techniques and the nature of archaeological remains. All the common artefacts, types of sites and current theories and methods are covered. The growing interest in post-medieval and industrial archaeology is fully explored in a brand new section dealing with these crucial periods. Hundreds of new illustrations enable instant comparison and identification of objects and monuments - from Palaeolithic handaxes to post-medieval gravestones. Several maps pinpoint the key sites, and other features include an extensive bibliography and a detailed index. The Handbook of British Archaeology is the most comprehensive resource book available and is essential for anyone with an interest in the subject - from field archaeologists and academics to students, heritage professionals, Time Team followers and amateur enthusiasts.

Owned by the National Trust and managed by English Heritage, Mount Grace Priory in North Yorkshire, established in 1398 and suppressed in 1539, was one of only nine successful Carthusian monasteries in England and one of the best-preserved medieval houses of that order in Europe. First excavated by Sir William St John Hope in 1896-1900 and in state guardianship since 1955 it is acknowledged as a type site for late-medieval Carthusian monasteries. The modern study of Mount Grace began in 1957 when Hope’s interpretation of the monks’ cells about the great cloister was found to be simplistic. This was followed between 1968 and 1974 by the excavation of individual monks’ cells in the west range of the great cloister and two cells in the north range, together with their gardens, areas not excavated by Hope. The examination of the monks’ cells was completed in 1985 by the excavation of the central cell of the north cloister range, together with its garden and the cloister alley outside the cell. The cultural material recovered from these cells indicated the ‘trade’ each monk practiced, predominantly the copying and binding of books. Because each cell was enclosed by high walls, the pottery and metalwork recovered could be identified to an individual monk. In 1987 English Heritage commissioned the re-excavation of two areas that had been examined by Hope, the water tower in the great cloister and the prior’s cell, refectory and kitchen in the south cloister range and the guest house in the west range of the inner court. The contrast between this semi-public area of the monastery and the monks’ cells was dramatic. Coupled with this excavation was a reappraisal of the architectural development of the monastery and reconstruction of lost structures such as the cloister alley walls and the central water tower.

This study of the design, manufacture and use of medieval floor tiles shows the long-lasting influence achieved in the north of England, especially by the Cistercian monasteries. It serves to demonstrate how these monastic houses made use of the resources and contacts available to them. The study focuses on one of the richest medieval floor tile assemblages in the world, with material from 118 sites. Over 500 different designs and 60 mosaic arrangements have been identified. Jennie Stopford examines the monastic influence on northern England's manufacture and use of floor tiles. Split into three sections - Chronological Survey, The Tile Groups, and The Sites and Collections - this in-depth study covers an immense body of work.

A comprehensive, full-color exploration of tile art and production worldwide, from earliest times to the present day. The book is both an authoritative work of reference and a visual delight, ranging from ancient Greece, where the first fired roof tiles date from as early as the third millennium BC, to twentieth-century Mexico. Along the way we encounter stunning examples of the tiler's art: the enormous English medieval floor pavements from Byland Abbey and Clarendon Palace; figural tiles from China, intended to adorn roofs and ward off evil; the famous Iznik tiles from the Islamic world, with their richly decorative patterns; the highly stylised ceramic tiles of the Arts and Crafts movement; and the tiles created by some of the finest ceramic artists and potters of the twenty-first century. Placing the tiles firmly in their historical and cultural context, the book highlights both continuity and diversity, the dissemination of techniques and designs, and how tile art in one time and place has inspired and rejuvenated those in others. Tiles are also studied in terms of function as well as form, and the full range of architectural and practical purposes for which they have been used - from floors to roofs, stoves to bathrooms, cathedrals to metro stations - will be explored, along with the various techniques employed to create such versatile pieces. 5000 Years of Tiles is the essential, most comprehensive single volume for anyone interested in the ceramic, decorative, and architectural arts.

The Cistercians (White Monks) were the most successful monastic experiment to emerge from the tumultuous intellectual and religious fervour of the 11th and 12th centuries. This book seeks to explore the phenomenon that was the Cistercian Order.

The nine papers presented here set out to broaden the recent focus of archaeological evidence for medieval children and childhood and to offer new ways of exploring their lives and experiences. The everyday use of space and changes in the layout of buildings are examined, in order to reveal how these impacted upon the daily practices and tasks of household tasks relating to the upbringing of children. Aspects of work and play are explored: how, archaeologically, we can determine whether, and in what context, children played board and dice games? How we may gain insights into the medieval countryside from the perspective of children and thus begin to understand the processes of reproduction of particular aspects of medieval society and the spaces where children’s activities occurred; and the possible role of children in the medieval pottery industry. Funerary aspects are considered: the burial of infants in early English Christian cemeteries the treatment and disposal of infants and children in the cremation ritual of early Anglo-Saxon England; and childhood, children and mobility in early medieval western Britain, especially Wales. The volume concludes with an exploration of what archaeologists can draw from other disciplines – historians, art historians, folklorists and literary scholars – and the approaches that they take to the study of childhood and thus the enhancement of our knowledge of medieval society in general.