| Paper 1811-a | The Changing Marshlands along the River Alt, Lancashire: Evidence of Minor Place-Names, c. 1220-1300
(Language: English)
Jonathan Masters, Department of History, Lancaster University
Index terms: Economics - Rural, Geography and Settlement Studies, Language and Literature - Middle English, Local History |
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| Abstract | Paper -a:
Scholars have long acknowledged the significant economic development of rural communities generated by the agricultural improvement of wetland landscapes such as the Cambridgeshire Fens and Somerset Levels. Despite its small geographical coverage, the wetlands along the River Alt in south-west Lancashire offer an important case study for similar developments in watery environments during the medieval period. Arguably, a substantial proportion of change in the local landscape can be attributed to the introduction of two Cistercian communities from the start of the 13th century. Our knowledge and interpretation of these developments can be enhanced using place-name evidence recorded in title deeds to better understand the geographical context and what impact agricultural practices had on wet lowland climates.
Paper -b:
Alrewas (Staffordshire) sits at the Trent/Tame confluence. The name reveals that its Anglo-Saxon inhabitants were aware of the propensity for this landscape to flood - nevertheless this did not discourage them from settling there. Later medieval field-names allow us to reconstruct the ways in which locals understood this occasionally unpredictable landscape. During a period in which a deteriorating climate frequently undermined peasants' attempts at agrarian success, a thorough understanding of this challenging environment was essential for local inhabitants. The field-names emphasise this community's close observation of their watery surroundings, revealing how they lived successfully with the ever-present threat of flooding.
Paper -c:
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles record, alongside the remarkable social events, a wide range of natural phenomena such as unusually strong winds, cold, frost, heavy rain, hail, thunder, flood, etc., succeeded most often by harvest failure, famine, and social tension. The analysis of the chronology of these phenomena as well as their location and impact on social life allows us to claim that climatic irregularities were, due to their comparatively low frequency, generally untypical of England at the Medieval Warm Period; however, their increase at the 11th -12th c. could be considered as an early mark of the Little Ice Age.
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