Reconstructing the Development of Somerset's Early Medieval Church: New Approaches to Understanding the Relationships Between Post-Roman Church Sites, Early Medieval Minsters and Royal Villae in the South-West of England

Reconstructing the Development of Somersets Early Medieval Church uses Somerset as a case study to contribute to a broader understanding of how the Church developed across the British Isles during the transition from the post-Roman Church to the 11th century. It constructs a large retrogressive data set to identify new patterns of development and demonstrates how the medieval archdeaconries and deaneries correlate with Somersets early great estates. The book identifies the pastorally pre-eminent early medieval churches across Somerset by using a weighting system and concludes that the development of the Church varied from parochia to parochia, with no one trajectory of development and a weak link between early medieval minster settlements and later urbanisation.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 210 pages
Publication date: 09 May 2024
Publisher: Archaeopress

The study "Reconstructing the Development of Somersets Early Medieval Church" utilizes Somerset as a case study to contribute to a broader understanding of the evolution of the Church across the British Isles during the transition from the post-Roman Church to the 11th-century Church. To facilitate this, a comprehensive retrogressive data set was constructed, allowing for the identification of new patterns of development. This research has advanced our understanding of how Somerset and the South-West evolved, including the reconstruction of Somersets early great estates and early medieval parishes. Crucially, it demonstrates how the medieval archdeaconries and deaneries correlate with Somersets early great estates.

This book identifies the pastorally pre-eminent early medieval churches across Somerset by employing a weighting system that enables comparative assessments of various types of evidence, including historical and topographical, to evaluate the changing significance of individual churches. The two most significant conclusions drawn from this study are that the development of the Church in Somerset varied from parish to parish; there is no single trajectory of Church development, and there is a weak link between early medieval minster settlements and later urbanization.

The book collates and cross-references all previous research on Somersets early medieval Church, making it the most up-to-date study of Somersets post-Roman churches. The retrogressive systematic approach to data collection and collation provides a methodology for understanding the development of the early medieval Church in other regions.

Weight: 1197g
Dimension: 203 x 290 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781803275796