Horses played a vital role in medieval life. This catalogue describes and illustrates over 400 medieval finds, associated with horses, excavated in London in recent years. It includes harness, horseshoes, spurs and curry combs, and ranges from everyday artefacts to highly wrought decorative pieces. An introductory chapter surveys the role of the horse and horse husbandry in medieval London, discussing the use of pack-horses and carts in and around London, and the function of the marshal or farrier. The book also deals with the size and power of the medieval horse, including the size of a knight's Great Horse, and why it took three horses to haul a medieval cart.

A follow-up publication to the Handbook of Medieval Studies, this new reference work turns to a different focus: medieval culture. Medieval research has grown tremendously in depth and breadth over the last decades. Particularly our understanding of medieval culture, of the basic living conditions, and the specific value system prevalent at that time has considerably expanded, to a point where we are in danger of no longer seeing the proverbial forest for the trees. The present, innovative handbook offers compact articles on essential topics, ideals, specific knowledge, and concepts defining the medieval world as comprehensively as possible. The topics covered in this new handbook pertain to issues such as love and marriage, belief in God, hell, and the devil, education, lordship and servitude, Christianity versus Judaism and Islam, health, medicine, the rural world, the rise of the urban class, travel, roads and bridges, entertainment, games, and sport activities, numbers, measuring, the education system, the papacy, saints, the senses, death, and money.

"Excavations at Wigmore Castle were carried out in 1996 and 1998 as a precursor to repair and consolidation of the castle by English Heritage. The castle had remained the honorial caput of the Mortimer family from the late 11th century through to 1425, an unusually long tenure amongst Marcher lordships. The Mortimer family became increasingly important players in the history of England. Thereafter the Mortimer inheritance passed to the Dukes of York and from there to the Crown. Evidence of the earliest castle was found during the excavations, including part of a substantial 12th-century timber building, part of which had been used as a kitchen. Here remains of a sequence of hearths, cooking pots and food remains were found. The construction of defences in stone probably began in the 12th century. The effect of conflict on the castle was indicated by the presence of ballista balls, arrowheads, a possible crannequin and fragments of plate armour. A possible period of neglect occurred in the later 14th century but by the 15th century the castle was the scene of renewed activity including the rebuilding of the curtain wall. Dietary evidence and some of the artefacts indicate that there was high-status occupation, in which hunting played an important role that continued throughout the 15th century. By the 16th century the castle fabric was beginning to fall into disrepair and evidence of repairs and modifications were noted. Nevertheless, high-status occupation continued and the castle remained to play an important role as a secondary seat of the Council of the Marches. However, by the early 17th century decline at the castle appears to have been terminal. The castle was now owned by the Harley family and it is they who are credited with the pre-emptive slighting of the castle during the Civil War. The slighting is not evident in the excavated areas, and the area in and around the East Tower appears to have been derelict well before the mid-17th century. Pottery, clay pipe and other artefacts which can definitely be ascribed to the Civil War are few. An oxshoe found in the latest deposits may well be associated with the removal of fallen stone for building elsewhere. Thereafter the castle appears to have been little visited and almost total ruination had set in by the early 18th century. In 1995 the castle was taken into English Heritage Guardianship and has been consolidated and restored as a romantic ruin.

The figure of a knight on horseback is the emblem of medieval chivalry. Much has been written on the ideology and practicalities of knighthood as portrayed in medieval romance, especially Arthurian romance, and it is surprising that so little attention was hitherto granted to the knight's closest companion, the horse. This study examines the horse as a social indicator, as the knight's animal alter ego in his spiritual peregrinations and earthly adventures, the ups and downs of chivalric adventure, as well as the relations between the lady and her palfrey in romance. Both medieval authors and their audiences knew more about the symbolism and practice of horsemanship than most readers do today. By providing the background to the descriptions of horses and horsemanship in Arthurian romance, this study deepens the readers' appreciation of these texts. At the same time, critical reading of romance supplies information about the ideology and daily practice of horsemanship in the Middle Ages that is otherwise impossible to obtain from other sources, be it archaeology, chronicles or administrative documentation.

Settlement and Crusade in the Thirteenth Century sheds new light on formerly less explored aspects of the crusading movement and the Latin East during the thirteenth century. In commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the construction of 'Atlit Castle, a significant section of this volume is dedicated to the castle, which was one of the most impressive built in the Latin East. Scholarly debate has centred on the reasons behind the construction of the castle, its role in the defence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the thirteenth century, and its significance for the Templar order. The studies in this volume shed new light on diverse aspects of the site, including its cemetery and the surveys conducted there. Further chapters examine Cyprus during the thirteenth century, which under the Lusignan dynasty was an important centre of Latin settlement in the East, and a major trade centre. These chapters present new contributions regarding the complex visual culture which developed on the island, the relation between different social groups, and settlement patterns. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of the medieval period, as well as those interested in the Crusades, archaeology, material culture, and art history.

New things are forgotten old things - this rediscovery of the past is especially important in horsemanship and equestrian sports. Despite advances in sciences and technology, the physiologies and psychologies of the two principal agents, the equid and the human, have undergone relatively few changes since horse domestication. The studies collected in this volume outline such essential and recurring challenges in equestrianism as gender issues, equine identification, the use of hyperflexion and groundwork in training, as well as many others, from prehistory to this day.

Reports the results of 2003-2007 excavations at Hill Street, Upper Well Street and Far Gosford Street, three suburban streets which stood directly outside the city gates of Coventry for much of the medieval period.

The horse was the essential animal for the medieval world: means of transport, a vehicle of social status and a cherished companion. This volume explores the ways in which horses shaped medieval societies.