Norwich Cathedral, founded in 1096 by Bishop Herbert de Losinga, is of outstanding importance both architecturally and historically. Its archives, dating back to the time of its foundation, as well as the building itself, its decoration and contents, constitute an unbroken and fascinating record. Norwich Cathedral, 1096-1996 deals with all aspects of the church's history, both institutional and artistic. Written by experts, and heavily illustrated, it has been designed to be accessible to the general reader. The building itself is Romanesque, augmented by later Gothic campaigns. It has of course also undergone repair and modification throughout the centuries both in detail and occasionally in substance. It nevertheless keeps its early identity essentially intact. Its contents, from all periods of its history but notably the middle ages, are themselves of great interest: the medieval roof bosses are uniquely rich, as are the wall paintings.

Reid Barbour brings the historical evidence of Browne's life together for the first time, allowing readers to contextualise his most celebrated works.

Winner of a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award What explains the layout of the cathedral and its close? What ideas and beliefs shaped this familiar landscape? Through this pioneering study of the development of the close of Norwich cathedral - one of the most important buildings in medieval England - from its foundation in 1096 up to c.1700, the author looks at changes in cathedral landscape, both sacred and social. Using evidence from history, archaeology and other disciplines, Professor Gilchrist reconstructs both the landscape and buildings of the close, and the transformations in their use and meaning over time. Much emphasis is placed on the layout and the ways in which buildings and spaces were used and perceived by different groups. Patterns observed at Norwich are then placed in the context of other cathedral priories, allowing a broader picture to emerge of the development of the English cathedral landscape over six centuries. ROBERTA GILCHRIST is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Reading and President of the Society for Medieval Archaeology. From 1993 to 2005 she was Archaeologist to Norwich Cathedral. She has published extensively on medieval monasticism and social archaeology.

Kevin Killeen addresses one of the most enigmatic of seventeenth century writers, Thomas Browne (1605-1682), whose voracious intellectual pursuits provide an unparalleled insight into how early modern scholarly culture understood the relations between its disciplines. Browne's work encompasses biblical commentary, historiography, natural history, classical philology, artistic propriety and an encyclopaedic coverage of natural philosophy. This book traces the intellectual climate in which such disparate interests could cohere, locating Browne within the cultural and political matrices of his time. While Browne is most frequently remembered for the magnificence of his prose and his temperamental poise, qualities that knit well with the picture of a detached, apolitical figure, this work argues that Browne's significance emerges most fully in the context of contemporary battles over interpretative authority, within the intricately linked fields of biblical exegesis, scientific thought, and politics. Killeen's work centres on a reassessment of the scope and importance of Browne's most elaborate text, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, his vast encyclopaedia of error with its mazy series of investigations and through this explores the multivalent nature of early-modern enquiry.

First full archaeological study of the urban environment of Norwich when its power was at its height. Norwich was second only to London in size and economic significance from the late Middle Ages through to the mid-seventeenth century. This book brings together, for the first time, the rich archaeological evidence for urban households and domestic life in Norwich, using surviving buildings, excavated sites, and material culture. It offers a broad overview of the changing forms, construction and spatial organisation of urban houses during the period, ranging across the social spectrum from the large courtyard mansions occupied by members of the mercantile and civic elite, to the homes of the urban "middling sort" and the small two- and three-roomed cottages of the city's weavers andartisans. The so-called "age of transition" witnessed profound social and economic changes and religious and political upheavals, which Norwich, as a major provincial capital, experienced with particular force and intensity; domestic life was also transformed. The author examines the twin themes of continuity and change in the material world and the role of the domestic sphere in the expression and negotiation of shifting power relationships, economic structures and social identities in the medieval and early modern city.

Julie Spraggon offers a detailed analysis of Puritan iconoclasm in England during the 1640s, which led to a resurgence of image breaking a century after the break with Rome. She examines parliamentary legislation, its enforcement & the parallel action undertaken by the army to rid the land of superstition.

Great efforts were required to restore the cathedrals following the return of the monarchy and established church in 1660. In Cathedrals Under Siege, Stanford E. Lehmberg brings together political, social, intellectual, and artistic history into a comprehensive, rounded account of an important institution in English history.

Material from The Agrarian History of England and Wales, in paperback with new introductions.