This book compiles the papers presented at the British Archaeological association conference held in 2001, which concentrated on the Roman and medieval art, architecture and archaeology of the city and county. It provides scholars with a firm baseline for future research in this area.

The frontier or `marcher' societies flourished in the Middle Ages and their influence has lasted well into modern times. In this study of Anglo-Scottish relations and of border society, the contributors examine the infrastructure beneath societies which were permanently `organized for war'. They draw on Anglo-Scottish archival material to argue that the issues which feature in other frontier societies - acculturation and the creation of special institutions - appeared also on the Anglo-Scottish frontier. The book uses the celebrated Battle of Otterburn as a starting-point for a major reassessment of border society, challenging the view put forward in popular ballads that the borders were isolated and self-contained.

Originally published in 1972, The Purchase of Paradise is an account of medieval philanthropy and looks at the late medieval aristocracy as a social, rather than political group. The book analyses their voluntary behaviour, their gift giving and the Church, and addresses the nature of charity in the Middle Ages, providing an insight into the noble families of the time. The book depicts charitable practices within the family, such as the buying of prayers for relatives, and the family traditions of support for favoured houses lasting through several generations. The book shows that the family was the most operative unit for most forms of benefaction and ecclesiastical contact, and that the hard necessities of baronial politics were often ignored when men turned their thoughts to philanthropy and prayers for their immortal souls. The book will of value to historians and sociologists alike, as well as those working in the field of anthropology.

A new series of the Scottish antiquary established 1886.