The Medieval Period

Abstract

with the documentary evidence in order to take note of individuals and their activities in the past. Canterbury is of course especially fortunate in this regard because of the quality of surviving records, but it would be highly informative to apply such methods (where the sources allow) to other towns and more rural situations and compare what the different types of evidence are telling us. A number of site-focussed historical studies will have been carried out as part of PPG15, PPG16 and PPS5 related work elsewhere, particularly as part of desk-based assessments. This type of work would contribute much to broader synthesis if it can be extracted from the large (and growing) corpus of grey literature. Such evidence can be complemented by comparison of aerial photographs, cartographic evidence (regression analyses of post-medieval maps on a local scale, as well as more stylised maps of the period: see Brandon and Short 1990, Plate 2.6 for example) and place-name evidence (including field and wood names etc. that potentially refer to local medieval topography). In the latter case it would appear significant, for example, that '-den' names have a Kent focus, with numbers generally decreasing quite sharply at what is still the Wealden county boundary with East Sussex (Everitt 1986: 35; Brandon and Short 1990: 25; cf. East Sussex '-field' names). Such differences may even represent ethnic boundaries in the more distant past. Evidence of medieval life and culture derived from literature and art, such as Psalters, or the Canterbury abbey and Chertsey Cartulary maps (c. 1165 and 1432 respectively), should also be admissible, but such information needs to be interpreted carefully. As well as original biases, literary tropes and artistic conventions must be taken into account. Chaucer's evocation of socially stratified pilgrims travelling through Kent, for example, is best seen within the context of 'estates' literature, presenting highly stylised social portraits (see Rigby 1996: Chapter 1). Archaeological, environmental and finds evidence Archaeological evidence is vital if we are to have any hope of reconstructing those many aspects of medieval society in the region that were simply not recorded in contemporary documents: much should be considered 'prehistoric', even at this period (a wooden harpoon found near Chichester is especially eloquent of this: see Allen and Pettit 1997). Turner's general comment applied to Surrey is relevant to the region as a whole: '(T)here are many pre-or proto-literate aspects…that can only be illuminated by archaeological methods. There are many gaps in the documentary record, particularly at the local level, and many parts of society did not participate in the record-making process at all.' (1987: 223).