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This volume provides a readable account of the history of the British Isles from the Norman Conquest of England to the eve of the Welsh rebellion against Edward I in 1282. In six detailed chapters, contributors consider the fundamental changes that occurred in political structure, ecclesiastical landscape, and social and economic life.
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The Short Oxford History of the British Isles General Editor: Paul Langford The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries Edited by Barbara Harvey available now The Nineteenth Century edited by Colin Matthew in preparation, volumes covering The Roman Era From the Romans to the Vikings From the Vikings to the Normans The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries The Sixteenth Century The Seventeenth Century The Eighteenth Century The Twentieth Century: The First Fifty Years The British Isles: – Figure 1 The British Isles as shown on the Hereford Mappa Mundi. The Hereford World Map was made at Lincoln, probably in the s, but soon taken to Hereford. Richard of Holdingham, who tells us that he made the map, was either the designer or the craftsman who drew it. East is at the top of the map, and Jerusalem at the centre. In the north-west, England and Wales are an island, and Scotland is an island. Ireland is divided in two by the River Boyne. The Short Oxford History of the British Isles General Editor: Paul Langford The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries –c. Edited by Barbara Harvey 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogotá Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris São Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw with associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Oxford University Press, 2001 Database right Oxford University Press (maker) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organizations. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data applied for ISBN 0–19–873139–6 (pbk) ISBN 0–19–873140–X (hbk) 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Typeset in Minion by RefineCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in Great Britain by T.J. International, Padstow, Cornwall General Editor’s Preface It is a truism that historical writing is itself culturally determined, reflecting intellectual fashions, political preoccupations, and moral values at the time it is written. In the case of British history this has resulted in a great diversity of perspectives both on the content of what is narrated and the geopolitical framework in which it is placed. In the late twentieth century the process of redefinition has positively accelerated under the pressure of contemporary change. Some of it has come from within Britain during a period of recurrent racial tension in England and reviving nationalism in Scotland, Wales, and Northern