Church Building and Society in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series, Series Number 107)

The first systematic study of the financing and management of parish church construction in England in the Middle Ages.;Introduction -- Financing construction I -- Financing construction II -- Organising construction I -- Organising construction II -- Organising construction III -- Approaches to building work -- Conclusion. The Construction Of A Church Was Undoubtedly One Of The Most Demanding Events To Take Place In The Life Of A Medieval Parish. It Required A Huge Outlay Of Time, Money And Labour, And Often A New Organisational Structure To Oversee Design And Management. Who Took Control And Who Provided The Financing Was Deeply Shaped By Local Patterns In Wealth, Authority And Institutional Development - From Small Villages With Little Formal Government To Settlements With Highly Unequal Populations. This All Took Place During A Period Of Great Economic And Social Change As Communities Managed The Impact Of The Black Death, The End Of Serfdom And The Slump Of The Mid-fifteenth Century. This Original And Authoritative Study Provides An Account Of How Economic Change, Local Politics And Architecture Combined In Late-medieval England. It Will Be Of Interest To Researchers Of Medieval, Socio-economic And Art History. Gabriel Byng, University Of Cambridge. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The construction of a church was one of the most demanding events to take place in the life of a medieval parish. It required a huge outlay of time, money and labour, and often a new organisational structure to oversee design and management. Who took control and who provided the financing was deeply shaped by local patterns in wealth, authority and institutional development - from small villages with little formal government to settlements with highly unequal populations. The later middle ages was a period of great economic and social change as communities managed the impact of the Black Death, the end of serfdom and the slump of the mid-fifteenth century. This original and authoritative study provides an account of how economic change, local politics and architecture combined in late-medieval England. It will be of interest to researchers of medieval social and architectural history