Rural Lives and Landscapes in Late Byzantium : Art, Archaeology, and Ethnography

"This is the first book to examine the late Byzantine peasantry through written, archaeological, ethnographic, and painted sources. Investigations of the infrastructure and setting of the medieval village guide the reader into the consideration of specific populations. The village becomes a micro-society, with its own social and economic hierarchies. In addition to studying agricultural workers, mothers, and priests, lesser-known individuals, such as the miller and witch, are revealed through written and painted sources. Placed at the center of a new scholarly landscape, the study of the medieval villager engages a broad spectrum of theorists, including economic historians creating predictive models for agrarian economies, ethnoarchaeologists addressing historical continuities and disjunctions, and scholars examining power and female agency"--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half-title page 3 Title page 5 Copyright page 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 15 Maps 17 Introduction 21 Chapter One The Landscape of the Village 30 Chapter Two Communication and the Village Church 64 Chapter Three The Village Woman 90 Chapter Four Village Men, Village Labor 122 Chapter Five In the Service of the Church 148 Chapter Six The Body and the Soul 171 Conclusion 190 Bibliography 197 Index 217 Introduction 1 The Landscape of the Village 2 Communication and the Village Church 3 The Village Woman 4 Village Men, Village Labor 5 In the Service of the Church 6 The Body and the Soul Conclusion This Is The First Book To Examine The Late Byzantine Village Through Written, Archaeological And Painted Sources.