CMEMS presents a James Field Willard Lecture in Medieval History, "Gilds and Things: the Making of Medieval London" with Rory Naismith for Monday, March 18th, 2019 at 5:00 PM in UMC 247.
Medieval London had a unique and complex system of government. This lecture explores the early history of two of the key elements of its infrastructure: the Court of Husting and the Folkmoot. It is argued that these bodies emerged out of a 'peace gild' that recorded its statutes in the time of King Æthelstan (924-39). Tracing the history of these entities highlights a key phase in the transformation and formalisation of London's government over the tenth and eleventh centuries, as its status grew relative both to the surrounding area and to England as a whole.
Featuring:
Rory Naismith is the author of Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England: the Southern English Kingdoms 757–865 (2012), which was awarded the International Society of Anglo-Saxonists Best First Book prize in 2013. His principal current research interest is the role of money (coined and otherwise) in early medieval Britain, particularly Anglo-Saxon England. Money has obvious economic implications, it is also important as a source of early medieval cultural, institutional and political history, and Naismith’s research brings together these diverse approaches to how money worked in society, including extensive work with material culture as well as texts.
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