Abstract/Summary

The aim of this thesis is to engage castle studies with the broader spatial and temporal landscape of medieval England, exploring how its diverse natural and cultural environment was perceived and used by castle-builders during the period A.D. 1066 – A.D. 1350. It reaches out beyond the confines of traditional approaches to castle studies to consider the different contemporary values attached to landscape, and its importance in defining and maintaining personal and cultural identities. The work presented here begins by discussing the ways in which castles in England were influenced by the remains of monuments from the prehistoric and Romano-British past, revealing the character and scope of ancient monument reuse and arguing that monuments, materials, and traditions from the deep-time past were knowingly adopted by castle-builders and used to enhance rights to people, place and power. Through detailed regional case studies, relationships between castles and major physical features of the Anglo-Saxon landscape are also considered, the work highlighting the conceptual and practical influences of legacy landscapes on the siting and form of medieval castles. The experience of journeying through the landscape is another key theme, and analysis using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques is used to consider the ways in which mobility impacted on contemporary experiences of castles and their landscapes. Evidence from new detailed analytical earthwork survey is set out and forms a starting point for examining themes of social memory, community, and landscape change in the centuries following the Norman Conquest. Employing a landscape-based approach and integrating a wide range of archaeological, historical, cartographic, and literary sources within a broad chronological range, this study presents a fresh perspective on how later medieval people recognised and perceived their past, how castle landscapes were shaped and understood, and how they were used to project the future aspirations of the ruling elite.