Modelling the Middle Ages: The History and Theory of England's Economic Developm

Publisher Description

Most of what has been written on the economy of the middle ages is deeply influenced by abstract concepts and theories. The most powerful and popular of these guiding beliefs are derived from intellectual foundations laid down in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Adam Smith, Johan von Thünen, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. In the hands of twentieth-century historians and social scientists these venerable ideas have been moulded intothree grand explanatory ideas which continue to dominate interpretations of economic development. These trumpet in turn the claims of 'commercialization', 'population and resources', or 'class power andproperty relations' as the prime movers of historical change. In this highly original book John Hatcher and Mark Bailey examine the structure and test the validity of these conflicting models from a variety of perspectives. In the course of their investigations they provide not only detailed reconstructions of the economic history of England in the middle ages and sustained critical commentaries on the work of leading historians, but also discussions of the philosophy and methods of historyand the social sciences. The result is a short and readily intelligible introduction to medieval economic history, an up-to-date critique of established models, and a succinct treatise onhistoriographical method.

Author Biography

John A. Hatcher (Ph.D. & M.A., Syracuse University; B.A., Humboldt State University) is an Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Minnesota Duluth and has taught journalism at the collegiate level since 2001. He studied mass communication and political communication at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He has written about the sociology of news and community journalism for academic and professional publications and has published numerous articles on community journalism in peer-reviewed

Table of Contents

1: Methods and Models2: Population and Resources3: Class Power and Property Relations4: Commercialization, Markets, and Technology5: The Importance of Time and Place6: Beyond the Classic SupermodelsGuide to Further Reading

Review

Intriguing ... highly enjoyable and provocative. The Agricultural History Review Lucid, learned, and at times passionate ... the book is important and will undoubtedly be found indispensable for many years to come. English Historical Review

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Surveys the most influential theoretical approaches adopted for the study of medieval economy and society

Long Description

Most of what has been written on the economy of the middle ages is deeply influenced by abstract concepts and theories. The most powerful and popular of these guiding beliefs are derived from intellectual foundations laid down in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by Adam Smith, Johan von Thünen, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. In the hands of twentieth-century historians and social scientists these venerable ideas have been moulded into
three grand explanatory ideas which continue to dominate interpretations of economic development. These trumpet in turn the claims of 'commercialization', 'population and resources', or 'class power and property relations' as the prime movers of historical change. In this highly original book John
Hatcher and Mark Bailey examine the structure and test the validity of these conflicting models from a variety of perspectives. In the course of their investigations they provide not only detailed reconstructions of the economic history of England in the middle ages and sustained critical commentaries on the work of leading historians, but also discussions of the philosophy and methods of history and the social sciences. The result is a short and readily intelligible introduction to medieval
economic history, an up-to-date critique of established models, and a succinct treatise on historiographical method.

Review Text

1. Methods and Models 2. Population and Resources 3. Class Power and Property Relations 4. Commercialization, Markets, and Technology 5. The Importance of Time and Place 6. Beyond the Classic Supermodels Guide to Further Reading

Review Quote

Lucid, learned, and at times passionate ... the book is important and will undoubtedly be found indispensable for many years to come.

Details