The experiences of aliens in later medieval London and the negotiation of belonging, 1400-1540
Large numbers of foreign immigrants, also known as aliens, moved to London in the late medieval period in the hope of taking advantage of the city's economic opportunities. Aliens who stayed in the city for sustained periods had moved away from traditional networks and family and had relocated to a place where they were less well known. This was potentially very problematic considering that bonds of friendship and social connections were crucial for an individual to prosper within a late medieval society and economy. The issues faced by aliens who lacked social connections raise salient questions which form the two driving questions of this thesis: what did aliens do to overcome the difficulties associated with uprooting to a new environment? What options did they have to do so? The thesis uses a combination of legal and probate records to reconstruct the lives of individual aliens, and stories about individual aliens which were presented within legal contexts, to address these driving questions. It also explores ideas drawn from the sociological concept of belonging using these legal and probate sources. Through studying individual lives to uncover the strategies which undertook to survive and settle and
Ravenhill, Joshua
The experiences of aliens in later medieval London and the negotiation of belonging, 1400-1540. Large numbers of foreign immigrants, also known as aliens, moved to London in the late medieval period in the hope of taking advantage of the city's economic opportunities. Aliens who stayed in the city for sustained periods had moved away from traditional networks and family and had relocated to a place where they were less well known. This was potentially very problematic considering that bonds of friendship and social connections were crucial for an individual to prosper within a late medieval society and economy. The issues faced by aliens who lacked social connections raise salient questions which form the two driving questions of this thesis: what did aliens do to overcome the difficulties associated with uprooting to a new environment? What options did they have to do so? The thesis uses a combination of legal and probate records to reconstruct the lives of individual aliens, and stories about individual aliens which were presented within legal contexts, to address these driving questions. It also explores ideas drawn from the sociological concept of belonging using these legal and probate sources. Through studying individual lives to uncover the strategies which undertook to survive and settle and
experience alien later_medieval london negotiation belonging large_number foreign immigrant also_know alien move london late_medieval period hope take_advantage city economic_opportunity stay city sustain period move_away traditional network family relocate place less_well know potentially problematic consider bond friendship social connection crucial individual prosper within late_medieval society_economy issue_face alien lack social connection raise salient question form driving question alien overcome difficulty associate new environment option combination legal probate record reconstruct live individual alien story individual alien present within legal context address drive question also_explore idea draw sociological concept belong use legal probate source study individual life uncover strategy undertake survive settle