Settlement patterns and estate landscapes : creating and applying estimations of agricultural potential and population numbers in Annandale, AD 600-1000
The present thesis is an examination of the early medieval (c. AD 600-1000) territorial divisions, estates and settlement patterns of eastern Dumfriesshire, specifically Annandale, using the parishes of Moffat, Lochmaben and Annan as case studies. The history of this region during the late first millennium AD has received little attention in recent scholarship, which can in part be attributed to the virtual non-existence of written sources before the twelfth century. The obstacle of the limited written evidence can be overcome by using theoretical models which have been created for early medieval territorial units and estates in other parts of northern Britain for which the documentary record is less scarce. One of these models is the multiple estate, also known as shire in a Northumbrian and Scottish context. In this idealised type of estate, a number of townships owe obligations, such as renders in kind or labour services, to a central caput or lordâs hall, which functions as the administrative and legal core. Scholars such as J. E. A. Jolliffe, Glanville R. J. Jones, Angus J. L. Winchester and Geoffrey W. S. Barrow have argued that traces of the multiple estate can be gleaned from the written sources
Otte, Christoph
Dumfriesshire ; place-names ; archaeology ; settlements
Settlement patterns and estate landscapes : creating and applying estimations of agricultural potential and population numbers in Annandale, AD 600-1000. The present thesis is an examination of the early medieval (c. AD 600-1000) territorial divisions, estates and settlement patterns of eastern Dumfriesshire, specifically Annandale, using the parishes of Moffat, Lochmaben and Annan as case studies. The history of this region during the late first millennium AD has received little attention in recent scholarship, which can in part be attributed to the virtual non-existence of written sources before the twelfth century. The obstacle of the limited written evidence can be overcome by using theoretical models which have been created for early medieval territorial units and estates in other parts of northern Britain for which the documentary record is less scarce. One of these models is the multiple estate, also known as shire in a Northumbrian and Scottish context. In this idealised type of estate, a number of townships owe obligations, such as renders in kind or labour services, to a central caput or lordâs hall, which functions as the administrative and legal core. Scholars such as J. E. A. Jolliffe, Glanville R. J. Jones, Angus J. L. Winchester and Geoffrey W. S. Barrow have argued that traces of the multiple estate can be gleaned from the written sources
settlement_pattern estate landscape create apply estimation agricultural potential population number present examination early_medieval territorial division estates settlement_pattern eastern specifically use parish case_study history_region receive_little_attention recent_scholarship part attribute virtual non existence write_source obstacle limit write evidence overcome use theoretical_model create early_medieval territorial unit estates part northern_britain documentary record less scarce model multiple estate also_know shire northumbrian scottish_context idealised type estate number township owe obligation render kind labour service central lord hall function administrative legal core scholars jones winchester barrow argue trace multiple estate glean write_source