The Patronage of Parish Churches and Funerary Monuments in 10th-13th c. North Yorkshire
Though parish churches and funerary sculpture have long been of interest to medievalists, the integrated archaeological examination of these two media has generally been overlooked.
This research proposes an examination of the spatial and chronological patterns of early medieval architectural fabric in the parish churches of the North Riding of Yorkshire, in conjunction
with the region's Anglo-Scandinavian and medieval commemorative monuments. Analysis is concentrated in the 10th-13th centuries, when the processes of parochialization and manorialization
were undergoing significant development, and the northeast of England was subjected to influential political and social transitions brought on by the Anglo-Scandinavian and Norman invasions
and settlements. Church fabric and commemorative monuments were both expensive, tangible, and highly visible forms of ecclesiastical expenditure and display, making them important arenas for
competition and social statement among the local elite, especially in turbulent transition periods. This analysis will not only help to establish a more clear regional chronology of church construction
and commemoration, but can also shed light on the wider social meanings of ecclesiastical patronage, and on the role that these forms of material culture played in the creation and
maintenance of elite authority and identity.
For more details on this project, click here.
In addition to my current area of study, my wider research interests include: the medieval period, particularly the 10th-13th centuries; transition periods and cultural contact; the socio-cultural negotiation
of transition; the establishment and maintenance of social and cultural identity; the nature and material expression of medieval lordship; the development of the medieval rural village and landscape, particularly
with regard to ecclesiastical structures; the material and ideological relationship between religious and secular authority; stone building and commemoration; the role of the church in structuring
social identity; the development of commemorative sculpture; ecclesiastical patronage; general church archaeology; and the integration of archaeological and historical research.