Modelling the Middle Ages

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 18th and 19th centuries by Adam Smith, Johan von Thunen, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx. In the hands of 20th-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 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.

As a one-stop book for archaeologists seeking to understand the intellectual debates that lurk implicitly behind so much historical writing on the medieval economy, this is excellent., Intriguing ... highly enjoyable and provocative., Modelling the Middle Ages ... provides a cogent and comprehensive survey of the history and economics of late medieval England and an invaluable survey and an invaluable survey of the history of thought concerning those topics., Overall, the book does an excellent job of accomplishing its two goals. The first was to provide a clear and accessible introduction to the conceptual frameworks that have dominated this field for many decades. The second was to assess the strengths and weaknesses, relevance, and credibility of the models., Lucid, learned, and at times passionate ... the book is important and will undoubtedly be found indispensable for many years to come.