Material Culture of Daily Living in the Anglo-Saxon World

Maren Clegg Hyer is Assistant Professor of English, Snow College. Her many publications include Sense and Feeling in Daily Living in the Early Medieval English World (co-editor with Gale Owen-Crocker, Liverpool University Press 2020) and Old English Lexicology and Lexicography (co-editor with Haruko Momma and Samantha Zacher, Boydell, 2020). Gale R. Owen-Crocker is Professor Emerita of The University of Manchester; she was formerly Professor of Anglo-Saxon Culture and Director of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies. She was co-founder and for 15 years co-editor of the journal Medieval Clothing and Textiles. Her recent books include Clothing the Past: Surviving Garments from Early Medieval to Early Modern Western Europe (with Elizabeth Coatsworth, Brill, 2018), Sense and Feeling in Daily Living in the Early Medieval English World (co-editor with Maren Clegg Hyer, Liverpool University Press, 2020) and Textiles of the Viking North Atlantic (co-editor with Alexandra Lester-Makin, Boydell & Brewer, 2024).

"The Material Culture of Daily Living in the Anglo-Saxon World is a detailed guide to living the “good life” in Anglo-Saxon England. It is an edited volume of refreshing works that provides a detailed schematic of Anglo-Saxon daily living and the intricacies of everyday tasks. This book highlights activities which may be simple and habitual but which define the traditions and practices of a society.The book provides a balanced examination of both textual and archaeological evidence on a variety of fundamental topics including dress, illness, trade and production. This cleverly structured text provides an extra dimension of material culture, one that discusses the practices and technologies behind creations. The potential literary gap between the disciplines of archaeology and history is bridged with eloquent and thoughtful prose.The layout is sophisticated, defined and easy-to-navigate. The structure and content choice are well selected with nicely linked topics. The well-chosen chapter topics playfully and succinctly examine key areas of Anglo-Saxon material culture and daily life, and the editors have used these to create an interesting taster text for the dedicated Anglo-Saxon student."Rosetta, issue 13

• List of illustrations1. Introduction: Material Culture and the Study of Anglo-Saxon EnglandMaren Glegg Hyer2. Prelude: Agriculture Through the YearDavid Hill3. The True Staff of Life: The Multiple Roles of PlantsC.P.Bigga,4. Steep Vessel, High Horn-ship: Water TransportKatin Thier5. 'To eat, to wear, to work': The Place of Sheep and Cattle in the EconomyChristopher Grocock6. Devil's Crafts and Dragon's Skins? Sheaths, Shoes and Other LeatherworkEsther Cameron and Quita Mould7. Chanting upon a Dunghill: Working Skeletal MaterialsIan Riddler and Nicola Trzaska-Nartowski8. Eath's Treasures: Food and DrinkChristina Lee9. Woven Works: Making and Using TextilesMaren Clegg Hyer and Gale R. Owen-Cocker10. Weland's Work: Metals and MetalsmithsDavid A. Hinton11. 'Seldom ... does the deadly spear rest for long': Weapons and ArmourGale R.Owen-Cocker12. Things of This World: Portable Antiquities and Their PotentialMichael Lewis, Andrew Richardson and David Williams13. Sight, Insight and Hand: Some Reflections on the Design and Manufacture of the Fuller BroochElizabeth Coatsworth and Michael Pinder14. The Bright Cup: Early Medieval Vessel GlassWin Stephens15. Body and Soul: Disease and ImpairmentChristina LeeNotesSuggested ReadingIndexList of contributors