Richard Hodges

Dark age economics : the origins of towns and trade A.D. 600-1000

It was in the second half of the first millennium A.D. that northern Europe took on the basic configuration that it now presents. Recently a wealth of new archaeological evidence has emerged to enable historians to assess the growth of international trade and the evolution of towns in this crucial period. This book analyses models of economic evelopment in the light of this new evidence to evaluate not only the changing character of the first post-Roman urban centers but also the organization of the countryside which supported them. Boat remains, coins and trade artifacts are all examined. Finally, a general account is offered of the role of towns and trade in the creation of Western Europe. This is the first synthesis of its kind for the medieval period, and confirms the importance of archaeology as a major source of evidence for an understanding of the economic history of the Dark Ages.

Portraits, the cult of relics and the affirmation of hierarchy at an early medieval monastery: San Vincenzo al Volturno

San Vincenzo al Volturno is an early medieval monastery in the high province of Molise, southeast of Rome, and site of most substantial excavations over the last 15 years. The publication of portrait wall-paintings from the crypt of its great church, San Vincenzo Maggiore, is occasion to examine the place of the individual in that religious society.

The discovery of Abbot Talaricus' (817–3 October 823) tomb at San Vincenzo al Volturno

An abbots tomb is a major find at San Vincenzo al Volturno, advancing our knowledge of a great Italian abbey-church of the 9th century described in ANTIQUITY 70 (1996).

Christopher Loveluck. Northwest Europe in the Early Middle Ages, c. AD 600–1150. A comparative history. xxiii+466 pages, 35 bw 978-1-107-03763-2 hardback £75.

a passageway below the summit represents a unique funerary rite unknown elsewhere in the Aegean at this time. Phase C, then, may see changes at Dhaskalio, perhaps a new role in its relationship to Kavos, but much more of the hill must be explored and the earlier phases better understood before conclusions can be reached. The results from the Kavos excavations, promised in future volumes, will be crucial. If these are as masterfully woven together and clearly presented as the present volume, we will be much closer to understanding the role of this unique Early Cycladic site and, perhaps more importantly, the nature of Early Cycladic ritual and beliefs. Already, the present volume contains numerous indications that Keros may have been the earliest regional sanctuary in the islands, a focal point for nearby communities to explore their common culture and, perhaps, beliefs as they gathered here to place their ex votos—but in whose honour?

Primitive and Peasant Markets

This book deals with a subject which is central to the economic, social and political history of the world, and to several of the most influential ways of interpreting this history. In his study of the role of markets from antiquity to the present day, Richard Hodges examines the nature of markets, of exchange, and the significance of markets in peasant, proto-capitalist and capitalist societies. The first part of the book looks at the definition and origins of markets. In particular, it assesses change and commerce in pre-state societies. The next section focuses on peasant markets, marketing and the media of exchange. It discusses, for example, what it was like to be part of such an economic institution and how embracing this system was. Finally, Richard Hodges considers whether the rise of capitalism led to the decline or even demise of peasant markets. This book is for students and specialists in early modern history, historical sociology, anthropology and economics.