Name: <Joseph Peake>
PhD: <History>
Thesis Title: <A cultural, legal and economic history of waste land in late medieval England>
Thesis Description:
<My project will study waste land in its legal, economic and cultural context in England, c.1100-1500. It will engage with existing scholarship on agricultural expansion, marginal land, the concept of wilderness in eremitic and monastic discourse, and the 'frontier' of Christian civilisation. Questions I hope to answer include the following:
- When and why was waste land (vastum) brought under cultivation, and at whose instigation?
- How did the meaning of the English word 'waste' change over the course of the Middle Ages?
- How was wasteland utilised by individuals and by institutions in the medieval landscape?
- What, if any, was the role of waste in urban contexts?
- Does the concept of waste land interact with religious discourses on wilderness, specifically wilderness as a place where monks, hermits, and ascetics could escape from the worldly trappings of civilisation?>
Supervisors and Institution(s):
<Dr Rob Lutton (University of Nottingham)
Dr Miriam Muller (University of Birmingham)
Professor Wendy Scase (University of Birmingham)>
Publications (please include full details with page nos. or web links):
Scholarly / Public Engagement Activities:
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Other Research Interests:
