"To explain the rich, complex patterns in the English landscape today, we have to understand the fundamental variations in the medieval countryside. Archaeologists, historians and geographers have long argued about when, why and how these variations developed. In this book Tom Williamson challenges many long-established theories. Some scholars have argued that differences in settlement and field systems were the consequence of culture and custom; others that they reflect geographical variations in the strength of lordship or population pressure. Williamson in contrast argues that the overriding determinants were agricultural and environmental. Using a wealth of evidence from the area between the Thames and the Wash, he shows how subtle differences in soils and climate shaped not only the diverse landscapes of medieval England, but the very structure of the societies that occupied them." "This is a book which puts the environment back where it belongs - at the centre of the historical stage. It will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of the English landscape, social and economic history, and the way that life was lived in the medieval countryside."--Jacket.