In Memory of John H. Munro: Countryside, Peasants, and Agriculture

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Medieval Association for Rural Studies (MARS)

Organizer Name

Philip Slavin

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Kent

Presider Name

Philip Slavin

Paper Title 1

The English Statute of Sewers (1531-32) and Its Medieval Roots?

Presenter 1 Name

John Langdon, James White

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Alberta, Univ. of Alberta

Paper Title 2

The Seigniorial: Peasant Dichotomy in Medieval English Work-Horse Supply

Presenter 2 Name

Jordan Claridge

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of East Anglia

Paper Title 3

Keeping Up Appearances: A Study of Manorial Buildings and Their Maintenance

Presenter 3 Name

Duncan Berryman

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Queen's Univ. Belfast

Start Date

14-5-2015 1:30 PM

Session Location

Schneider 2355

Description

In December 2013, the community of medieval economic and social historians lost two eminent historians: Professors John H. Munro (University of Toronto) and Richard Britnell (University of Durham). The contribution of the two historians cannot be overstated: to a large extent, Munro and Britnell have redefined numerous paradigms and problems, setting up new and higher scholarly standards. Apart from their voluminous works, both Munro and Britnell were faithful attendants of the Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo and have presented their papers on numerous occasions there. As a modest homage, the MARS proposes to hold two memorial sessions at the 2015 congress, each celebrating the career of each late scholar. It is the understanding of the MARS organizers that efforts have been made to hold additional one or two memorial sessions in honour of John Munro; thus, the MARS will be sponsoring one of two or three memorial sessions for John Munro.

The intellectual justification for the two sessions stems mainly from two facts. First, both John Munro and Richard Britnell had an avid professional interest in late-medieval countryside, its inhabitants, institutions and developments (and they both have indeed published extensively on this subject, even though John Munro's works dealt primarily with wool production and trade and monetary history). Second, after some two decades of relative silence, the study of medieval peasant society has witnessed a sudden revival in the last few years, mainly thanks to the efforts of British medievalists. In 2014, the MARS has sponsored a session on medieval peasantry, which was met with apparent success, judging by the excellent quality of papers and the sheer number of attendants. Holding similar sessions at the 50th Congress would be a natural consequence of the previous year's success and dedicating each session to the memory of the eminent medievalist shall undoubtedly have a profound impact on the quality of the each session and the size of the audience. This will be an excellent opportunity to celebrate the illustrious careers of John Munro and Richard Britnell by their students, colleagues and fellow medievalists alike.

Philip Slavin

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May 14th, 1:30 PM

In Memory of John H. Munro: Countryside, Peasants, and Agriculture

Schneider 2355

In December 2013, the community of medieval economic and social historians lost two eminent historians: Professors John H. Munro (University of Toronto) and Richard Britnell (University of Durham). The contribution of the two historians cannot be overstated: to a large extent, Munro and Britnell have redefined numerous paradigms and problems, setting up new and higher scholarly standards. Apart from their voluminous works, both Munro and Britnell were faithful attendants of the Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo and have presented their papers on numerous occasions there. As a modest homage, the MARS proposes to hold two memorial sessions at the 2015 congress, each celebrating the career of each late scholar. It is the understanding of the MARS organizers that efforts have been made to hold additional one or two memorial sessions in honour of John Munro; thus, the MARS will be sponsoring one of two or three memorial sessions for John Munro.

The intellectual justification for the two sessions stems mainly from two facts. First, both John Munro and Richard Britnell had an avid professional interest in late-medieval countryside, its inhabitants, institutions and developments (and they both have indeed published extensively on this subject, even though John Munro's works dealt primarily with wool production and trade and monetary history). Second, after some two decades of relative silence, the study of medieval peasant society has witnessed a sudden revival in the last few years, mainly thanks to the efforts of British medievalists. In 2014, the MARS has sponsored a session on medieval peasantry, which was met with apparent success, judging by the excellent quality of papers and the sheer number of attendants. Holding similar sessions at the 50th Congress would be a natural consequence of the previous year's success and dedicating each session to the memory of the eminent medievalist shall undoubtedly have a profound impact on the quality of the each session and the size of the audience. This will be an excellent opportunity to celebrate the illustrious careers of John Munro and Richard Britnell by their students, colleagues and fellow medievalists alike.

Philip Slavin