The phrase `designed landscape' is generally associated with the great parks and gardens of the post-medieval period, with grand country houses surrounded by parkland, such as Chatsworth and Longleat. However, recent research has made it clear that its origins lie much further back than that, in the middle ages, and numerous examples have been identified. This book offers the first full-length survey of designed medieval landscapes, not just the settings for castles, but for palaces, manor houses and monastic institutions. Gardens and pleasure grounds gave their owners sensory enjoyment; lakes, ponds and walkways created routes of approach that displayed residences to best effect; deer parks were stunning backdrops and venues for aristocratic enjoyment; and peacocks, swans, rabbits and doves were some of the many species which lent these landscapes their elite appearance. Richly illustrated with plans, maps, and photographs of key sites showing what can still be seen today.
Dr OLIVER CREIGHTON is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Exeter.
Reviews
An admirable scholarly work with an easy command of a wide range of literature. The sites are represented by excellent plans and figures, complemented by a profusion of black and white as well as colour illustrations. The production values are of the highest standard. [This] study ultimately succeeds in making us recognise that medieval elite landscapes were planned by people living and working within a complex and sophisticated culture which embraced and celebrated relationships to nature and environment that were very different to our own. ENVIRONMENT & HISTORYCreighton has authored a well-written and interesting book, where the concept of élite landscapes is examined in impressive detail. The text shows an author with excellent knowledge of his subject. [...] Creighton has written an impressive book that gives a general picture of a vivid and exciting field of research. This book should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in castles, residences, gardens and medieval élite landscapes. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY
This stimulating book deserves to be read not just for its theory, but for its wide geographical range of little known sites. WWW.GARDENHISTORYINSTITUTE.CO.UK, (Dr Brian Earnshaw)
An excellent survey [that] will certainly make you reconsider many modern reconstructions of medieval gardens and landscapes. [...] Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the medieval roots of landscape architecture and botanical history. CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN
Rescues the study of castles from their purely militaristic contexts and re-establishes them as places that are as much about poetry, art and the intellect as they are about the clash of swords. [Readers] will be introduced to a whole new way of seeing the landscape around castles. CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY