Agricultural History Review, Volume 57 Part 1 (2009), p. 133

Mention of Marxist history seems to elicit more groans than excitement in present-day university seminar rooms. This collection of papers addressing the intellectual legacy of Rodney Hilton makes a fascinating case for the continued importance of aspects of Marxist history in ongoing work on the middle ages. The volume contains eighteen essays, an introductory discussion of Hilton as a historian by Dyer, a concluding overview by Wickham, and a bibliography of Hilton’s work.

Conflict between lords and peasants was central to Hilton’s understanding of historical change and is the subject of many of the essays in this volume. There has been much debate about the significance of unfree tenure in medieval England and its role in economic development. In particular, it has been argued that unfree peasants enjoyed certain economic advantages over their free counterparts. This view is tackled head on by Razi who argues that it is not sufficient to consider only the economic dimensions of relations between peasants and lords. Schofield uses an individual case study to great effect in examining peasants’ views of lordship. Dyer makes an exciting case for the weaknesses of the seigneurial regime in England but is clear that, despite its limitations, lordship continued to arouse the resentment of those subject to it. Papers by Müller and Cohn address issues of class consciousness and revolt. Müller argues that, despite stratification within the peasantry, solidarity did exist and Cohn has used a wide survey of revolts to argue for important changes over the course of the fourteenth century. Müller’s discussion of divisions in English peasant communities is accompanied by Alfonso’s use of complex and often scant Spanish source material in which she demonstrates the importance of dependence within peasant society.

In addition to these valuable contributions to debate, there are also wider discussions of the origins and later history of seigneurialism. Davies’ discussion of tenth- and eleventh-century Spain uses evidence from an area very different from England to shed light on what is meant by ‘seigneurialization’ and its association with royal power. Likewise, Whittle’s paper compares peasant resistance in 1381 and 1549, finding differences but also some illuminating similarities. Finally, Wickham’s concluding comments provide a helpful international framework for these discussions, emphasizing the unusual situation in England.

Many of the essays in this volume are prefaced by a discussion of the conceptual basis of Hilton’s work and the development of these ideas in later historical scholarship. Hilton became increasingly interested in urban development and this is reflected in a number of contributions. The importance of the urban property market is explored by Goddard. Dimmock indicates the importance of the network of small towns in England in the transition from feudalism to capitalism, providing not only a theoretical framework but also a case study. Similar themes are explored by Sánchez León who takes up Hilton’s discussion of the different social relations in town and countryside and argues that, in Spanish towns, social relations were more comparable with those found in the countryside than elsewhere. Theory and historiography are deployed in a thought-provoking and nuanced way in Epstein’s paper in which the transition of feudalism to capitalism is also considered. This demonstrates the development of Hilton’s ideas on the influence of towns and markets and uses more recent work on the role of the state to provide a stimulating overall explanatory framework.

Contributions by Coss and Justice demonstrate the importance of Hilton’s concern with social relations in areas of present-day historiography seemingly far removed from his work. Coss demonstrates the importance of a broad cultural history of the English gentry in the late middle ages which will shed light on the context in which political ideas emerge. This, he argues, cannot be achieved without knowledge of the gentry’s relations with other groups in society. Justice examines the relationship between religion and the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 and uses evidence for the vibrancy and depth of lay religious practice and belief to demonstrate that the clear religious imagery used by the rebels need not have been associated with heresy.

One of the aspects of Hilton’s work and legacy which emerges most clearly from this collection of papers is the role of international comparison. Not only did Hilton himself undertake comparative work on England and elsewhere, but Birrell’s bibliography shows that his publications were widely translated. This influence is shown by the use contributors working on continental Europe make of his work. Roberts bases her paper on Hilton’s last monograph on English and French towns and extends the chronological scope into the sixteenth century, revealing important continuities and evaluating their significance. One of the main difficulties with comparative history is created by differences in the available source material. This is surmounted in this collection by clear and helpful discussions of surviving documents and their contents, especially in Bourin’s paper on Languedoc in which she describes the problems of working without the sources familiar to historians of other areas. Holt’s stimulating paper uses work on a part of Europe unfamiliar to many scholars to show how differences in social relations and markets reinforced each other and led to low levels of urbanization and economic development in Norway. Van Bavel makes sharp international and inter-regional comparisons to examine the significance of waged labour in the transitions from feudalism to capitalism.

Many contributors to this volume recall fondly their personal acquaintance with Hilton. All have been influenced by his use of theory and development of conceptual approaches, by his achievements in opening up our understanding of history from the point of view of peasants, by his concern to remain close to the source material and by the sheer scope of his interests. All reflect on the way in which Hilton’s ideas and methods have been taken up and developed in recent and current research. In short, this book represents an outstanding contribution to the field. It will be of great interest to those engaged in research and is presented in such a way as to convince students of the continued relevance and excitement to be found in the social history of the middle ages as Hilton conceived it.