Adverse Weather Conditions in Medieval Britain: An Archaeological Assessment of the Impact of Meteorological Hazards

Abstract

The history of the medieval period in Britain is punctuated by catastrophic events, including wars, political unrest, disease, famine and ‘natural’ disasters. While archaeological evidence for warfare, epidemics and diet have seen extensive research within the sub-disciplines of battlefield/conflict archaeology and paleopathology, ‘natural’ disasters have not sparked comparable investigations. This research aims, to a limited extent, to redress this. As with other calamities, disasters caused by natural hazards have, over the longue-durée, influenced humanity’s regional social, economic and cultural development. This research therefore focuses on the multitude of impacts resulting from those hazards dependent on weather systems throughout the later British Middle Ages, defined here as AD c. 1000-c. 1550, analysing the different ways in which medieval populations responded to meteorological hazards through both physical and spiritual means using both archaeological and historical sources. The extent to which British medieval society adapted to the risk of natural hazards is also assessed.