Religion in medieval London - Bruno Barber

Religious belief was central to the lives - and deaths - of all
medieval Londoners. Religion was fully integrated into the social
and political order, providing the population with an
understanding of their place in the world and inspiring artists,
architects and craftspeople. Belief motivated progressive acts
such as early forms of social provision and medical care but was
also used to justify wars of conquest and the brutal repression
of diversity. Archaeology sheds light on many aspects of belief:
from organised religion, both Christianity and Judaism, to
superstition or witchcraft; places of worship from the smallest
parish churches to the great Cathedral of St Paul; tiny objects
of personal devotion to entire monastic landscapes. Monasteries
include communities cut off from the world, hospitals providing
for London's poor or the headquarters of military religious
orders behind the Crusades. Cemetery excavations reveal how
Londoners responded to mortality both individually and together
in the face of catastrophes such as the Black Death, while the
events of the Reformation dramatically transformed both
institutions and beliefs. This fully illustrated book provides an
introduction to the evidence of belief from the Museum of
London's archaeological excavations in the capital, with a
particular focus on the programme of work, supported by English
Heritage, on the sites of many of London's monasteries.