Plague, Climate and Faith in Early Medieval Western Britain: Investigating Narratives of Change

Abstract

RECENTLY COMPILED DATASETS for hillforts and corn-drying kilns in the west of Britain, when subject to chronological analysis using Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), show a sharp and lasting fall-off in activity in the later 6th and 7th centuries. This paper investigates this through the regional and broader evidence for three major paradigms of change at this time: the Justinianic Plague, climate change, and the growth of Christianity, the last manifested in transfers of land to churches and in an ascetism which affected assembly practices. The resultant analysis provides archaeologically derived insights into social changes of this period, and raises questions about the applicability of dominant narratives framed in other regions.