Description
Book SynopsisThe rich and diverse visual heritage of Northern Yorkshire in the pre-Conquest period is revealed in this major addition to the much-admired Corpus series. This volume surveys the sculpture in the historic North Riding of Yorkshire (excluding those parts already covered in Volume III). The total of some 400 carvings include important pre-Viking Age monuments, such as the crosses at Croft, Easby and Masham. The excavated sculpture from Whitby Abbey include a range of inscriptions which form crucial epigraphical evidence for our understanding of the pre-Conquest monastery. But Anglo-Scandinavian monuments predominate, with major collections at Brompton, Kirklevington and Lythe. A number of workshops have been identified and it was in this area that the hogback recumbent memorial first appeared. Much of the Anglian sculpture has stylistic connections with western Yorkshire and Mercia, and the wider connections with Europe are manifest in the iconography and styles of the great crosses at
Trade ReviewThere is much to be appreciated in this volume. The summary of earlier research relating to the area is both informed and informative ... The evident care and determination with which distinguished scholars have brought this volume through to publication is due testimony to the great respect in which James Lang's memory is held. Yet this book is more than just a tribute. Alongside the sculptures themselves, it is a monumental collection of scholarship that future generations can continue to study and learn from, with growing respect for those who went before them whose hands produced it. * Archaeological Journal *
... forms a fine memorial to Lang's life work as a teacher and scholar ... Northern Yorkshire is not only work well completed, but work which will continue to influence understanding of the rich corpus of Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture. * Journal of Ecclesiastical History *
... a work of immense value ... continue[s] the high standards already set by the British Academy Corpus. * Northern History *
Like its predecessors this volume provides a firm foundation for numerous research projects. * YAJ (Journal of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society) *
... produced to the usual high standards set by this series with a superb set of photographs and authoritative catalogue entries covering the discovery of the stones, description of the sculpture and its geology, with a discussion and bibliography for each stone. There are also introductory essays on the regional geology by John Senior and the inscriptions by John Higgitt. * YAJ (Journal of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society) *
This tremendous addition to the British Academy's Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture is a fitting tribute to James Lang. * YAJ (Journal of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society) *
