Michael Potterton. Medieval Trim: History and Archaeology.

Michael Potterton. Medieval Trim: History and Archaeology. MICHAEL POTTERTON. Medieval Trim: History and Archaeology. 464pages, 153 illustrations, 24 colour plates. 2005. Dublin: Four Courts;1-85182-926-1 hardback 50 [pounds sterling] & 55 [euro]. Any book on Irish castles will feature Trim with its impressivekeep as well as the dramatically sited Dunluce and a few typical towerhouses. However, this substantial volume shows that there is far more tobe learnt about medieval Trim than just an examination of its fairlycomplete castle. The three physical elements of castle, town andreligious buildings are placed within the context of the Anglo-Normanlordship of Trim and Meath, 1172-1541, and the development of burgessrights. There is no corresponding overview of the religious life withinthe diocese of Meath, though this area was nearly coterminous co��ter��mi��nous?adj.Variant of conterminous.Adj. 1. coterminous - being of equal extent or scope or durationcoextensive, conterminous with thesecular lordship. The prehistoric archaeology History is the study of the past using written records. Archaeology can also be used to study the past alongside history. Prehistoric archaeology is the study of the past before historical records began. is briefly rehearsed and the slightevidence for the pre-Norman settlement at the shallow ford on the riverBoyne For the Canadian rivers, see Boyne River (Ontario). The River Boyne (Irish: Abhainn na B��inne) is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about 112 kilometres (70 miles) long. is noted. This record is more easily followed in the book'sconclusion than in the very detailed main chapter. The author'sdesire to include every relevant documentary reference, meticulouslyannotated, is also present in the two historical chapters, with theconsequent danger of so overwhelming the reader with detail that thevarious episodes of growth and decline are not easily perceived. For the archaeologist, the strength of this book is theconcentration upon the physical evidence of castle, town and fivechurches, in each case preceded by a full documentary analysis andsupported by a wealth of illustration, both recent and antiquarian an��ti��quar��i��an?n.One who studies, collects, or deals in antiquities.adj.1. Of or relating to antiquarians or to the study or collecting of antiquities.2. Dealing in or having to do with old or rare books. , incolour and monochrome. The castle is treated most fully. It hasbenefited from extensive excavation (by Sweetman in 1971-4 and by Haydenin 1995-8), from architectural recording and from a sympatheticconservation programme. The structural evidence is thoroughly examinedand rival views in site interpretation are carefully assessed. Eachelement in the castle is clearly described, supported by a number ofevocative reconstruction drawings. The town has much less to offer even though more than half of thedefensive circuit survives, as does one of its five gates. The evidenceof street surfaces and drains, the subject of regular taxation forpavage, has been recorded in recent public works. The location ofburgage plots is deduced from earlier plans, though recording them inmetric units (9.1 and 4.45m.) makes far less sense than units of 30 and15ft, with medieval surveyors using a 5ft rod. Two stone tower housesare described and illustrated, though no plans or elevations are given.The larger Talbot's Castle is presumably pre��sum��a��ble?adj.That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. 'the earl'schamber' twice mentioned in suppression deeds. A heraldic he��ral��dic?adj.Of or relating to heralds or heraldry.he��raldi��cal��ly adv.Adj. 1. plaqueshowing Talbot quartered with Furnival is the pre-1450 usage in contrastto the later display of Talbot, Furnival and Strange arms. The main townbridge is identified for the first time as a structure of c. 1330-50with cutwaters and a pedestrian refuge on one pier. The five religious buildings (the parish church, a leper hospitalchapel, an Augustinian abbey and two friaries) are also fully describedwhere they survive, or else their history and site details are givenwhere post-medieval destruction has been severe. Four of them aresituated in open ground where the use of geophysics and other remotesensing devices could have added information about the plan. This wasused only once--at the Dominican friary--but no plan is provided eitherof the fragmentary stonework stonework,term applied to various types of work—that of the lapidary who shapes, cuts, and polishes gemstones or engraves them for seals and ornaments; of the jeweler or artisan who mounts or encrusts them in gold, silver, or other metal; of the stonemason who nor of the remote sensing results. Inanother case--the Augustinian abbey--there is a careful analysis of thesurviving church tower, 'The Yellow Steeple', together withthree antiquarian paintings, but the significance of the toothing on theangle buttresses is not fully explored. The wealth and variety of illustration is a valuable feature ofthis book, though sometimes illustrations are not referred to in thetext or are wrongly referenced. There are also difficulties with Englishplace-names: Amundesham, Lincoln diocese, is Amersham, Bucks.; Burwell,Norfolk diocese, is in Cambridgeshire; and Kendal is not in Wales but inCumbria. Otherwise errors are few. What does emerge in the final chapteris an awareness of the wider context using comparable Irish examples,but there is often a narrow concentration on this single town to theexclusion of those surrounding settlements that contributed to itsprosperity. The author hopes that his work will temper the rate oferosion, both active and passive, of Trim's medieval remains butfears that the current threats of development will destroy the structureand the integrity of what still survives. The work of the Irish UrbanArchaeological Survey and the publication of the volume under reviewshow that a strong rearguard rearguardNoun1. the troops who protect the rear of a military formation2. rearguard action an effort to prevent or postpone something that is unavoidableNoun 1. action is still being fought. LAWRENCE BUTLER Cambridge, UK