Blogging Norfolk, Part I (Introduction)

I spent several days last week in Norfolk, England. Besides eating and drinking and pushing stuck vehicles out of muddy fields (welcome to Mud Season, girls!), I actually did some research for my upcoming book.

So what was it all about? Well, this book I'm trying to write is a general history of medieval heresy, and thus, will have a chapter on the Lollards. And since the overall thesis of the book has to do with the fine line between heresy and orthodoxy in the Middle Ages (how very Grundmann-esque), I will want to explore that issue -- and how better to do it than with Margery Kempe, from King's Lynn (formerly Bishop's Lynn), frequently accused of being a Lollard herself? The north of Norfolk was a Lollard hot spot -- and a completely fascinating place, to boot, what with some of the liveliest of English ports in the Glaven estuary: Blakeney, Cley, Wiveton, etc. Things are very different now, of course -- Blakeney is but a sleepy holiday village, primarily known for the seals on Blakeney Point.

But these three days wandering around North Norfolk allowed me to do a lot of thinking about change: changes in the land, in its use, and in the migration of populations. How we can identify these changes over the long haul. What remains, what disappears. How can geography help with history, and how can history help geography. A lot of this probably won't be very useful for my book. But I do think I can use it in the classroom. So while it's all fresh in my memory, I'm going to think aloud about it here. And I'll do it in a couple of parts:

Blogging Norfolk, Part II (Burnhams, Villages, Towns and Friars)
Blogging Norfolk, Part III (The Glaven Ports and the Evil Silt Monster)

Time to get to work!