Professor Nick Higham
Nick Higham is Professor in Early Medieval and Landscape History in the History Subject Area in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures at the University of Manchester. His research interests focus on two interrelated areas: the History and Archaeology of the Early Middle Ages in Britain, and the Landscape and Settlement History of North West and North England in the Middle Ages. He has supervised many successful research students in both areas and is always interested in enquiries concerning future research.
Contact Details:
Nick.J.Higham@man.ac.uk: 0161 275 3114
Dr. Nicholas John Higham, School of History and Classics, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL
Principal Publications
Authored books:
The Carvetii Sutton, Tribes of Roman Britain Series, 1985, 2nd. Ed. 1991, 158pp (joint author)
The Northern Counties to AD 1000 Longman, Regional History of England Series, 1986, 392pp
Rome, Britain and the Anglo-Saxons Routledge 1992, 263pp
The Kingdom of Northumbria AD 350-1100 Sutton, 1993, 296pp
The origins of Cheshire 1993 MUP, 231pp
The English Conquest: Gildas and Britain in the Fifth Century MUP, 1994, 220pp
An English Empire: Bede and the early Anglo-Saxon Kings MUP, 1995, 269pp
The Convert Kings: power and religious affiliation in early Anglo-Saxon England MUP 1997, 293pp
The Death of Anglo-Saxon England Sutton, 1997, 234pp
The Norman Conquest Sutton 1998, 118pp
King Arthur: Myth-Making and History Routledge 2002, 295pp
A Frontier Landscape: The North-West in the Middle Ages Windgather Press 2004, 273pp
(Re-)Reading Bede: The Ecclesiastical History in Context, Routledge 2006, 279pp
Edited books:
The Changing Past Manchester University, Dept. of Extra-Mural Studies, 1979, 87pp
Excavations at Ordsall Hall Demesne Farm 1978-79, Greater Manchester Archaeological Group 1980, 36pp
Edward the Elder, Routledge 2001, 320pp (jointly with D.H.Hill)
Archaeology of the Roman Empire: a memorial to Professor G. D. B. Jones, British Archaeological Reports International Series 940, 2001, 355pp
Conference Proceedings
'Early Field Survival in North Cumbria', British Archaeological Reports BS 48, 1978, 119-26
'An aerial survey of the Upper Lune Valley' in The Changing Past ed. N. J. Higham, 1979, 31-8
'Continuity in North West England in the 1st Millennium A.D.' ditto, 43-52
'Native settlements west of the Pennines', in Rome and the Brigantes ed K. Branigan, Dept. of Archaeology, University of Sheffield, 1980, 41-7
'The Roman impact upon rural settlement in Cumbria', in Rural Settlement in the Roman North, ed. P. Clack & S. Hazelgrove, CBA, Durham, 1982, 105-22
'The Scandinavians in North Cumbria', in Scandinavian Settlement in Cumbria ed. I Whyte, Scottish Society for Northern Studies, 1985, 37-52
'Roman and Native in England north of the Tees: Acculturation and its Limitations', in Rome and the Barbarians, Barbarians and Romans in North-West Europe, ed. J. C. Barrett, Oxford 1989, 153-71
'Northumbria, Mercia and the Irish Sea Norse, 893-926' in Viking Treasure from the North-West: the Cuerdale hoard in its context ed. J. Graham-Campbell, Liverpool Museums, 1991, 21-30
'Territorial organisation in pre-conquest Cheshire', in The Middle Ages in the North-West ed. T. Scott & P. Starkey, Leopard's Head Press for Liverpool Centre for Medieval Studies, 1995, 1-14
'Patterns of Patronage and Power: the governance of late Anglo-Saxon Cheshire', in Government, Religion and Society in Northern England 1000-1700 ed. J. C. Appleby & P. Dalton, Sutton, Stroud, 1-13
'The Saxon Conquests in Britain: literary evidence and the case for acculturation in the formation of Anglo-Saxon England' in Studien zur Sachsenforschung 11, ed, H-J. Habler, 1998, 135-44
'Dynasty and Cult: the utility of Christian mission to Northumbrian kings between 642 and 654', in Northumbria's Golden Age ed. J. Hawkes and S. Mills, Sutton 1999, 95-104
'King Edwin of the Deiri: rhetoric and the reality of power in early England', in Early Deira: Archaeological studies of the East Riding in the fourth to ninth centuries ed. H. Geake & J. Kenny, Oxbow 2000, 41-50
'King Edward's posthumous reputation: an introduction' in Edward the Elder ed. N. J. Higham & D. H. Hill, Routledge, 2001, 1-11
'The Anglo-Saxon/British interface: History and Ideology', in The Celtic Roots of English, ed. M Filppula et al. University of Joensuu, Studies in English 37, 2002, 29-46
'Viking-age settlement in the north-western countryside: lifting the veil?' in Land, Sea and Home ed. J. Hines, et al. Society for Medieval Archaeology, 2003,
'Harold Godwineson: The construction of kingship', in Harold II and the Bayeux Tapestry ed. G. Owen-Crocker, Boydell & Brewer, 2005, 19-34.
Papers:
'Frontiers, Forts and Farmers: Cumbrian Aerial Survey 1974-5', Archaeological Journal 132, 1975, 16-53 (equal joint author)
'Continuity Studies in the first millennium A.D. in North Cumbria' Northern History 14, 1978, 1-18
'Dyke systems in Northern Cumbria' Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 28, 1978, 142-56
'Two enclosures at Dobcross Hall, Dalston', CWAAST 81, 1981, 1-6
'"Native" settlement on the north slopes of the Lake District', CWAAST 82 (1982), 29-33
'A Romano-British Farm Site and Field System at Yanwath Wood, near Penrith', CWAAST 83, 1983, 49-58
'The excavation of two Romano-British farm sites in North Cumbria' Britannia 14, 1983, 45-72 (main author)
'Tatton: Settlement and Land-use in one Cheshire Township c.A.D. 1000-1400', The Manchester Geographer NS7 1986, 2-17
'The origins of Inglewood Forest' CWAAST 86, 1986, 85-100
'Brigantia Revisited' Northern History 23, 1987, 1-19
'Landscape and Land-use in Northern England: a survey of agricultural potential', Landscape History 9, 1987, 35-44
'The Cheshire Land-holdings of Earl Morcar' Historical Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 137, 1988, 139-47
'The Cheshire burhs and the Mercian frontier to 924', Antiquarian Society of Lancs. and Ches. 85, 1989, 193-222
'Hough Hall: the trial excavation of a moated platform in Mere township, Cheshire', Chester Archaeological Journal 70 1990 (for 1987-8), 87-98
'Settlement, land use and Domesday Ploughlands', Landscape History 12 1991, 33-44
'Old Light on the Dark Age Landscape: the description of Britain in the De Excidio Britanniae of Gildas' Journal of Historical Geography 17, 1991, 363-72
'Gildas, Roman Walls and British Dykes' Cambridge
Medieval Celtic Studies 22 1991, 1-14
'Medieval "Overkingship" in Wales: the earliest evidence' Welsh History Review 16, 1992, 145-59
'King Cearl, the battle of Chester and the origins of the Mercian "overkingship"', Midland History, 17, 1992, 1-15
'Domesday Book: its context and purpose', History 78 1993, 7-21
'Gildas and "Agitius": a comment on De Excidio x,1' Bulletin of the Board for Celtic Studies 40, 1993, 123-34
'Literary evidence for villas, towns and hillforts in fifth-century Britain', Britannia 25, 1994, 229-32
'The context of Brunanburh' in Names, Places and People, an onomastic miscellany for John McNeal Dodgson ed. A. R. Rumble & A. D. Mills, Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1997, 144-56
'Bishop Wilfrid in southern England: a review of his political objectives', Studien zur Sachsenforschung13, 1999, 207-17.
'The Tatton Park Project, Part 1: Prehistoric to Sub-Roman Settlement and Land Use', Chester Archaeological Journal 74, 1999 (for 1996-7), 1-61 (main author)
'The Tatton Park Project, Part 2: the medieval estates, settlements and halls' Chester Archaeological Journal 75, 2000 (for 1998-9), 61-133
'Britons in Northern England in the early middle ages: through a thick glass darkly', Northern History 28, 2001, 5-25
'The Tatton Park Project, Part 3' Chester Archaeological Journal 76, 2002 (for 2000-1), 81-125
Encyclopaedia entries:
'The Danelaw', Raedwald, King of East Anglia', 'Wapentake', 'East Anglia: an Anglo-Saxon kingdom', in Blackwell's Companion to Anglo-Saxon England edd. M. Lapidge, J. Blair, S. Keynes & D. Scragg, Oxford 1999
'Deserted Medieval Villages', 'Archaeology and History', 'Croft', 'Toft' 'Messuage', in Medieval Archaeology: an encyclopaedia ed. P. J. Crabtree, Garland Publishing, New York, 2001
Book Reviews:
I have published numerous reviews of historical and archaeological monographs in
Northern History, History, Speculum, Medieval Archaeology, Landscape History, Nomina, History and Archaeology Review, Albion, American Historical Review, History, Britannia, Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, Medieval Settlement Research Group Annual Report, Transactions of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, and Landscapes.
King Arthur: Myth-making and History:
Recent Reviews
'shows brilliantly how the quite different historical contexts of HB and AC give rise to different Arthurs, both in terms of their symbolic figuration and of their political meaning. ...a marvellously detailed, accessible and thoughtful account not only of the origins of the historical Arthur, but also of the ways in which early texts can be interpreted in their historical context and through close reading in terms of the Old Testament models necessary for salvation history.' TLS, July 12 2002
'Voici une belle leçon d'historographie..........Cette étude represente, en somme, un jalon essentiel dans les études arthuriennes, un ouvrage immanquablement a retenir dans la litterature pléthorique consacrée au sujet'. Martin Aurell, Medieval Review, October 2003
''a valuable contribution to the case for seeing Arthur as a mythical construct rather than a historical reality' Barbara Yorke, History, July 2003.
'an essential read for all concerned with the history of sub-Roman Britain or with Arthurian Literature' Stephen Fanning, Speculum, Apr. 2004
Current Teaching
Undergraduate
- Level 1: Origins of England, semester 2, 20 credits
- Level 1: History in Practice, lecturer and tutor
- Level 2: Reading the English Landscape, semester 1, 20 credits
- Level 3: Pagans, Priests and Power, all year, 20 credits
Postgraduate
I contribute to MAs in Anglo-Saxon Studies and Medieval History, am just launching a new MA in the History of North West England, and expect to be contributing soon to an MA in Historic Environments.
I have currently 2 doctoral students. I have had 5 doctoral students successfully complete over the last 4 years, and a few more PhD and MA by dissertation over the previous decade.
Virtual Field Trips
I have an ongoing interest in new styles of teaching and learning, having served from 1996-2000 as Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Arts. During 2003, I have been experimenting with web-based techniques of widening student access to visual material relevant to the medieval landscape, constructing virtual fieldtrips to Laxton Open Fields, Nottinghamshire, and Tatton Park, Cheshire. (See below.)
Over the next few years, I propose to extend this to include a series of thematic virtual fieldtrips to different types of monument and/or landscape, focusing particularly on North West England. As illustration, the image above is a page from the virtual field trip to Tatton Park, illustrating the exploration of an early prehistoric site beside Tatton Mere, which was excavated as part of the Tatton Research Project in the 1980s.