THE MEDIEVAL PEASANT HOUSE - TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM?

The medieval peasant house has always featured strongly in vernacular architecture studies. This paper focuses on the buildings of those of lower social status, and their survival opens a window on a world of lifestyles that was at one time thought to be completely lost. A great deal of work has been done - on documentary sources, archaeological sites and standing buildings - which has shown that the life of the medieval peasant was lived in a degree of comfort and elegance, although many of its details still elude us. The VAG Winter Conference held in Leicester in January 2013 brought together scholars in cognate disciplines as well as a range of regional experts to focus on the current state of knowledge and to suggest whether the time had come to reconsider the standard model of the medieval house, its use and meaning. The purpose of this paper is to summarise our current understanding and to suggest future directions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]