England's Immigrants, 1330-1550: Resident Aliens in the Later Middle Ages
Lead Research Organisation:
University of York
Department Name: History
Abstract
'England's Immigrants, 1330-1550' engages with topical debates about immigration and identity by undertaking a detailed analysis of the thousands of foreigners who made their homes and livelihoods in England in the later Middle Ages.
In the broader history of England's immigrant communities, the period between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and the coming of the Huguenots in the mid-sixteenth century is traditionally characterised as one of isolationism and bigotry. But there is another and very different kind of story to be told of the immigrant experience in England between 1330 and 1550. An extraordinarily rich body of material in the National Archives reveals the identities of thousands of foreigners who continued to find their way into England. Some of these people prospered, and became fully naturalised subjects of the English crown. Others clustered in the poor areas of larger towns or scratched a living as migrant, seasonal workers in the agricultural economy. There is every indication that both public opinion and official policy usually treated these resident aliens with a liberal tolerance that was altogether exceptional in pre-modern Europe.
The core data collected by the project comprises a series of taxes levied on aliens in England between 1440 and 1550. The largest groupings identified by the collectors were the Scots (who were an independent nation in this period), the Irish (who, although subjects of the English crown, were at first treated as aliens for tax purposes), the 'Dutch' (a label that denoted a range of northern Europeans who spoke Germanic languages) and the French (sometimes differentiated by regions as Picards, Normans, Bretons, Gascons, etc). There were also significant numbers of Italians, Iberians and Scandinavians. Preliminary investigations of the most comprehensive set of tax accounts, that for 1440, suggests that there were at least 20,000 registered aliens in England. This brings the alien presence to nearly 1% of a total population of 2.5 million, and as high as 6% in London. These figures are comparable with levels of immigration still being reported in the 1901 UK census.
More remarkably still, the tax records reveal a huge amount of detail about the life experiences of these incomers. Immigrants established themselves as householders and/or servants, artisans and labourers, and included significant numbers of single and married women. They spread out in a remarkable diaspora over the whole of the country: indeed, contrary to received opinion, a remarkably large proportion of late-medieval English rural society must have had direct human contact with foreigners. Other evidence also reveals a small but discernible group of non-whites (and, at least originally, non-Christians), mainly from Iberia, North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.
The full database of immigrants recorded in England between 1330 and 1550 will offer numerous opportunities for researchers. Local historians will be able to document the diversity of their communities in the Middle Ages. Family historians will find a rich body of evidence for the foreign origins of modern English surnames. Political historians will re-evaluate the mechanisms by which government sought to regulate immigration. Economic and social historians will investigate the role of foreigners in the agricultural, manufacturing and commercial economies. And cultural historians will have a powerful body of data on which to base new debates about the integration of foreigners and their contribution to evolving notions of nationality, race and religion.
In these and many other ways, 'England's Immigrants, 1330-1550' aims to contribute significantly to the longer-term history of immigration and to provide a deep historical context for important contemporary debates about the free movement of peoples, about multiculturalism, and aboutnational identity.
In the broader history of England's immigrant communities, the period between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and the coming of the Huguenots in the mid-sixteenth century is traditionally characterised as one of isolationism and bigotry. But there is another and very different kind of story to be told of the immigrant experience in England between 1330 and 1550. An extraordinarily rich body of material in the National Archives reveals the identities of thousands of foreigners who continued to find their way into England. Some of these people prospered, and became fully naturalised subjects of the English crown. Others clustered in the poor areas of larger towns or scratched a living as migrant, seasonal workers in the agricultural economy. There is every indication that both public opinion and official policy usually treated these resident aliens with a liberal tolerance that was altogether exceptional in pre-modern Europe.
The core data collected by the project comprises a series of taxes levied on aliens in England between 1440 and 1550. The largest groupings identified by the collectors were the Scots (who were an independent nation in this period), the Irish (who, although subjects of the English crown, were at first treated as aliens for tax purposes), the 'Dutch' (a label that denoted a range of northern Europeans who spoke Germanic languages) and the French (sometimes differentiated by regions as Picards, Normans, Bretons, Gascons, etc). There were also significant numbers of Italians, Iberians and Scandinavians. Preliminary investigations of the most comprehensive set of tax accounts, that for 1440, suggests that there were at least 20,000 registered aliens in England. This brings the alien presence to nearly 1% of a total population of 2.5 million, and as high as 6% in London. These figures are comparable with levels of immigration still being reported in the 1901 UK census.
More remarkably still, the tax records reveal a huge amount of detail about the life experiences of these incomers. Immigrants established themselves as householders and/or servants, artisans and labourers, and included significant numbers of single and married women. They spread out in a remarkable diaspora over the whole of the country: indeed, contrary to received opinion, a remarkably large proportion of late-medieval English rural society must have had direct human contact with foreigners. Other evidence also reveals a small but discernible group of non-whites (and, at least originally, non-Christians), mainly from Iberia, North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.
The full database of immigrants recorded in England between 1330 and 1550 will offer numerous opportunities for researchers. Local historians will be able to document the diversity of their communities in the Middle Ages. Family historians will find a rich body of evidence for the foreign origins of modern English surnames. Political historians will re-evaluate the mechanisms by which government sought to regulate immigration. Economic and social historians will investigate the role of foreigners in the agricultural, manufacturing and commercial economies. And cultural historians will have a powerful body of data on which to base new debates about the integration of foreigners and their contribution to evolving notions of nationality, race and religion.
In these and many other ways, 'England's Immigrants, 1330-1550' aims to contribute significantly to the longer-term history of immigration and to provide a deep historical context for important contemporary debates about the free movement of peoples, about multiculturalism, and aboutnational identity.
Planned Impact
'England's Immigrants, 1330-1550', will benefit a wide range of public users. This summary describes the broad constituencies that will be encouraged to take ownership of the project's online database and other outputs, to engage in additional work with the project team and its international board, and to use the database as a key resource in public history.
Three specific categories of public user have been identified. They are:
1. Education and Outreach Departments in Archives and Museums. These will be able to draw on the empirical evidence from the project to address inclusion agendas, to demonstrate the presence and involvement of foreigners and minorities in relevant communities (local, regional and national), and to develop the life-stories of the better-documented individuals identified from the project's database to further their programmes (including the addressing of Diversity issues).
2. Local and family historians and genealogical services. These will be able to access the database free of charge as a public resource, conduct comprehensive searches of persons, family relationships, places, occupations, etc, and access significant contextual material on the life histories of selected individuals, families, and local and national groupings. Understanding of the role of 'foreigners' in local communities in the fifteenth and sixteenth century will provide a powerful corrective to pervasive notions of a static and monolithic society in pre-modern times.
3. The media, especially history magazines and radio/TV. There is a powerful market for genealogical stories and resources that is served by media outputs such as the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are' (and its spin-off Magazine). Equally importantly, the project offers many opportunities to develop the database with additional inputs from archaeology, art, architecture and literature to explore the life histories of England's late medieval immigrants. In so doing, it can provide a powerful corrective to widespread assumptions that medieval society was closed to contact with the outside world.
The mechanisms by which the project will establish links and develop work with user groups in each category are set out in detail in the separate attachment, 'Pathways to Impact'.
Three specific categories of public user have been identified. They are:
1. Education and Outreach Departments in Archives and Museums. These will be able to draw on the empirical evidence from the project to address inclusion agendas, to demonstrate the presence and involvement of foreigners and minorities in relevant communities (local, regional and national), and to develop the life-stories of the better-documented individuals identified from the project's database to further their programmes (including the addressing of Diversity issues).
2. Local and family historians and genealogical services. These will be able to access the database free of charge as a public resource, conduct comprehensive searches of persons, family relationships, places, occupations, etc, and access significant contextual material on the life histories of selected individuals, families, and local and national groupings. Understanding of the role of 'foreigners' in local communities in the fifteenth and sixteenth century will provide a powerful corrective to pervasive notions of a static and monolithic society in pre-modern times.
3. The media, especially history magazines and radio/TV. There is a powerful market for genealogical stories and resources that is served by media outputs such as the BBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are' (and its spin-off Magazine). Equally importantly, the project offers many opportunities to develop the database with additional inputs from archaeology, art, architecture and literature to explore the life histories of England's late medieval immigrants. In so doing, it can provide a powerful corrective to widespread assumptions that medieval society was closed to contact with the outside world.
The mechanisms by which the project will establish links and develop work with user groups in each category are set out in detail in the separate attachment, 'Pathways to Impact'.
Organisations
Publications
Lambert B
(2020)
Double Disadvantage or Golden Age? Immigration, Gender and Economic Opportunity in Later Medieval England
in Gender & History
Lambert B
(2015)
Friendly Foreigners: International Warfare, Resident Aliens and the Early History of Denization in England, c.1250-c.1400
in The English Historical Review
Lambert B
(2014)
Drapery in Exile: E dward III , C olchester and the F lemings, 1351-1367
in History
Lambert B
(2016)
A matter of trust: the royal regulation of England's French residents during wartime, 1294-1377 Royal regulation of England's French residents, 1294-1377
in Historical Research
Lambert B
(2016)
Immigration and the Common Profit: Native Cloth Workers, Flemish Exiles, and Royal Policy in Fourteenth-Century London
in Journal of British Studies
Description | The importance of an historical approach to the phenomenon of migration within Europe. |
Exploitation Route | The project is being taken forward through an AHRC 'Follow-on' project to develop key resources for the teaching of medieval migration in schools, and especially for the new GCSE curriculum beginning September 2016. |
Sectors | Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | To inform my research and that of my team and thus to contribute to public debates about immingration in a deep historical context |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
Description | AHRC Follow-on for Impact |
Amount | £69,165 (GBP) |
Funding ID | AH/N005848/1 |
Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2016 |
End | 10/2016 |
Title | England's Immigrants, 1330-1550 |
Description | A fully-searchable database containing over 64,000 names of people known to have migrated to England during the period of the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death, the Wars of the Roses and the Reformation |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2015 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Wide public and academic usage |
URL | https://www.englandsimmigrants.com/ |
Description | Conference (York) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Conference paper for the conference 'Britain, Ireland and Italy: Cultural Exchanges, 1270-1400' Increased interest in project and website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Historical Association, Hull |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Historical Association Hull branch on Yorkshire's Medieval Immigrants. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Seminar (Brussels) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | 20 undergraduates from the Free Universiry of Brussels attended a seminar workshop about the project Increased use of the website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Seminar (Edinburgh) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk to Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies Increased interest in project and website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Seminar (New York) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk at new York University in a special session on 'medieval multiculturalism' Increased interest in website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Seminar paper (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Talk to the late medieval seminar, Institute of Historical Research, University of London Increased interest in project and website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Seminar paper (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 25 academics attended a formal seminar paper at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London Academics became informed of the funded project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Bath) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Bath branch of the Historical Association Increased interest in project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Bruges) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk at Levend Archief, Bruges Increased interest in project and website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Doncaster) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to local history society Increased interest in project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Durham) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to Durham branch of the Historical Association Increased interest in project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Hinkley) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the conference 'Migration to, from and within the British Isles' (Halsted Trust) Increased interest in website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Annual General meeting of the Monumental Brass Society Increased visibility for project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (London) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the British Association for Local History Local History Day Increased interest in project and website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Oxford) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy Increased traffic to website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Pudsey) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Guild of One-Name Studies Increased interest in project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Reading) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Talk to 'Sowing the Seeds Network', University of Reading Increased interest in website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Southampton) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the 'Meet the Ancestors' event (Tudor Revels) Increased interest in website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (Winchester) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Winchester branch of the Historical Association Increased interest in website |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (York) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Mint Yard lecture series, York Libraries Increased interest in project |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | Talk (York) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to the Historical Association's Annual Conference. Further requests for talks to local branches followed. Invitation to contribute to the Historian magazine |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://www.englandsimmigrants.com |
Description | University of the Third Age Talk (Easingwold, N Yorks) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to University of the Third Age on 'Yorkshire's Medieval Immigrants' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |