Includes bibliographical references and index.

Cover; Contents; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Note on Currency; Glossary of Medieval Terms; List of Figures; List of Charts; List of Tables; Introduction; 1 The Social and Economic Foundations of English Monasticism, c.600-1450; 2 Feudal Land Tenure, Ecclesiastical Patronage and Milling Monopolies; 3 The Commercialization of English Milling, 1086-1450; 4 Bishoprics and Archbishoprics; 5 The Benedictines; 6 The Augustinians; 7 The Cistercians; 8 The Minor Orders; 9 English Mill Law, Seigneurial Rights and Ecclesiastical Lordship.

10 Ecclesiastical Lordship and the Commercialization of Medieval MillingAppendix A; Appendix B; Appendix C; Appendix D; Appendix E; Bibliography; Index.

This is the first detailed study of the role of the Church in the commercialization of milling in medieval England. Focusing on the period from the late eleventh to the mid sixteenth centuries, it examines the estate management practices of more than thirty English religious houses founded by the Benedictines, Cistercians, Augustinians and other minor orders, with an emphasis on the role played by mills and milling in the establishment and development of a range of different sized episcopal and conventual foundations.