Preface and Acknowledgements

Summary

This book developed out of two loves – those of literature and of landscape. In literature and lore, tree symbolism has played a major role throughout history, often attaining a spiritual significance. These sources are explored in the first part of this book, including the role of trees in pre-Christian religion. The second part concentrates upon trees within the actual landscape. Trees are some of the most significant features of our countryside: of undoubted practical value for their produce and timber, they are also a valuable habitat for wildlife, while the distribution of individual species helps to give rise to the varied countryside we cherish. Archaeological evidence is gradually increasing our knowledge of the landscape of Anglo-Saxon England and the presence of particular tree species within it but the vegetation data (mostly derived from pollen sampling) is still sporadic and is only briefly touched upon here. Nevertheless, there is abundant data to be found within charter boundary clauses and early recorded place-names, and the evidence for the distribution of individual species are presented in the third and final part of the book, which also reviews again their symbolism and attributes.

My thanks go to all those who have inspired this work: the late Professor Harry Thorpe, who first introduced me, as an undergraduate, to the richness of pre-Conquest charters, to the late Dr Margaret Gelling, who took me under her wing, and the ecologists I have worked with over many years as a landscape consultant. Grateful thanks, too, are extended to all those colleagues who have made other helpful suggestions, especially Professor Oliver Rackham. I am grateful, too, to the officers of the National Tree Register, especially David Alderman, who have allowed me to include the latest statistical information from the Tree Register, and Jill Butler of the Woodland Trust for her help and encouragement. This publication has been made possible by a grant from the Scouloudi Foundation in association with the Institute of Historical Research. I should like to thank the Revd Tim Sledge for permission to reproduce Plate I, which remains the copyright of Romsey Abbey, and Phoebe Merrick for drawing this sculpture to my attention.