Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice book in great condition. Pages in excellent condition. No notes or highlighting. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> Hoskins in a memorable and often-repeated metaphor described the English landscape as a palimpsest (Hoskins 1955 271). It was an idea which he had toyed with for many years before he began to write The Making of the English Landscape and had borrowed from Maitland (Maitland 1897 15; Hoskins 1943 81). Though it is a vivid conceit it is in many ways an imprecise and mislead- ing description. A palimpsest is a piece of parchment from which the earlier text has been expunged so that it can be used a second time. At very few points in the past has the landscape been even partially wiped clear and rarely if ever has it been recreated with little regard for its earlier usage as a pal- impsest was. More often elements of the existing landscape have been taken and reworked into new forms. Some elements have been retained particularly those with symbolic importance (Bradley 1987; Semple 1998; Williams 1998) and others have been recast into entirely different patterns to meet changing demands and perceptions. (LL)