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Philip Slavin, A. T. Brown. Rural Society and Economic Change in County Durham: Recession and Recovery, c. 1400–1640., The American Historical Review, Volume 123, Issue 1, February 2018, Page 299, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/123.1.299
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In Rural Society and Economic Change, A. T. Brown has written a wonderful book that should be considered a major contribution on several levels. The study deals with the parallel development of major ecclesiastical and lay lords in County Durham. But this is much more than a merely regional study: Brown tackles here a series of long-standing historiographical debates and controversies, and thus makes his findings and conclusions applicable to other regions. But perhaps the most unique aspect of his book is that it breaks the traditional chronological boundaries of “late medieval” and “early modern” periods, still strongly prevalent in the field of English social and economic history. Instead, Brown tells a longue durée yet fine-tuned story of Durham Cathedral Priory and Durham Bishopric, stretching all the way from 1400 to 1640.
In his introduction, Brown introduces the reader to the concept of “path dependency”—the institutional ability to make a decision or a series of decisions that would determine economic outcome in a long run. For Brown, “path dependency” is one of the great pillars of economic development, alongside other pillars such as demography, class relationships, and commercialization. This idea guides Brown throughout the entire book.
