Anglo-Saxon Studies (History)

The Role of Bishops in Anglo-Saxon Succession Struggles, 955 x 978

by Dominik Waßenhoven

in: Leaders of the Anglo-Saxon Church. From Bede to Stigand, ed. by Alexander R. Rumble. (Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 12.) Woodbridge: Boydell, 2012, pp. 97–107.

Call for Papers––31st Haskins Society––Boston, November

by Robin Fleming

Au miroir de la violence : Anglais et Scandinaves au début du XIe siècle

by Alban Gautier

published in 'De la mer du Nord à la mer Baltique : identités, contacts et communications au Moyen Âge', Villeneuve d'Ascq, CEGES – Université Lille 3 Charles-de-Gaulle, 2012 (collection de l'IRHiS), pp. 129-142.

Scandinavians and 'vikings' are often presented as particularly violent in Anglo-Saxon sources of the early eleventh... more Scandinavians and 'vikings' are often presented as particularly violent in Anglo-Saxon sources of the early eleventh century. This image is analysed as a mirrored reflection of the Anglo-Saxons' uneasiness about their own place in the 'civilized' Christian world; it is also understood as the result of a conflict of representations between the North/East and the South of England.

Comment Harold prêta serment : circonstances et interprétations d'un rituel politique

by Alban Gautier

published in 'Cahiers de civilisation médiévale', vol. 55/1, 2012, pp. 33-55.

Earl Harold Godwineson’s journey to Normandy and oath to Duke William – as told by several chronicles and the Bayeux... more Earl Harold Godwineson’s journey to Normandy and oath to Duke William – as told by several chronicles and the Bayeux Tapestry – have often been discussed on both sides of the Channel. This article begins with a summary of old and current debates about the circumstances and forms of that oath, along with the motivations for it; it then offers an interpretation. If one takes into account the complex political game which was then played both at the English court and among Northern French princes, one may observe other reasons for Harold’s journey and oath. Instead of reading the ritual of the oath as a political error from the earl, as a trap which he barely escaped, or as a prelude to perjury, it could be interpreted as a moment of grand strategy and political communication, which both contenders did not necessarily understand in the same way.

Review: Lords and Communities in East Anglian Society. Andrew Wareham

by R. C. DeAragon

book review

The Pœnitentiale Theodori in theological perspective: soteriological aspects of confession according to Theodore of Tarsus

by James Siemens

forthcoming

ABSTRACT

As cosmopolitan a figure as he is, that Theodore of Tarsus may have brought certain Greek... more ABSTRACT

As cosmopolitan a figure as he is, that Theodore of Tarsus may have brought certain Greek theological notions to bear on his archiepiscopal work in Britain would not be an unreasonable assumption. Indeed, work on Theodore and his legacy undertaken over the last twenty years has revealed that, if nothing else, he was an extraordinary synthesiser: evidence for which is plentiful in the penitential that bears his name. Assuming that the Pœnitentiale Theodori represents an authentic record of Theodore’s thought on the nature of sin and its remedy, then the fact that we encounter pastoral motifs drawn from the Christian East is not surprising (albeit a figure like Cassian appears as an influence across the tradition). In any case, of greater interest would be knowing why the learned archbishop not only acceded to the use of penitentials, but became known as a virtual master of penitential teaching in his own time and beyond. Fortunately, the answer to this question need not be so elusive as it once was, for the availability of the Laterculus Malalianus – the one known piece of sustained theological prose left to us by Theodore – serves as a veritable repository of his christological-soteriological conceptions, and as a key to understanding not only his mind on academic theological questions, as if these were somehow distinct from his pastoral work, but his worldview as a whole, and especially as it was borne out in his approach to penitential practice.

Linear frontiers in the 9th century: Bulgaria and Wessex

by Florin Curta

Quaestiones Medii Aevi Novae 16 (2011), pp. 15-32

Locating Maserfelth

by Tim Clarkson

The Heroic Age 9 (October 2006)

Tradition identifies the site of Oswald's last and fatal battle as the area around Oswestry in Shropshire. In this... more Tradition identifies the site of Oswald's last and fatal battle as the area around Oswestry in Shropshire. In this paper the traditional identification is examined and challenged. An alternative location for the battlefield is tentatively proposed.

Quelques pratiques de distinction des clercs anglo-saxons : entre condamnations et accommodements avec le siècle

by Alban Gautier

published in 'Théorie et pratiques des élites au haut Moyen Âge : conception, perception et réalisation sociale', ed. F. Bougard, R. Le Jan and H.-W. Goetz, Turnhout, Brepols, 2011, p. 291-308.

In this article – inspired by the work of Patrick Wormald, even if it comes to some different conclusions – I first... more In this article – inspired by the work of Patrick Wormald, even if it comes to some different conclusions – I first tried to show how clerical Anglo-Saxon elites from the eight to the tenth century defined their own collective identity and group affiliations through behaviours apparently similar to those of the lay elites. The letters of Alcuin are a mine for that kind of discourse, since they allow us to locate an aggregate of practices regularly condemned by continental and/or reforming clergy during the whole of the eighth century: that aggregate includes a taste for feasting and drinking, an interest in vernacular poetry and all forms of entertainment that went with festal practices, as well as insufficiently sober clothing. Those condemnations insisted on the necessity for the Anglo-Saxon clergy to avoid all confusio, that is all kinds of behaviour which could reduce the necessary distance between lay and clerical identities: belonging to an aristocratic elite could not get in the way of the necessary distinction between the clergy and the lay world.
I have nevertheless tried to show in that article – which aim was to put forward new interpretations building on Wormald’s model – how those condemnations often allowed the possibility of a third way. Thanks to the example of the layout of feasts and festal entertainments (particularly performances of vernacular poetry), I tried to show how Anglo-Saxon clerical elites had adapted and transformed some practices of social distinction of the lay elite, to the point of making them barely recognizable. The social urge for hierarchical distinction from the whole population could then be reconciled with the disciplinary obligation for statutory distinction from the lay aristocracy. I analysed in that perspective the great popularity in England of religious alliterative poetry, by suggesting that some poems could have been performed on the occasion of clerical banquets, taking place in the monastic refectory at the time of the Benedictine Reform of the tenth century: continental parallels concerning the decoration of such spaces made me suggest that about one poem in particular, 'The Dream of the Rood'. By borrowing and adapting some practices of distinction of the lay elite, the clerical (that is, mostly monastic) elite of the tenth century was then able to obey the discourse which had condemned their eighth-century forerunners, while retaining the very practices that had made those forerunners able to assert their social superiority.

Erik Bloodaxe Revisited

by Alex Woolf

Apartheid and Economics in Anglo-Saxon England

by Alex Woolf

Bede’s Perspective and Purpose in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People

by Chip Schroeder

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People was widely renowned in his own day, and has been read continuously... more Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People was widely renowned in his own day, and has been read continuously for nearly thirteen centuries. Bede was first given the title of ‘Venerable’ at the Council of Aachen in 836, was canonized a millennium later by the Catholic Church in 1899. He is the only Englishman with the title of Doctor of the Church. Bede’s accomplishment is worthy of its praise, but his book is not an infallible record of history. Faith in his historical description of people, places, and events should be tempered with knowledge of Bede’s perspective and purpose. Bede’s main objectives in the Ecclesiastical History were to describe the dissemination of Christianity in Britain and the unification of English churches with the universal Catholic Church. To support his account, Bede frequently included miracles and hagiographical anecdotes, which he believed functioned as hard evidence of God’s support of the spread of Christianity in England. In the later part of the History, which details the controversy between Celtic and Catholic Christians, Bede tailors his account to praise conformity with Roman Catholic doctrine and practice. With recognition of Bede’s perspective and purpose, Bede remains a lamp to our feet and a light to our path in examining the history of English Christianity.

Tasting Misery Among Snakes: The Situation of Smiths in Anglo-Saxon Settlements

by Duncan Wright

Human-Horse Burial tableaus in Early Medieval Europe

by Pamela J. Cross

2010 ICAZ, Session S7-2: The Animal in Funerary Practices, Rose-Marie Arbogast & Sébastien Lepetz. In process for publication in Anthropozoologica.

The interweaving of human and animal is found in all cultures from the shaman’s merging with animal forms for spirit... more The interweaving of human and animal is found in all cultures from the shaman’s merging with animal forms for spirit journeys portrayed in ancient pictoliths, to the centaurs of classical Greece and modern stories of werewolves. Manipulation of human and animal bodies as part of mortuary practices can be traced as far back as the Mesolithic in Europe, but is often not considered in post-Iron Age contexts. In Early Medieval Europe a number of sites have examples of the manipulation of horse and human burials to create distinctive funerary tableaus, some of which indicate initial and successive manipulation of the body parts, with some even suggesting the purposeful creation of human-horse hybrids, or centaurs. Burials considered here include examples from Gaul/Frankland (Fief-Dampierre, c.150 AD, Usseau, France; Childeric I, 482 AD, Tournai, Belgium), Anglo-Saxon Britain (Sutton Hoo, c.650 AD, East Anglia; Sedgeford, c.750 AD, East Anglia) and Scandinavia (Birka, c.900 AD, Sweden).This paper will analyse the Sedgeford burials to understand their composition and depositional history, compare them with the four other sites and attempt to place this practice within a cultural context, utilizing ethnographic and historic sources.

Two Women of Wessex: Gender, Prestige, and Place in the Tenth Century

by Katherine Weikert

Presented at the Centre for Gender Studies seminar, University of Winchester, Dec 2011 (unpublished)

Wynflaed and Aeffe, two tenth-century women of Wessex, present a study in contrasts despite their parallel and... more Wynflaed and Aeffe, two tenth-century women of Wessex, present a study in contrasts despite their parallel and neighboring lives. Wynflaed was a well-connected, affluent widow with expansive properties across several counties, while Aeffe held lands in Wiltshire as a settlement wherein she had little control over its dispersion. However for as much as we know about Wynflaed and as little as we know of Aeffe, one survives in the modern landscape while the other does not, creating a curious paradox of the memory of authority and power.

This paper incorporates an examination through spatial analysis of Faccombe Netherton (one of Wynflaed’s estates), an assessment of Aeffe’s tun, and an inspection of the disposition of both women’s properties after their deaths to provide a comparison between the options of both women. This research constructs a greater context to the lives of both women, demonstrating that whilst is it impractical to assume broad interpretations of women in this era, the examination of individuals can provide greater understanding of the concepts of gender and prestige in the Central Middle Ages.

Penitential Discourse in the Diplomas of King Æthelred ‘the Unready’

by Levi Roach

forthcoming in The Journal of Ecclesiastical History.

This article consists of a detailed study of a series of extraordinary diplomas issued by King Æthelred ‘the Unready’... more This article consists of a detailed study of a series of extraordinary diplomas issued by King Æthelred ‘the Unready’ during the 990s. These diplomas restore lands and rights to churches which had earlier been despoiled by the king and his advisors and their wording indicates that they were intended as a conscious gesture of penitence. As such, these documents were of central political importance and it is argued that they can be fruitfully mined for evidence of Æthelred’s own thoughts and feelings in these years; these diplomas might well be considered to preserve Æthelred’s own ‘voice’.

Penance, Submission and deditio: Religious Influences on Dispute Settlement in Later Anglo-Saxon England (871–1066)

by Levi Roach

forthcoming in Anglo-Saxon England 41 (2012)

This article investigates religious influences on dispute settlement in later Anglo-Saxon England. Starting with the... more This article investigates religious influences on dispute settlement in later Anglo-Saxon England. Starting with the evidence from law-codes, it traces how penance was increasingly integrated into contemporary law, arguing that this process opened the way for ritualized acts of satisfaction to become a feature of dispute settlement. The rituals used in such contexts often borrowed symbols and concepts from the world of penance, with the central idea being that an offender who repented and humbled himself was worthy of pardon. A few detailed accounts of such settlements survive and to these we may add cases of restitution and political reconciliation, which witness a similar logic. This evidence suggests that the stark contrasts often drawn between English and continental (particularly German) disputing in these years may be in need of some revision. Far from being ‘fiercely punitive’, later Anglo-Saxon legal culture seems to have been characterized by a mix of formalized punishments and more informal means of settlement not unlike what is visible in the Ottonian Reich.

‘Chronicles, Treaties and Burhs: ‘The Defence of Wessex’ revisited’

by Tony Sharp

Produced for the Guildable Manor General Meeting 1st March 2012

The author examines the consensus position regarding the documents called 'The Burghal Hidage' as adumbrated in... more The author examines the consensus position regarding the documents called 'The Burghal Hidage' as adumbrated in "The Defence of Wessex" eds Hill and Rumble - Manchester University Press 1996. This is tested against the text and also in relation to the evidence of two other documents of near contemporary standing:- the 'Anglo-Saxon Chronicle' and the 'Alfred and Guthrum Treaty'. The paper does not seek to be polemical or contrary but nevertheless offers a major revision of the position set out by the contributors and editors of "The Defence ..." in regard to both the dating of the production of 'The Burghal Hidage' and the system it represents. The paper is cast in sections discussing the Great Army's destruction of the existing insular kingdoms, the nature of the conquest of Mercia in particular, the issues relating to the 'survival' of Alfred and Wessex, a discourse on the relationship of Kent and London to these events and to the silence of 'The Burghal Hidage' regarding them, the analysis of the variants of 'the Burghal Hidage' and their alternative appendices, the nature of the agreements and arrangements between Alfred and Guthrum, the circumstances of Guthrum's removal to 'East Anglia' as well as a review of the reasons for and the route of that removal. The paper then offers an alternative hypothesis regarding the 'Alfred and Guthrum Treaty' as well as proposing a reconciliation of what appears as contradictory evidence from the three sources..

The Origins of the Line of Ecgberht, King of the West Saxons 802–39

by Rory Naismith

English Historical Review 126 (2011), 1-16

The Coinage of Offa Revisited

by Rory Naismith

British Numismatic Journal 80 (2010), 76–106