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Viking Nobility in Anglo-Saxon England: the Expansion of Royal Authority Through the Use of Scandinavian Accommodation and Integ

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Viking Nobility in Anglo-Saxon England: the Expansion of Royal Authority Through the Use of Scandinavian Accommodation and Integ Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2017 Viking Nobility in Anglo-Saxon England: The Expansion of Royal Authority Through the Use of Scandinavian Accommodation and Integration Lauren Marie Doughty Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Doughty, Lauren Marie, "Viking Nobility in Anglo-Saxon England: The Expansion of Royal Authority Through the Use of Scandinavian Accommodation and Integration" (2017). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 4465. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/4465 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. VIKING NOBILITY IN ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND: THE EXPANSION OF ROYAL AUTHORITY THROUGH THE USE OF SCANDINAVIAN ACCOMMODATION AND INTEGRATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Lauren Marie Doughty B.A., Troy State University, 2005 M.A., Southeastern Louisiana University, 2008 May 2017 For my children, Halcyann and Daniel Proof that dreams are possible, as long as you are willing to work for them. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge those who have helped me complete this monumental task; I am forever in your debt. First, to my husband, Eric, thank you for being my support and shelter when I believed I could not finish. Your calm certainty and fortitude assured me that I could in fact complete the seemingly impossible. For bearing the burden of wrangling an active toddler while I was locked away, furiously working—you are an exceptional daddy and husband. To my family, particularly my parents, David and Deborah Doughty—thank you for all of your support over the course of numerous years. Thank you for the encouraging words and care packages that sustained me, both body and soul, while I pursued my dream. To my professors at Louisiana State University who stimulated my mind and fostered my creativity, thank you. Particular thanks to my advisor Maribel Dietz whose patience and guidance helped me achieve my goals. Also a special remembrance for Lisi Oliver—I’m still hopeless at Anglo-Saxon translation, but I believe you would approve of the finished product nonetheless. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………...….…iii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………v Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...……...1 Chapter One: Alfred the Great A Lesson in Accommodation…………………………………...13 Chapter Two: Æthelræd: The Early Years………………………………………………….…....39 Chapter Three: Æthelræd Inaction: A Study in Alienation……………………………………...58 Chapter Four: Royal Women: Sexual Politics and the Gendering of Royal Authority…………………………………………………………………...90 Chapter Five: The Reign of Cnut—Politics of Duality………………………………………...112 Conclusion: Royal Authority, Accommodation, and Scandinavians………………….………..133 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………146 Vita………………………………………………………………………………………….…..154 iv ABSTRACT This project seeks to understand the transformative period in Anglo-Saxon England between the ninth to eleventh centuries. During these centuries, Anglo-Saxon kings extended their royal power through the manipulation of Scandinavian ethnicity by using the mechanisms of accommodation, integration and appeasement as well as the incorporation of female royal power. Anglo-Saxon kings such as Alfred the Great, Æthelræd the Unræd, and Cnut were challenged by various hindrances from expressing their full royal authority, including the rise of an independent nobility, economic difficulties and invasions. Despite intrinsic limitations on their rule, kings such as Alfred, Æthelræd and Cnut sought to expand their royal authority through carefully crafted political, religious and economic accommodations with Scandinavians as well as the incorporation of female royal power. Through the legal manipulation of identity constructed in law codes such as the Alfred-Guthrum Treaty and the Wantage Code, Anglo- Saxon kings integrated Scandinavian elites into the political structure of England, thereby increasing their own royal authority. v Introduction In this year dire portents appeared over Northumbria…immense whirlwinds, and flashes of lightening, and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air.1 First studied during the Romantic era of the nineteenth century, Anglo-Saxon scholarship has blossomed in the last thirty years. Historians such as Pauline Stafford, Richard Abels and Simon Keynes have drastically changed historical preconceived notions depicting Anglo-Saxon England as a simplistic society, waiting for continental inspiration.2 In particular, the dramatic rise of royal authority during the ninth through eleventh centuries demonstrates the complex nature of Anglo-Saxon political realities. Much like continental kingship, Anglo-Saxon kings were hampered by various factors, including reliance on powerful nobles to support their reign, from fully expressing their royal authority. Despite intrinsic limitations on Anglo-Saxon kingship, kings such as Æthelwulf, Alfred, Edgar, Æthelræd and Cnut sought to expand the reach of royal authority through carefully crafted political, religious and economic accommodations with Scandinavians using the medium of law. This projects seeks to understand the mechanisms by which royal authority was expanded from the ninth to eleventh-centuries using various means including ecclesiastical endowment, female royal power, the rise of “new” nobility and most significantly, Scandinavian accommodation. 1 “The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”, English Historical Documents c. 500-1042, ed. Dorothy Whitelock, (Oxford, U.K.;Oxford University Press,1979), 793. 2 For more information see: R. Abels, Lordship and Military Obligation in Anglo-Saxon England, (Berkeley, 1988); A. Campbell, Skaldic Verse and Anglo-Saxon History, (London, 1971); J. Campbell, Essays in Anglo-Saxon History, (London, 1986); M. Campbell, “The Encomium Emmae Reginae: Personal Panegyric or Political Propaganda?”, Annuale Mediaevale, 19, (1979), 27-45; R. Fleming, Kings and Lords in Conquest England, (Cambridge, 1991); R. Fletcher, Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England, (London, 2002); P. Foote and D. Wilson, The Viking Achievement, (London, 1970); J. Graham-Campbell, The Viking World, (London, 1989); C. Hollister, Anglo-Saxon Military Institutions, (Oxford, 1962); L. Larson, The King’s Household in England before the Norman Conquest, (Madison, 1904); M. Lawson, Cnut: the Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century, (London, 1993); P.H. Sawyer, The Reign of Cnut, (London, 1985); P. Stafford, Unification and Conquest, (Oxford, 1989). 1 Over the past several decades historians have begun to reevaluate longstanding theories on the impact and importance of Scandinavians in Anglo-Saxon England. The incorporation of Scandinavian elites into the fabric of Anglo-Saxon society stands as an important facet of ninth, tenth and eleventh century life. By understanding the ways in which Scandinavian “invaders” were seamlessly absorbed into the ruling hierarchy, historians obtain a more nuanced insight into the complex political, religious and ethnic relationships occurring during this period of change.3 Integration and accommodation were significant avenues for the indigenous Anglo-Saxons to cope with the onslaught of Scandinavian settlers during the ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries. Accommodation refers to attempts made by Anglo-Saxon kings to incorporate Scandinavians into the established power structure via laws and land grants while allowing their new subjects the opportunity to retain elements of their Scandinavian heritage, such as language or religion. Integration denotes mechanisms by which Anglo-Saxon kings sought to fully enmesh Scandinavians into local society, most often through conversion or inter-marriage, thus creating a new Anglo-Scandinavian ethnicity. In particular, Anglo-Saxon kings such as Alfred used the accommodation and integration of Scandinavian leaders to define separate spheres of authority while simultaneously creating subservient yet powerful allies. By creating modes of accommodation through legal manipulation of identity, Anglo-Saxon kings maximized their royal authority while forming the idea of “Englishness”. Additionally Anglo-Saxon kings used strategies of appeasement for particularly troublesome Vikings who did not want to settle within England; often these strategies included large gold payments or the gifting of land, such as the Danelaw, with no expectation by Anglo-Saxon kings of extending their royal authority. While 3 This study will use Scandinavian or Scandinavians to describe the Danish, Norse or Swedish populations interacting with Anglo-Saxon England. The use of the word Viking will be applied only to describe a band of Scandinavian warriors. This linguistic choice reflects the historiographic trend, which has reformed the image of Scandinavians to include raiders, traders, and settlers rather than pillagers. 2 numerous examples of these tactics of accommodation exist, such as religious conversion
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