The Form, Aspect, and Definition of Anglo-Saxon Identity A study of Medieval British words, deeds, and things by Christopher M. Roberts A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved November 2013 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Robert Bjork, Co-Chair Michelle Hegmon, Co-Chair Sander Van Der Leeuw Nancy Wicker ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY December 2013 ABSTRACT In this dissertation I argue that medieval peoples used a different style of identity from those applied to them by later scholarship and question the relevance of applying modern terms for identity groups (e.g., ethnicity or nationality) to the description of medieval social units. I propose we think of identity as a social construct comprised of three articulating facets, which I call: form, aspect, and definition. The form of identity is its manifestation in behavior and symbolic markers; its aspect is the perception of these forms by people; and its definition is the combination of these perceptions into a social category. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, I examine each facet individually before synthesizing the results. I study the form of identity through an analysis of styles in material culture using a consensus analysis to determine how well objects decorated with the same motif do communicating a shared idea to members of a social group. I explore the aspect of identity through a whole-corpus linguistics approach to Old English, in which I study the co-occurrence of words for “a people” and other semantic fields to refine our understanding of Old English perceptions of social identity. Finally, I investigate the definition of identity by comparing narrations of identity in Old English verse and prose in order to see how authors were able to use vocabulary and imagery to describe the identity of their subjects. In my conclusion I demonstrate that the people of Medieval England had a concept of identity based on the metaphor of a village meeting or a feast, in which smaller, innate groups were thought to aggregate into new heterogeneous wholes. The nature and scale of these groups changed over the course of the Anglo-Saxon period but some of the names used to refer to these units remained constant. Thus, I suggest scholars need to apply a culturally relevant concept of identity when describing the people who lived in Medieval Britain, one that might not match contemporary models, and be cognizant of the fact that medieval groups were not the same as their modern descendants. i DEDICATION To Mom and Dad, for their never-ending encouragement and support ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS If it takes a village to raise a child, then it must take a city to support the writer of a dissertation. I owe so many thanks to so many people who have helped me achieve this task. First and foremost, I would like to thank my academic mentors both past a present. Without Michelle Hegmon’s support, enlightening critiques, and theoretical fluency (not to mention the ceaseless letter writing), I cannot imagine having gotten this far. The same can be said for Robert Bjork’s contagious passion for Old English and Old Norse, and all the advice he’s given me over the years. Apart from my current mentors I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my past advisors, Sheila McNally and Alison Maingon who watched over my earlier forays into the world of academics and worked hard to correct my missteps. I also owe thanks to the faculty members who sat on committees, offered me career advice, and helped through the completion of several stages of graduate school. My current committee members Sander van der Leeuw and Nancy Wicker deserve special mention in this regard, as do my former committee members Peter Wells, Frederick Cooper, and Rachel Scott. Finally, I have to thank the many faculty members with whom I’ve interacted and from whom I’ve learned so much. These include [but are not limited to]: Michael Barton, Alex Brewis, Elizabeth Belfiore, Bob Bolin, Geoff Clark, Keith Kintigh, Nita Krevans, Heather Maring, Corine Schleif, Kate Spielmann, Rosalyn Voaden, Amber Wutich, and Abigail York. Without all your help and guidance I am not sure I would have developed the skills needed to achieve this task. My teachers and mentors were not the only contributors I credit with my success. Indeed, interacting with my talented peers at Arizona State University and other institutions provided me with many of the insights I used to craft this project, and a wealth of good memories and happy times. Whether discussing science (Melissa Kruse, Isaac Ullah, Colleen Strawhacker), mathe- magics (Matt Peeples, Alex Miller, Steph Deaver), literature (Will Bolton, Bryan Vanginhoven, Dan Najork, Heather Woods), or the finer points of method (Sean Bergin, Rhian Stotts, Karen Schollmeyer) and theory (Anna Novotny, Arthur Russell, John Henry Adams, Ben Ambler, Nate Bump) I was never without a good friend, fine conversation, or stimulating opponent and I know the spirit of many of these meetings can be found in the pages that follow. iii The research I conducted for this dissertation was made possible by generous support from the Arizona State University Graduate College, and the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. I would also like to thank the institutions and curators who let me examine their collections over two whirl-wind trips in 2009 and 2011, particularly: Morten Axboe, the National Museum of Denmark; Evert Kramer, The Fries Museum; Dieter Quast, the RGZM; Sonia Marzinzik and Barry Ager, the British Museum; Annemarieke Willemsen, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden; Imogen Gunn, the Cambridge Museum of Ethnography and Archaeology; and the staff of the Schloss Gottorf. I also need to acknowledge the hard work of my interns Molly Hynes, Kallie Lukas, and Ryan Smigielski. I would also like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Scott Passmore, Lakshami Mahajan, and Donny Nelson for their contribution of images to this document. In closing, I would like to single out five individuals who most helped me get through the dark times, celebrate my accomplishments, and generally keep me sane. I think of them as the five-fingers of my Anglo-Saxon hand. First is Eric Fanning, who more than anybody has had to put up with my complaining and act as my soundboard. I wouldn’t be half as able to write and think if I didn’t have him to talk to. Second is Derek Kildaw, my trusty compatriot and go-to guy to get my mind off of academic matters. Third is John Hooper, who spent many a long night with me struggling through the creation of proposals and coping with their rejections in a way only John could. Fourth is Nathan Wilson, who I met my first day at ASU and has walked the road alongside me ever since. Last (but certainly not least) is Claire Smith, who is always watching out for me, always has my back, and always helped me out in any way she could. Her support, love, and affection not only made the long slog possible, but also enjoyable (and that’s saying something!) Finally, since I think it did take a village I would like to thank my brother JD my friends in Canada and abroad, and all the other graduate students and faculty members I have met along the way. You may be too numerous to name, but I am truly grateful for participating in such a great academic environment here at ASU. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. v LIST OF MAPS ....................................................................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................. ................................................................................................... 1 The Problem of the Anglo-Saxon Ethnic Group .................................................. 1 Outline of Thesis ................................................................................................... 6 2 HISTORY MATTERS: PRIOR THEORIES OF ANGLO-SAXON IDENTITY ........................ 8 Evidence of Anglo-Saxons in British Society ..................................................... 11 HistoricalsSources.……………………………………....……………………12 The material evidence.………………………………….……………………15 Language and linguistic evidence…………………….……………………21 Genetic heritages.……………………………………….……………………25 Summary of evidence ………………………………….……………………25 What We Have Thought: from Evidence to Argument ...................................... 27 Inquyre for the olde way, for it may be more ryght….…………….……..27 19th Century nationalism and the racialization of Anglo-Saxon identity….29 Constructed, imagined or non-existent identity …………………….…….36 Old Stones in New Towers re-discovering the Anlgo-Saxon People………... 43 3 MEDIEVAL IDENTITIES: THEIR FORM, ASPECT, AND DEFINITION ............................. 48 The Form, Aspect, and Definition of Identity: an Analytical Framework ........... 49 Identity as a stylistic construct: theoretical foundations ............................. 50 Analyzing identity: three intellectual foci ..................................................... 52 Constructed in Practice: the Articulation of Form, Aspect, and Definition ........ 56 The Applicability of "Styles of Identity" to Anglo-Saxon England ...................... 59 v 4 THINGS: A FORM OF ANGLO-SAXON IDENTITY ...........................................................