Exeter Class Curriculum Newsletter English Term 2
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Viking Wirral … and the Battle of Brunanburh Professor Steve Harding
Viking Wirral … and the Battle of Brunanburh Professor Steve Harding Neil Oliver, “History of Scotland” BBC2, 2009 “ The many armies, tens of thousands of warriors clashed at the site known as Brunanburh where the Mersey Estuary enters the sea . For decades afterwards it was simply known called the Great Battle. This was the mother of all dark-age bloodbaths and would define the shape of Britain into the modern era. Althouggg,h Athelstan emerged victorious, the resistance of the northern alliance had put an end to his dream of conquering the whole of Britain. This had been a battle for Britain, one of the most important battles in British historyyy and yet today ypp few people have even heard of it. 937 doesn’t quite have the ring of 1066 and yet Brunanburh was about much more than blood and conquest. This was a showdown between two very different ethnic identities – a Norse-Celtic alliance versus Anglo-Saxon. It aimed to settle once and for all whether Britain would be controlled by a single Imperial power or remain several separate kingdoms. A split in perceptions which, like it or not, is still with us today”. Some of the people who’ve been trying to sort it out Nic k Hig ham Pau l Cav ill Mic hae l Woo d John McNeal Dodgson 1928-1990 Plan •Background of Brunanburh • Evidence for Wirral location for the battle • If it did happen in Wirra l, w here is a like ly site for the battle • Consequences of the Battle for Wirral – and Britain Background of Brunanburh “Cherchez la Femme!” Ann Anderson (1964) The Story of Bromborough •TheThe Viking -
Ph1035/C4753
Queen Ethelfleda and 1100 years since the founding of Warwick PH1035/C4753 Queen Ethelfleda Queen Ethelfleda, or Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, was the daughter of the Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred the Great. At the time of her birth in the late ninth century, England was composed of several kingdoms and was under attack from the Vikings, whose successful campaigns were demonstrated by their conquest of substantial territory to the north and east of Warwickshire known as Danelaw. Ethelfleda is famed for ruling the English Kingdom of Mercia for 34 years and leading its army to victory against the Danes. Conquest of Mercia and settlement in Warwick After the death of her husband, Ethelred, Lord of Mercia, who had driven the Vikings out of part of Mercia, Ethelfleda became the Lady of the Mercians and was accepted as ruler. Alongside her brother Edward, she set about establishing ‘burhs’, or fortified settlements to consolidate the defence of English territory and provide bases for attacks on Danelaw settlements. In 914, what we now know as Warwick was chosen as one of these burhs and was established on a hilltop site. 2014 marks the 1100th anniversary of the founding of this settlement. Ethelfleda died in Tamworth in 918 and was buried in Gloucester. A statue of her stands in the grounds of Tamworth Castle and was re-dedicated last year to commemorate 1100 years since she built the burh in Tamworth. Ethelfleda and the Warwick Pageant of 1906 While there are no surviving records directly related to Ethelfleda in the Record Office, she did feature as one of the tableaux selected in the Warwick Pageant of 1906. -
International Journal of Language and Linguistics Vol
International Journal of Language and Linguistics Vol. 7, No. 3, September 2020 doi:10.30845/ijll.v7n3p2 Skaldic Panegyric and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Poem on the Redemption of the Five Boroughs Leading Researcher Inna Matyushina Russian State University for the Humanities Miusskaya Ploshchad korpus 6, Moscow Russia, 125047 Honorary Professor, University of Exeter Queen's Building, The Queen's Drive Streatham Campus, Exeter, EX4 4QJ Summary: The paper attempts to reveal the affinities between skaldic panegyric poetry and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle poem on the ‘Redemption of the Five Boroughs’ included into four manuscripts (Parker, Worcester and both Abingdon) for the year 942. The thirteen lines of the Chronicle poem are laden with toponyms and ethnonyms, prompting scholars to suggest that its main function is mnemonic. However comparison with skaldic drápur points to the communicative aim of the lists of toponyms and ethnonyms, whose function is to mark the restoration of the space defining the historical significance of Edmund’s victory. The Chronicle poem unites the motifs of glory, spatial conquest and protection of land which are also present in Sighvat’s Knútsdrápa (SkP I 660. 9. 1-8), bearing thematic, situational, structural and functional affinity with the former. Like that of Knútsdrápa, the function of the Chronicle poem is to glorify the ruler by formally reconstructing space. The poem, which, unlike most Anglo-Saxon poetry, is centred not on a past but on a contemporary event, is encomium regis, traditional for skaldic poetry. ‘The Redemption of the Five Boroughs’ can be called an Anglo-Saxon equivalent of erfidrápa, directed to posterity and ensuring eternal fame for the ruler who reconstructed the spatial identity of his kingdom. -
Bullion and Coin in the Danelaw
An early medieval dual-currency economy: bullion and coin in the Danelaw ∗ Jane Kershaw Research Metal detecting in England has recovered a large number of Viking Age single finds that have been reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme. These reveal that silver bullion of Scandinavian origin was used as currency throughout the Danelaw between AD 865 and 940. Standardised weights of copper alloy were an integral part of this metal-weight economy. Bullion was not the sole means of silver payment during this period: coinage had long been used in the occupied Anglo-Saxon territories and continued to be minted under the Vikings. The resulting dual-currency economy may have facilitated trade with neighbouring Scandinavian territories, but the two curren- cies also served as markers of cultural identity, offering a choice of monetary media. Keywords: eastern England, Danelaw, Viking, silver, bullion, dirham, currency Introduction Multiple-currency economies are characterised by the co-existence of two or more distinct modes of exchange. They are a recurring feature across past and present cultures, from ancient Greece, where silver bullion temporarily overlapped with coin, to contemporary Papua New Guinea, where traditional shell currency is still maintained alongside state- issued coins and banknotes (Akin & Robbins 1999; Kroll 2008). Such systems reflect important aspects of their host societies, illustrating stages of monetary evolution and pointing to the existence of different regimes of wealth and value. Yet their archaeology has scarcely -
Locating the Site of the Battle of Brunanburh (937) V4 by and © Adrian C Grant (1St Version Posted 7Th February 2019, This Revision Posted 5Th August 2019)
Locating the site of the Battle of Brunanburh (937) v4 by and © Adrian C Grant (1st version posted 7th February 2019, this revision posted 5th August 2019) Abstract In this paper I argue that the Battle of Brunanburh (937) took place on the old Roman Road between Brough-on-Humber (Petuaria/Civitas Parisiorum) and South Cave in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This updated version has been triggered both by comments gratefully received from readers of previous drafts and because two alternative candidate sites not wholly inconsistent with my original proposal have come to my attention since version 3 was uploaded. So, whereas the original paper dismissed other proposals mainly by disregarding them, this revision now extends the argument to examine the claims of as many rival sites as I can identify, showing why they are to be discounted. The basis of the positive argument for Brough lies in (a) understanding the military objectives (b) the evidence of the Annals and (c) the relevance of Beverley Minster. It is demonstrated that the place-name evidence is consistent with this site. It is suggested that the huge proportion of church dedications in the area to "All Saints" can be seen as further circumstantial evidence. Preface Following up my researches into the 12 famous battles of "king" Arthur, published in late 2017 ("Arthur: Legend, Logic & Evidence"), my attention turned to the process and timescale of the Anglo-Saxon take over of post-Roman Britain. Amongst other things this caused me to consider the Siege of Lindisfarne and the battles of Catterick, Daegsastan and Caer Greu. -
How the Danelaw Was Established in England
Vikings vs Anglo-Saxons Timeline Sheet How the Danelaw was established in England 793 806 The first Viking invasion in England. They ransack the In the third Viking attack on Iona (an island in Lindisfarne monastery, Scotland) 68 monks are killed. The Vikings massacre the monks and continue to raid monasteries and towns along burn down the priory. theth coasts of England, Scotland and Ireland. 852 The Vikings stay in Englandd for a 865 long period of time for the first time. The Danish ‘Grand Army’ lands on They camp on the Isle of Thanet in the east coast of England, led by Kent over the winter instead of King Ivan the ‘Boneless’ and King returning to Scandinavia. Halfdan. A new wave of attacks on East Anglia, Mercia and Northumberland begin. 869 The Vikings attack East Anglia. 867 King Edmund raises an army to The VikingsViking move south from York and fight them but the army is attack Nottingham.Not They take the city. defeated and King Edmund is Late that year, two Northumbrians were killed and decapitated. battling for the crown. The Vikings took advantage of this and took control of York. This city became Jorvik, the Viking capital in England. 871 The Vikings attack Wessex. King EtEthelred and his brother Alfred fight a series of battles against the 886 Vikings. Ethelred dies and passes the crown to Alfred. After a The Treaty of Wedmore is signed, givingin g humiliating defeat, King Alfred the northeast to the Vikings and leavingvi ng decides to pay the Vikings the rest of England to the Anglo-Saxons. -
An Early History of Britain
Newbold Heritage Group Information Sheet EARLY HISTORY OF BRITAIN The Formation of England as a Single Nation Up to the 11th century, England, Wales and Scotland were populated by a number of different peoples. There was no unified country. Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts, Scots, and Danes were constantly warring with each other. The Vikings had begun settling in Scotland and England in the 800’s. By 877 the Vikings were well-established. The Viking Danelaw covered the area north and east of a line from the mouth of the Thames to Liverpool. Thus Leicestershire and Derbyshire was all Danish. To the northwest was the kingdom of York, another Viking stronghold, which included much of Northumbria. Below the Danelaw were the ancient Kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons, Mercia and Wessex. Mercia stretched from the Severn to the Trent. Mercia covered the southern part of the country. The land was torn and ravaged with on-going wars. The Church continued to suffer from the Viking pagan rites and their atrocities. Many religious communities did not recover from the killings and the resulting dispersal of their communities. Therefore, many Episcopal sees fell into ruin after they were abandoned. It was the Anglo Saxon King Alfred, who began the process of regeneration, instituting a plan of reform continued by his children and grandchildren. This king, Alfred the Great (871-899), dreamed that St Cuthbert promised that his heirs would one day rule all England. His reforms had two main aims: to educate the general population in the practice of the Christian faith; and to restore the ideals of Benedictine monasticism. -
How Significant Are the Scandinavian Migrations for the Creation of Identities in the Early Middle Ages?
Volume 1: 2008-2009 ISSN: 2041-6776 School of English Studies How significant are the Scandinavian migrations for the creation of identities in the early middle ages? Jayne McErlean T he significance of Scandinavian migration to the British Isles, for the identities of both the indigenous people and the Scandinavian settlers during the early middle ages, is dichotomous and complex. Identity is not one dimensional and fixed; it is multiple and fluid. Ethnic identity might be expressed through language, religion and culture, but could arguably be defined by history, geographical origin or parentage. National identity can be undermined by regional identities. Social roles, for example mother, farmer and earl, imply other identities. It is clearly impossible to define what underpins identity. Indeed, the Vikings have several ‘labels’ in medieval texts which suggest several assigned identities. The scholar Alcuin wrote from the court of Charlemagne to Bishop Higebald, following the first recorded Viking raid in 793 on the monastery at Lindisfarne. Outraged, he describes the Vikings as ‘heathens [who] desecrated god’s sanctuaries’.1 Despite conflict between tribes in Ireland, the Irish sense of shared polity and Christianity set the non-Christian Vikings in such striking opposition that they are repeatedly referred to as ‘Gaill’ or foreigners in The Annals of Ulster. In contrast, in Orkneyinga Saga, Svein Asleifarson, a prolific Viking is described as ‘the greatest man the western world has ever seen’.2 The word ‘Viking’, is in itself not an ‘ethnic label, but is descriptive of what they did’.3 It refers to the act of travelling to raid, steal and plunder. -
Viking Burial in the Danelaw
This is a repository copy of Pagans and Christians at the frontier: Viking burial in the Danelaw. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/755/ Book Section: Richards, J.D. orcid.org/0000-0003-3938-899X (2003) Pagans and Christians at the frontier: Viking burial in the Danelaw. In: Carver, M.O.H., (ed.) The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe, AD 300-1300. York Medieval Press in association with Boydell & Brewer , York/Woodbridge , pp. 383-395. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ White Rose Consortium ePrints Repository http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ This is an author produced version of a chapter published in The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe, AD 300-1300. White Rose Repository URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/archive/00000755/ Citation for the published chapter Richards, J.D. -
ORM the SERPENT: a Tale of Viking Leicestershire Michael Wood
ORM THE SERPENT: A taLE OF VIKING LEICESTERSHIRE Michael Wood It is a real pleasure, and a great honour, to be elected President of the Society – an undeserved honour given such distinguished predecessors. Local history is the root of history, and Leicester is the home of local history. Almost at the start of British writing on local history, following Lambarde in Kent, came Burton’s Description of Leicestershire (which went through Ned Blunt’s printing shop at the same time as the First Folio).1 Burton planned no less than three village histories – Lindley, Theddingworth and Dadlington – and his notebooks are a still untapped source of material, including his transcripts of lost Leicestershire Hundred Rolls in the Bodleian Library which would be a very valuable and exciting task for a local historian with Latin, following the model of the Kent Hundred Rolls Project. Later, as local studies burgeoned the London printer John Nichols compiled perhaps the greatest local history ever written, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, which is still a gold mine for the local historian. That impetus continued throughout the nineteenth century when this society was founded in 1855. Then from the 1930s came a new golden age (a long one – for we are still in it!) when Frank Attenborough brought the Devonian Bill Hoskins here (there are photos of young David counting hedgerows around Oadby!). From then on the Transactions contain a roll call of the great historians who have shaped every generation of students since and opened local studies to a far wider public, nationally and internationally. -
Alfred Was Born in Berkshire in 849. His Father Was Aethelwulf, King of Wessex. Alfred Was the Youngest of Five Sons So It Appea
Year 4 Topic Lessons – 1st – 5th March 2021 History - Monday 1st March If you need further explanation, join your teacher for the topic explanation at 10am! Who was Alfred the Great? Today we will be focussing on Alfred the Great (849-899) who was the most famous of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Despite overwhelming odds, he successfully defended his kingdom, Wessex, against the Vikings. He also introduced wide-ranging reforms including defence measures, reform of the law and of coinage. He Alfredwas a keen was champion born in Berkshire of education in and849. translated His father important was Aethelwulf, texts from KingLatin ofinto English. KnownWessex. as a just Alfred and fair wasruler, theAlfred youngest is the only Englishof five King sons to have so it earned appeared the title unlikely‘the Great’. that he would ever become king. However, all of Alfred’s brothers died so in 871, he became King of Wessex. Alfred became king in the middle of nine huge battles with the Vikings. At the Battle of Ashdown in 871, Alfred defeated Viking forces. 1 2 3 4 History Activity – Monday 1st March Who was Alfred the Great? In which yead was Alfred the Great born? (page 1) ___________________________ In which year did he become King of Wessex? (page 1) __________________________ How many Kingdoms were there in Anglo-Saxon Britain? (page 1) ____________ What happened to the people of Wessex in 878? (page 2) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ -
The Danish Wars and the Establishment of the Borough and County of Buckingham
THE DANISH WARS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BOROUGH AND COUNTY OF BUCKINGHAM ARNOLD H. J. BAINES The Mercians, whose administration had been shattered by the Danish invasions, accepted A If red as their king in 886, and his treaty with Gu thrum of that year defined the Danelaw boundary. Where his writ ran, Alfred regulated the burdens of taxation and military service by reference to 5- and 10-hide units, in a scheme that enabled him to maintain a mobile field force with rotating levies. At the same time a corresponding Danish system was being imposed on the areas of Mercia relinquished to the Danes. The Hundred of Stodfold between the Great Ouse and Whittlewood Forest was occupied in part by detachments of the Danish army of Northampton, and this accounts for the presence of Danish reckoning alongside English in that hundred. The Stodfold Danes submitted to Edward the Elder in 914, the rest of the army of Northampton in 917. In Stodfold, 6-carucate and 5-hide units appear from the Domesday returns to have been of roughly equal economic value; each hide was therefore some 20% more valuable than a carucate, and when carucates were treated as hides for taxation their burden was proportionately greater. The area contributing to the defence of Edward's burh of Buckingham was defined by the number of men needed to man the perimeter of that stronghold; though originally a military command rather than a civil jurisdiction, this area gave rise to the county, to which the Chiltern Hundreds were soon added.