DOCSLIB.ORG

Neil Mcguigan Phd Thesis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Neil Mcguigan Phd Thesis NEITHER SCOTLAND NOR ENGLAND: MIDDLE BRITAIN, C.850-1150 Neil McGuigan A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2015 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/7829 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence Neither Scotland nor England: Middle Britain, c.850–1150 Neil McGuigan This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 26-01-2015 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Neil McGuigan, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 105,700 words in length, has been written by me, and that it is the record of work carried out by me, or principally by myself in collaboration with others as acknowledged, and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2008 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mediaeval History in September 2008; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2008 and 2015. Date ……………….. signature of candidate …………………………… 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mediaeval History in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date ……………….. signature of supervisor …………………………… 3. Permission for publication: (to be signed by both candidate and supervisor) In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the publication of this thesis: PRINTED COPY a) No embargo on print copy ELECTRONIC COPY a) No embargo on electronic copy Date ……………….. signature of candidate …………………………… signature of supervisor …………………………… Acknowledgements Many thanks are owed to the thesis's supervisor, Alex Woolf, who was forced to read many less developed versions of this work, and was always kind and patient. He was also incredibly insightful and enthusiastic. Much gratitude is felt towards the School of History and the people of the institutes of Mediaeval Studies and Scottish Historical Research at St Andrews who have provided, as well as worthy office space, so much stimulation over the years; and to the University of St Andrews for providing many great teaching opportunities; in that regard, for the help given by Angus Stewart, John Hudson, Chris Jones, Michael Brown, Simon MacLean, Christine McGladdery, and Tim Greenwood. No fewer thanks are owed to the secretaries Audrey and Dorothy, who have provided a great deal of support. Thanks also to Dauvit Broun, Clare Downham, Alice Taylor, and David Woodman for providing advance (or otherwise inaccessible) resources; and to Robert Bartlett, Linsey Hunter, David Petts, Simon Taylor, and Victoria Whitworth, for helpful pointers or discussions; and for the same reasons, thanks to Edward Roberts, Gary Paul Stratton, and Steve Watt, fellow PhD students in the department. Appreciation is also owed to many previous mentors who in master's and undergraduate years paved the way for this project, particularly to Steve Boardman and James Fraser, and to Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Andrew Brown, Daniel Waugh, but to many others as well; also to be thanked are Erik Kravets, Mohamed Elmaazi, and Daniel Murray, for their friendship during this period. Finally, I would like to thank and express love to my family; my sons for enduring so much absence from their father on account of this work; and above all, for their love and support, my mother Alison and my wife Keri, without whose time and patience this thesis could not have been completed. ii THESIS ABSTRACT Neither Scotland nor England: Middle Britain, c.850–1150 In and around the 870s, Britain was transformed dramatically by the campaigns and settlements of the Great Army and its allies. Some pre-existing political communities suffered less than others, and in hindsight the process helped Scotland and England achieve their later positions. By the twelfth century, the rulers of these countries had partitioned the former kingdom of Northumbria. This thesis is about what happened in the intervening period, the fate of Northumbria’s political structures, and how the settlement that defined Britain for the remainder of the Middle Ages came about. Modern reconstructions of the era have tended to be limited in scope and based on unreliable post-1100 sources. The aim is to use contemporary material to overcome such limitations, and reach positive conclusions that will make more sense of the evidence and make the region easier to understand for a wider audience, particularly in regard to its shadowy polities and ecclesiastical structures. After an overview of the most important evidence, two chapters will review Northumbria’s alleged dissolution, testing existing historiographic beliefs (based largely on Anglo-Norman-era evidence) about the fate of the monarchy, political community, and episcopate. The impact and nature of ‘Southenglish’ hegemony on the region’s political communities will be the focus of the fourth chapter, while the fifth will look at evidence for the expansion of Scottish political power. The sixth chapter will try to draw positive conclusions about the episcopate, leaving the final chapter to look in more detail at the institutions that produced the final settlement. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. iv Abbreviations .........................................................................................................................................x Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Key Sources ....................................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 ‘Northern’ Sources ...................................................................................................................... 8 1.1.1 Historia de Sancto Cuthberto ............................................................................................... 8 1.1.2 Cronica Monasterii Dunelmensis ........................................................................................ 13 1.1.3 Annales Lindisfarnenses et Dunelmenses and Libellus de Exordio ...................................... 13 1.1.4 Minor Tracts ....................................................................................................................... 14 1.2 English National Chronicles ....................................................................................................... 16 1.2.1 Anglo-Saxon Annals ............................................................................................................ 16 1.2.2 Anglo-Latin Annals ............................................................................................................. 17 1.2.3 Chronicle Narrative ............................................................................................................ 21 1.2.4 Sagas and Saint Lives .......................................................................................................... 21 1.3 Charters .................................................................................................................................... 22 1.4 Legal Texts ................................................................................................................................ 23 1.5 Notitiae Dignitatum .................................................................................................................. 23 1.6 Irish Annals................................................................................................................................ 24 1.7 Scottish Chronicles and King-lists .............................................................................................. 25 2. Reconfiguration .............................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • First Evidence of Farming Appears; Stone Axes, Antler Combs, Pottery in Common Use
    BC c.5000 - Neolithic (new stone age) Period begins; first evidence of farming appears; stone axes, antler combs, pottery in common use. c.4000 - Construction of the "Sweet Track" (named for its discoverer, Ray Sweet) begun; many similar raised, wooden walkways were constructed at this time providing a way to traverse the low, boggy, swampy areas in the Somerset Levels, near Glastonbury; earliest-known camps or communities appear (ie. Hembury, Devon). c.3500-3000 - First appearance of long barrows and chambered tombs; at Hambledon Hill (Dorset), the primitive burial rite known as "corpse exposure" was practiced, wherein bodies were left in the open air to decompose or be consumed by animals and birds. c.3000-2500 - Castlerigg Stone Circle (Cumbria), one of Britain's earliest and most beautiful, begun; Pentre Ifan (Dyfed), a classic example of a chambered tomb, constructed; Bryn Celli Ddu (Anglesey), known as the "mound in the dark grove," begun, one of the finest examples of a "passage grave." c.2500 - Bronze Age begins; multi-chambered tombs in use (ie. West Kennet Long Barrow) first appearance of henge "monuments;" construction begun on Silbury Hill, Europe's largest prehistoric, man-made hill (132 ft); "Beaker Folk," identified by the pottery beakers (along with other objects) found in their single burial sites. c.2500-1500 - Most stone circles in British Isles erected during this period; pupose of the circles is uncertain, although most experts speculate that they had either astronomical or ritual uses. c.2300 - Construction begun on Britain's largest stone circle at Avebury. c.2000 - Metal objects are widely manufactured in England about this time, first from copper, then with arsenic and tin added; woven cloth appears in Britain, evidenced by findings of pins and cloth fasteners in graves; construction begun on Stonehenge's inner ring of bluestones.
    [Show full text]
  • The Influence of Old Norse on the English Language
    Antonius Gerardus Maria Poppelaars HUSBANDS, OUTLAWS AND KIDS: THE INFLUENCE OF OLD NORSE ON THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE HUSBANDS, OUTLAWS E KIDS: A INFLUÊNCIA DO NÓRDICO ANTIGO NA LÍNGUA INGLESA Antonius Gerardus Maria Poppelaars1 Abstract: What have common English words such as husbands, outlaws and kids and the sentence they are weak to do with Old Norse? Yet, all these examples are from Old Norse, the Norsemen’s language. However, the Norse influence on English is underestimated as the Norsemen are viewed as barbaric, violent pirates. Also, the Norman occupation of England and the Great Vowel Shift have obscured the Old Norse influence. These topics, plus the Viking Age, the Scandinavian presence in England, as well as the Old Norse linguistic influence on English and the supposed French influence of the Norman invasion will be described. The research for this etymological article was executed through a descriptive- qualitative approach. Concluded is that the Norsemen have intensively influenced English due to their military supremacy and their abilities to adaptation. Even the French-Norman French language has left marks on English. Nowadays, English is a lingua franca, leading to borrowings from English to many languages, which is often considered as invasive. But, English itself has borrowed from other languages, maintaining its proper character. Hence, it is hoped that this article may contribute to a greater acknowledgement of the Norse influence on English and undermine the scepticism towards the English language as every language has its importance. Keywords: Old Norse Loanwords, English Language, Viking Age, Etymology. Resumo: O que têm palavras inglesas comuns como husbands, outlaws e kids e a frase they are weak a ver com os Nórdicos? Todos esses exemplos são do nórdico antigo, a língua dos escandinavos.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three Minor Revisions
    Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1-1-2001 The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions John Donald Hosler Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Recommended Citation Hosler, John Donald, "The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions" (2001). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 21277. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/21277 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions by John Donald Hosler A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major: History Major Professor: Kenneth G. Madison Iowa State University Ames~Iowa 2001 11 Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Master's thesis of John Donald Hosler has met the thesis requirements of Iowa State University Signatures have been redacted for privacy 111 The liberal arts had not disappeared, but the honours which ought to attend them were withheld Gerald ofWales, Topograhpia Cambria! (c.1187) IV TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION 1 Overview: the Reign of Henry II of England 1 Henry's Conflict with Thomas Becket CHAPTER TWO.
    [Show full text]
  • Whyte, Alasdair C. (2017) Settlement-Names and Society: Analysis of the Medieval Districts of Forsa and Moloros in the Parish of Torosay, Mull
    Whyte, Alasdair C. (2017) Settlement-names and society: analysis of the medieval districts of Forsa and Moloros in the parish of Torosay, Mull. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8224/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten:Theses http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Settlement-Names and Society: analysis of the medieval districts of Forsa and Moloros in the parish of Torosay, Mull. Alasdair C. Whyte MA MRes Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Celtic and Gaelic | Ceiltis is Gàidhlig School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan College of Arts | Colaiste nan Ealain University of Glasgow | Oilthigh Ghlaschu May 2017 © Alasdair C. Whyte 2017 2 ABSTRACT This is a study of settlement and society in the parish of Torosay on the Inner Hebridean island of Mull, through the earliest known settlement-names of two of its medieval districts: Forsa and Moloros.1 The earliest settlement-names, 35 in total, were coined in two languages: Gaelic and Old Norse (hereafter abbreviated to ON) (see Abbreviations, below).
    [Show full text]
  • 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
    [Show full text]
  • Baine's [!] History of the Late
    y'^^^^ > .3 ^.. v-^^ .o< ^ r^: c"^ 00 ,*^ v: 0" ^ * ^t. v^^ :^, A^ iv '=t ^^ 00^ oH vO V,-^ •^.-^77;^^G^ Oo. A -f. ?: -%.%^ °-'>^i^'.' ^>- 'If, . -vV 1 "'r-t/t/'*^ "i" v^ .''^ «^r "^ - /^ ^ *<, s^ ^0 ^ ^ s}> -r;^. ^^. .- .>r-^. ^ '^ '^. ,^^«iy' c « O. ..s^J^ i^ » ,,$^ 'V. aN^' -. ^ ^ s , o * O , ^ y 0" .. °^ :f' .1 / BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN; WITH A CTJllTlCAli ATTEXmX, &c BY EBENEZER HARLOW CUMMINS, A. M. BALTIMOBE: riinted by Benja. Edes, corner of Second and Ga/.streets 1820. ADVERTISEMENT. Since the late hostilities with Great Britain, several books have been published in the United States purporting to be histories of tiie war. No one of tliem, it is believed, can be received as generally authentic: the whole adding little to the literary char- acter of the country. Of those most g-en'^rally circulated, we can speak the least favourably, as specimens of history, which means something more than compilations from newspapers, or a tirade of epithets stigmatising our adversaries. Two or three stipendi- aries occupied the fore ground in the race of the booksellers for the market of the United States, producing interesting though coarse compilations; which, while the feelings created by the war were still in Hvely existence, were read with sensations of pleas- ure. But no one now will ascribe to their works, the name, much less the character of history. Weems' life of Marion, in which the author has collated and embellished many interesting events, with the view to a popular book, has greatly superiour pretensions to either. With enough of fact to challenge, at this late day, the credence of most readers, it excels in all kinds of jest and fancy; and administers abundantly of the finest entertain- ment to the lovers of fun.
    [Show full text]
  • Beowulf and the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial
    Beowulf and The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial The value of Beowulf as a window on Iron Age society in the North Atlantic was dramatically confirmed by the discovery of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial in 1939. Ne hÿrde ic cymlīcor cēol gegyrwan This is identified as the tomb of Raedwold, the Christian King of Anglia who died in hilde-wæpnum ond heaðo-wædum, 475 a.d. – about the time when it is thought that Beowulf was composed. The billum ond byrnum; [...] discovery of so much martial equipment and so many personal adornments I never yet heard of a comelier ship proved that Anglo-Saxon society was much more complex and advanced than better supplied with battle-weapons, previously imagined. Clearly its leaders had considerable wealth at their disposal – body-armour, swords and spears … both economic and cultural. And don’t you just love his natty little moustache? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx(Beowulf, ll.38-40.) Beowulf at the movies - 2007 Part of the treasure discovered in a ship-burial of c.500 at Sutton Hoo in East Anglia – excavated in 1939. th The Sutton Hoo ship and a modern reconstruction Ornate 5 -century head-casque of King Raedwold of Anglia Caedmon’s Creation Hymn (c.658-680 a.d.) Caedmon’s poem was transcribed in Latin by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiatical History of the English People, the chief prose work of the age of King Alfred and completed in 731, Bede relates that Caedmon was an illiterate shepherd who composed his hymns after he received a command to do so from a mysterious ‘man’ (or angel) who appeared to him in his sleep.
    [Show full text]
  • Download 1 File
    GHT tie 17, United States Code) r reproductions of copyrighted Ttain conditions. In addition, the works by means of various ents, and proclamations. iw, libraries and archives are reproduction. One of these 3r reproduction is not to be "used :holarship, or research." If a user opy or reproduction for purposes able for copyright infringement. to accept a copying order if, in its involve violation of copyright law. CTbc Minivers U^ of Cbicatjo Hibrcmes LIGHTFOOT OF DURHAM LONDON Cambridge University Press FETTER LANE NEW YORK TORONTO BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS Macmillan TOKYO Maruzen Company Ltd All rights reserved Phot. Russell BISHOP LIGHTFOOT IN 1879 LIGHTFOOT OF DURHAM Memories and Appreciations Collected and Edited by GEORGE R. D.D. EDEN,M Fellow Pembroke Honorary of College, Cambridge formerly Bishop of Wakefield and F. C. MACDONALD, M.A., O.B.E. Honorary Canon of Durham Cathedral Rector of Ptirleigb CAMBRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1933 First edition, September 1932 Reprinted December 1932 February PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN 1037999 IN PIAM MEMORIAM PATRIS IN DEO HONORATISSIMI AMANTISSIMI DESIDERATISSIMI SCHEDULAS HAS QUALESCUNQUE ANNOS POST QUADRAGINTA FILII QUOS VOCITABAT DOMUS SUAE IMPAR TRIBUTUM DD BISHOP LIGHTFOOT S BOOKPLATE This shews the Bishop's own coat of arms impaled^ with those of the See, and the Mitre set in a Coronet, indicating the Palatinate dignity of Durham. Though the Bookplate is not the Episcopal seal its shape recalls the following extract from Fuller's Church 5 : ense History (iv. 103) 'Dunelmia sola, judicat et stola. "The Bishop whereof was a Palatine, or Secular Prince, and his seal in form resembleth Royalty in the roundness thereof and is not oval, the badge of plain Episcopacy." CONTENTS .
    [Show full text]
  • ST EDMUND Dedicated to St Edmund and All the Bright Spirits of Old England Who Bring Comfort and Growing Hope That All the Wrong Shall Yet Be Made Right
    THE LIGHT FROM THE EAST: ENGLAND’S LOST PATRON SAINT: ST EDMUND Dedicated to St Edmund and all the Bright Spirits of Old England Who Bring Comfort and Growing Hope That all the Wrong Shall Yet Be Made Right. by Fr Andrew Phillips CONTENTS: Foreword Prologue: Seven Kingdoms and East Anglia Chapter One: Childhood of a King Chapter Two: Edmund’s Kingdom Chapter Three: Edmund’s Martyrdom Chapter Four: Sainthood of a King Epilogue: One Kingdom and Anglia Appendix Bibliography To Saint Edmund This booklet was originally published in parts in the first volume of Orthodox England (1997–1998). This online edition has been revised by Fr Andrew Phillips and reformatted by Daysign, 2020. The Light from the East: England’s Lost Patron Saint: St Edmund Foreword FOREWORD Tis a sad fact, illustrative of our long disdain and neglect of St Edmund 1, formerly much revered as the Patron Saint of England, that to this day there exists no Life of Ithe Saint which is readable, reliable and accessible to the modern reader. True, there is the Life written in Ramsey by St Abbo of Fleury over a thousand years ago in c. 985. Written in Latin but translated shortly afterwards into Old English by that most orthodox monk Ælfric, it is based on an eyewitness account. We think it reliable, but it is not accessible and it covers only a short period of the Saint’s life. True, a great many mediæval chroniclers wrote of St Edmund, among them – Hermann of Bury StEdmunds, Symeon of Durham, Geoffrey Gaimar, Geoffrey of Wells, William of Malmesbury, Osbert of Clare, Florence of Worcester, Jocelin of Brakelond, William of Ramsey, Henry of Huntingdon, Ingulf of Crowland, Matthew Paris, Roger of Wendover, Denis Piramus, Richard of Cirencester and John Lydgate.
    [Show full text]
  • The Emergence of the Cumbrian Kingdom
    The emergence and transformation of medieval Cumbria The Cumbrian kingdom is one of the more shadowy polities of early medieval northern Britain.1 Our understanding of the kingdom’s history is hampered by the patchiness of the source material, and the few texts that shed light on the region have proved difficult to interpret. A particular point of debate is the interpretation of the terms ‘Strathclyde’ and ‘Cumbria’, a matter that has periodically drawn comment since the 1960s. Some scholars propose that the terms were applied interchangeably to the same polity, which stretched from Clydesdale to the Lake District. Others argue that the terms applied to different territories: Strathclyde was focused on the Clyde Valley whereas Cumbria/Cumberland was located to the south of the Solway. The debate has significant implications for our understanding of the extent of the kingdom(s) of Strathclyde/Cumbria, which in turn affects our understanding of politics across tenth- and eleventh-century northern Britain. It is therefore worth revisiting the matter in this article, and I shall put forward an interpretation that escapes from the dichotomy that has influenced earlier scholarship. I shall argue that the polities known as ‘Strathclyde’ and ‘Cumbria’ were connected but not entirely synonymous: one evolved into the other. In my view, this terminological development was prompted by the expansion of the kingdom of Strathclyde beyond Clydesdale. This reassessment is timely because scholars have recently been considering the evolution of Cumbrian identity across a much longer time-period. In 1974 the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland were joined to Lancashire-North-of the-Sands and part of the West Riding of Yorkshire to create the larger county of Cumbria.
    [Show full text]
  • Kingdom of Strathclyde from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    Kingdom of Strathclyde From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Strathclyde (lit. "Strath of the Clyde"), originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Kingdom of Strathclyde Celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Teyrnas Ystrad Clut Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the ← 5th century–11th → post-Roman period. It is also known as Alt Clut, the Brythonic century name for Dumbarton Rock, the medieval capital of the region. It may have had its origins with the Damnonii people of Ptolemy's Geographia. The language of Strathclyde, and that of the Britons in surrounding areas under non-native rulership, is known as Cumbric, a dialect or language closely related to Old Welsh. Place-name and archaeological evidence points to some settlement by Norse or Norse–Gaels in the Viking Age, although to a lesser degree than in neighbouring Galloway. A small number of Anglian place-names show some limited settlement by incomers from Northumbria prior to the Norse settlement. Due to the series of language changes in the area, it is not possible to say whether any Goidelic settlement took place before Gaelic was introduced in the High Middle Ages. After the sack of Dumbarton Rock by a Viking army from Dublin in 870, the name Strathclyde comes into use, perhaps reflecting a move of the centre of the kingdom to Govan. In the same period, it was also referred to as Cumbria, and its inhabitants as Cumbrians. During the High Middle Ages, the area was conquered by the Kingdom of Alba, becoming part of The core of Strathclyde is the strath of the River Clyde.
    [Show full text]
  • Redeeming Beowulf and Byrhtnoth
    Redeeming Beowulf: The Heroic Idiom as Marker of Quality in Old English Poetry Abstract: Although it has been fashionable lately to read Old English poetry as being critical of the values of heroic culture, the heroic idiom is the main, and perhaps the only, marker of quality in Old English poetry. Considering in turn the ‘sacred heroic’ in Genesis A and Andreas, the ‘mock heroic’ in Judith and Riddle 51, and the fiercely debated status of Byrhtnoth and Beowulf in The Battle of Maldon and Beowulf, this discussion suggests that modern scholarship has confused the measure with the measured. Although an uncritical heroic idiom may not be to modern critical tastes, it is suggested here that the variety of ways in which the heroic idiom is used to evaluate and mark value demonstrates the flexibility and depth of insight achieved by Old English poets through their apparently limited subject matter. A hero can only be defined by a narrative in which he or she meets or exceeds measures set by society—in which he or she demonstrates his or her quality. In that sense, all heroic narratives are narratives about quality. In Old English poetry, the heroic idiom stands as the marker of quality for a wide range of things: people, artefacts, actions, and events that are good, respected, desirable, and valued are marked by being presented with the characteristic language and ethic of an idealised, archaic warrior-culture.1 This is not, of course, a new point; it is traditional in Old English scholarship to associate quality with the elite, military world of generous war-lords, loyal thegns, gorgeous equipment, great acts of courage, and 1 The characteristic subject matter and style of Old English poetry is referred to in varying ways by critics.
    [Show full text]