DOCSLIB.ORG

Toby F. Martin

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Toby F. Martin IDENTITY AND THE CRUCIFORM BROOCH IN EARLY ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND: AN INVESTIGATION OF STYLE, MORTUARY CONTEXT, AND USE Toby F. Martin The results, discussions and conclusions presented herein are identical to those in the printed version. This electronic version of the thesis has been edited solely to ensure conformance with copyright legislation and all excisions are noted in the text. The final, awarded and examined version is available for consultation via the University Library. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Sheffield, Department of Archaeology, December 2011 VOLUME I Abstract This thesis uses the cruciform brooch, a well-represented and highly decorative dress- fastener, as an entry point for looking at the construction of identities relating to ethnicity, gender, age, and power in the early Anglo-Saxon period. The examination of this artefact is holistic and multi-dimensional, and the major topics of consideration are: (a) typology and stylistic variability, (b) chronology, (c) distribution, (d) mortuary context, (e) use, repair and costume, and finally (f) iconography and symbolism. These threads come together to provide an understanding of why and how the cruciform brooch evolved as it did, how it was used in life and death (and by whom), and the complex social identity the artefact was used to construct and display. i Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support and aid, both intellectual and practical, of many others. The members of museum staff that made archaeological material available, as well as donated generous amounts of time to me, are (in no particular order): Deborah Bircham (Grantham Museum); Rose Nicholson (North Lincolnshire Museums Service); Geoff Hill (Louth Museum); Eleanor Standley (Ashmolean Museum); Sonja Marzinzik and Virginia Smithson (British Museum); Laura Hadland (Jewry Wall Museum); Paula Gentil (Hull and East Riding Museum); Richard Pollard (Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Collection); Rachel Atherton (Derby Museum and Art Gallery); Bryan Sitch and Phyllis Stoddart (Manchester Museum); Antony Lee (Lincoln Collection); Ann Inscker (Brewhouse Yard Museum); Lloyd Laing and Claire Pickersgill (University of Nottingham Museum of Archaeology); John Beeley (Preston Hall Museum and Park); Lorraine Cornwell (Rutland County Museum); Dorothy Thompson (Girton College Lawrence Room); Anne Taylor (Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology); Paul Thompson (The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery); Deborah Fox (Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery); Tonia Byrd (Almonry Museum); Sara Wear (Warwickshire County Museum); Paul Robinson (Northampton Museum); Clare Bowyer (Kettering Manor House Museum); Chris Mycock (West Stow Museum); Richenda Giffon (Suffolk Archaeology Service); Steph Gillet (West Berkshire Museum); Tim Vickers (Stockwood Discovery Centre); Quinton Carrol (Cambridge Archaeological Store); Esther Cameron (Oxford Museums Services); and finally Ruth Howard (Vale and Downland Museum). In addition to this list, many more museums were contacted, and some were kind enough to send me information and even images without my visiting them. For this, gratitude is owed to Brett Thorn (Buckingham Museum), Sara Taylor (Hertford Museum), Georgina Muskett (Liverpool Museum), Giles Guthrie (Maidstone Museum), Bob Burn-Murdoch (Norris Museum), Margaret Poulter (Orford Museum), Sarah Wilson (Peterborough Museum), and David Burnett (Sudbury Museum). Many more museums and all the Heritage Environment Record offices in England have contributed information to this project, and their staff took considerable amounts of time to send me information pertaining to my research. These individuals provide the foundations of this study, and their efficiency and generosity should not go without praise. ii Many others have provided intellectual insight, and conversations with Doctor Catherine Mortimer at the very start of this project were particularly useful in formulating an approach and an idea of what needed to be done. I was also lucky enough to meet with Professor John Hines and Doctor Kevin Leahy during my research trips to museums, both of whom were generous in their advice to me. Professor Glynis Jones provided some much-needed aid with the statistical analyses that form such an important part of this project, while Diane Palmer and Peter Townend contributed invaluable help to my battles with Geographical Information Systems. The research community at Sheffield University in general has provided an enormously valuable and supportive atmosphere, in particular my archaeological doctoral student colleagues who have patiently listened to my (at times I imagine tedious, sometimes even tortuous) deliberations over Anglo-Saxon brooches. In particular I owe thanks to Kirsty Squires who has perhaps listened to more of this than anyone else, and has provided unyielding support as well as knowledge of all things osteological. I must also thank my parents Lynne and Philip Martin for their support (pastoral and financial, as well as some help with proof-reading) over the course of this project, especially over its closing months when the funding pool ran dry. The funding itself was generously supplied by the award of a scholarship from the University of Sheffield, for which I am immeasurably grateful and without which this research simply would not have been done. In addition Jack Hanson, David Allcock, Kengo Kasai, Minami Ito, and Mei Murakami were all kind enough to provide hospitality during my travels on museums-based research trips, and to them I also owe considerable gratitude. Foremost thanks must of course go to my joint supervisors Professor Dawn Hadley and Professor John Moreland. Both welcomed me to Sheffield and have provided invaluable intellectual insight into the project as well as inestimable guidance and support over the last three years. In addition, this has all been at a level of efficiency for which one can only dare to hope. The roots of my interest in Anglo-Saxon England and gender are owed to the supervisors of my archaeological and anthropological undergraduate- and masters- level research: Professor Helena Hamerow and Doctor Renée Hirschon. Both instilled in me an enduring enthusiasm for the subjects this thesis addresses, as well as the pragmatic and positive approach for which I have striven. iii Contents VOLUME I List of Figures viii List of Tables xiii 1: Introduction 1 Background 2 Outline of the Thesis 4 Theoretical Basis 6 Data and Methodological Basis 8 Terminology 10 Summary 12 2: Typology and the Structure of Cruciform Brooch Design 14 Past Typological Work on the Cruciform Brooch 15 Typology and Early Anglo-Saxon Material Culture 19 Aims, Theory and Methodology 21 A Progressive Methodology 23 The Statistical Techniques 26 The Primary Division between Groups 28 Group 1 Cruciform Brooches 30 A Statistical Exploration of Group 1 33 Group 2 Cruciform Brooches 40 A Statistical Exploration of Group 2 47 Group 3 Cruciform Brooches 54 A Statistical Exploration of Group 3 72 Group 4 Cruciform Brooches 77 A Statistical Exploration of Group 4 92 A Note on Kentish Cruciform Brooches 96 Discussion 97 3: Relative and Absolute Chronology 101 Past Work on Cruciform Brooch Chronology 102 iv The Broader Context of Migration Period Chronology 106 A New Analysis of the Relative Chronology of Cruciform Brooches 109 Relative Chronology I: An Internal Stylistic Seriation 109 Relative Chronology II: Types Associated by Grave Context 116 Relative Chronology III: Associated Dress Accessories 120 Adapting a Continuum of Development into Delineated Phases 128 Kentish Cruciform Brooches and Relative Chronology 135 Absolute Chronology 136 Absolute Chronology I: Independently Datable Grave Associations 136 Absolute Chronology II: Association with Pan-European Seriations 145 Summary and Conclusion 149 4: Chronological Distribution and the Development of Anglian Identity 152 Cruciform Brooches and Anglian Identity 153 The Parameters of Cruciform Brooch Distribution 156 Comparing Metal-Detected and Archaeological Data 160 Chronological Development 162 Phase A Cruciform Brooches and Migration 165 Phase B Cruciform Brooches and the Formation of Anglian Identity 173 Phase C Cruciform Brooches and the Rise of Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms 184 Conclusion 190 VOLUME II 5: Gender, the Lifecycle, and the Cruciform Brooch 192 Approaches to Mortuary Archaeology 193 Approaches to Anglo-Saxon Burial Evidence 194 Contemporary Approaches to Anglo-Saxon Burial 196 Sex and Age, Gender and Life-Phase 200 Gender, Archaeology and Anthropology 202 Gender and Anglo-Saxon Archaeology 204 The Lifecycle and Anglo-Saxon Archaeology 207 Inhumation and Cremation: Different Rituals, Different Meanings 209 Methodology and Osteological Data 209 The Sample 213 Sex, Gender and the Cruciform Brooch 215 v Age, the Lifecycle and the Cruciform Brooch 221 Discussion 232 Conclusion 248 6: The Cruciform Brooch, Dress and the Body 250 Early Anglo-Saxon Textiles and Dress 251 Evidence and Methodology for Costume Reconstruction 256 The Types of Dress Associated with the Cruciform Brooch 260 The Single Cruciform Brooch as a Cloak Fastener 261 Pairs of Cruciform Brooches Dual-Fastening an Outer Cloak 268 Pairs of Cruciform Brooches as Peplos Fasteners 270 Non-Matching Pairs of Brooches 272 The Cruciform Brooch Worn Alone 279 Summary and Chronological Development 280 (Ad)Dressing the Anglo-Saxon Body 284 7: The Biographies of Cruciform Brooches 292 The Social Implications of Repair,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Castingmetal
    CASTING METAL Sophistication from the surprisingly simple with a room casting. Hmmmm. I I asked Beth where in the world she BROOM pored through every new and learned how to cast metal using the Bvintage metals technique book Brad Smith offers a Broom business end of a broom. “It’s an old BY HELEN I. DRIGGS on my shelf and I couldn’t find a men- Casting Primer, page 32, hobbyist trick. I learned about it from a tion of the process anywhere. This and a project for using very talented guy named Stu Chalfant the elements you cast. transformed my curiosity into an who gave a demo for my rock group TRYBROOM-CAST IT YOURSELFE urgent and obsessive quest. I am an G — the Culver City [California] Rock & A TURQUOISE PENDANT P information junkie — especially Mineral Club. This was six or seven when it comes to studio jewelry — years ago, and I instantly fell in love and I love finding out new, old fash- with the organic, yet orderly shapes.” ioned ways of doing things. But, I am also efficient. So I A few years passed before Beth tried the technique her- knew the best way to proceed was to seek out Beth self. “The first of our club members to experiment with it Rosengard, who has transformed this delightfully low-tech was Brad 34Smith, who now includes the technique in the approach to molten metal into a sophisticated level of artis- classes he teaches at the Venice Adult School.” After admir- tic expression. I had made a mental note to investigate ing some early silver castings Brad had made, she begged broom casting when I saw her winning earrings in the 2006 him for a sample and later incorporated his work into her Jewelry Arts Awards.
    [Show full text]
  • Repoussé Work for Amateurs
    rf Bi oN? ^ ^ iTION av op OCT i 3 f943 2 MAY 8 1933 DEC 3 1938 MAY 6 id i 28 dec j o m? Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Boston Public Library http://www.archive.org/details/repoussworkforamOOhasl GROUP OF LEAVES. Repousse Work for Amateurs. : REPOUSSE WORK FOR AMATEURS: BEING THE ART OF ORNAMENTING THIN METAL WITH RAISED FIGURES. tfjLd*- 6 By L. L. HASLOPE. ILLUSTRATED. LONDON L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C, 1887. PRINTED BY A. BRADLEY, 170, STRAND, LONDON. 3W PREFACE. " JjJjtfN these days, when of making books there is no end," ^*^ and every description of work, whether professional or amateur, has a literature of its own, it is strange that scarcely anything should have been written on the fascinating arts of Chasing and Repousse Work. It is true that a few articles have appeared in various periodicals on the subject, but with scarcely an exception they treated only of Working on Wood, and the directions given were generally crude and imperfect. This is the more surprising when we consider how fashionable Repousse Work has become of late years, both here and in America; indeed, in the latter country, "Do you pound brass ? " is said to be a very common question. I have written the following pages in the hope that they might, in some measure, supply a want, and prove of service to my brother amateurs. It has been hinted to me that some of my chapters are rather "advanced;" in other words, that I have gone farther than amateurs are likely to follow me.
    [Show full text]
  • Dynamics of Religious Ritual: Migration and Adaptation in Early Medieval Britain
    Dynamics of Religious Ritual: Migration and Adaptation in Early Medieval Britain A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Brooke Elizabeth Creager IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Peter S. Wells August 2019 Brooke Elizabeth Creager 2019 © For my Mom, I could never have done this without you. And for my Grandfather, thank you for showing me the world and never letting me doubt I can do anything. Thank you. i Abstract: How do migrations impact religious practice? In early Anglo-Saxon England, the practice of post-Roman Christianity adapted after the Anglo-Saxon migration. The contemporary texts all agree that Christianity continued to be practiced into the fifth and sixth centuries but the archaeological record reflects a predominantly Anglo-Saxon culture. My research compiles the evidence for post-Roman Christian practice on the east coast of England from cemeteries and Roman churches to determine the extent of religious change after the migration. Using the case study of post-Roman religion, the themes religion, migration, and the role of the individual are used to determine how a minority religion is practiced during periods of change within a new culturally dominant society. ii Table of Contents Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………...ii List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………iv Preface …………………………………………………………………………………….1 I. Religion 1. Archaeological Theory of Religion ...………………………………………………...3 II. Migration 2. Migration Theory and the Anglo-Saxon Migration ...……………………………….42 3. Continental Ritual Practice before the Migration, 100 BC – AD 400 ………………91 III. Southeastern England, before, during and after the Migration 4. Contemporary Accounts of Religion in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries……………..116 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Rene Lalique Shaun Leane
    In your written exam you will have to compare and contrast the work of two designers. Remember the following sentence it will help you remember the similarities and differences in the designer’s work that you should discuss. “St Paul’s Pupils’ Can Make Tasty Sausage Sandwiches On Toast!!!” Rene Lalique THE Shaun Leane b.1860 – 1945 DESIGNERS Began working in 1980’s to France present day – London, UK Lalique was an important figure in ‘This is my signature; something the “Art nouveau” movement. that’s refined, delicate, but This movement was inspired by powerful.’ natural, organic forms, like Organic forms are one of Leane’s flowers and plants; favourite inspirations. He Lalique’s work consisted of soft, describes nature as beautiful and flowing curved lines. fragile yet there are hidden He also liked to use female figures elements of strength and and faces in his work; danger. He like to create balance Feminine, detailed, realistic. in his pieces Many of Lalique’s design were Soft flowing lines paired with symmetrical. sharp points S for SHAPE Dragonfly woman corsage ornament, 1898. Gold, enamel, moonstones, and diamonds Tahitian pearl and pheasant claw earrings by for McQueen, 2001 Detailed, feminine, Art Nouveau P Statement jewellery, wearable art, Statement jewellery. for Detailed. Avant Garde (meaning PRODUCT experimental & innovative) Very detailed, fairly large, heavy Larger fashion pieces which were pieces so not very easy to wear. P commissioned by McQueen were for made from lightweight materials PRACTICALITY which made them easy to wear down the runway. Not for everyday wear, were designed to complement and add extra drama to fashion pieces.
    [Show full text]
  • Author's Accepted Manuscript AQY-RE-18-124 Accepted 6/12/18
    Author’s Accepted Manuscript AQY-RE-18-124 Accepted 6/12/18 to appear in Antiquity and subject to further type/proofing edits. Please cite final version. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. © Cambridge University Press Memories of Migration? So-called “Anglo-Saxon” Burial Costume of the Fifth Century AD James M. Harland. DFG-Kolleg-Forschergruppe, “Migration and Mobility in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages,” Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Keplerstraße 2, 72074 Tübingen, Germany. [email protected]. Abstract It is often alleged that wearers of the burial kit which began to appear in lowland Britain in the fifth century AD began to construct new forms of ethnic community by doing so. This article considers the empirical basis for this assertion, and assesses it in light of approaches to ethnic constructivism proposed by Rogers Brubaker (2004) and Andreas Wimmer (2013). The article finds the basis for such assertions lacking, and appeals for the development of new interpretative approaches to the study of early medieval mortuary archaeology in Britain. Introduction Ethnic identity is a situational construct which fashions communities through real and fictive stories and memories. Studies of early Anglo-Saxon burial archaeology have long recognized this, and scepticism of the putatively “Germanic” culture of graves in England can be found as early as Hills (1979). Early doubts, however, largely depended upon the absence of empirical evidence rather than querying of the categories proposed, and most works pre-2000 simply took a constructivist approach to culture historical interpretation (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Law and Military Operations in Kosovo: 1999-2001, Lessons Learned For
    LAW AND MILITARY OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO: 1999-2001 LESSONS LEARNED FOR JUDGE ADVOCATES Center for Law and Military Operations (CLAMO) The Judge Advocate General’s School United States Army Charlottesville, Virginia CENTER FOR LAW AND MILITARY OPERATIONS (CLAMO) Director COL David E. Graham Deputy Director LTC Stuart W. Risch Director, Domestic Operational Law (vacant) Director, Training & Support CPT Alton L. (Larry) Gwaltney, III Marine Representative Maj Cody M. Weston, USMC Advanced Operational Law Studies Fellows MAJ Keith E. Puls MAJ Daniel G. Jordan Automation Technician Mr. Ben R. Morgan Training Centers LTC Richard M. Whitaker Battle Command Training Program LTC James W. Herring Battle Command Training Program MAJ Phillip W. Jussell Battle Command Training Program CPT Michael L. Roberts Combat Maneuver Training Center MAJ Michael P. Ryan Joint Readiness Training Center CPT Peter R. Hayden Joint Readiness Training Center CPT Mark D. Matthews Joint Readiness Training Center SFC Michael A. Pascua Joint Readiness Training Center CPT Jonathan Howard National Training Center CPT Charles J. Kovats National Training Center Contact the Center The Center’s mission is to examine legal issues that arise during all phases of military operations and to devise training and resource strategies for addressing those issues. It seeks to fulfill this mission in five ways. First, it is the central repository within The Judge Advocate General's Corps for all-source data, information, memoranda, after-action materials and lessons learned pertaining to legal support to operations, foreign and domestic. Second, it supports judge advocates by analyzing all data and information, developing lessons learned across all military legal disciplines, and by disseminating these lessons learned and other operational information to the Army, Marine Corps, and Joint communities through publications, instruction, training, and databases accessible to operational forces, world-wide.
    [Show full text]
  • Soroptimist Brooch 100 Years Order Form
    THE 100 YEARS BROOCH A unique piece of jewellery CELEBRATING OUR CENTENARY - A UNIQUE PIECE OF SOROPTIMIST JEWELLERY An opportunity to invest in a unique piece of jewellery to commemorate our Soroptimist centenary. Many Soroptimists have purchased and enjoyed specially designed pieces in the past and this will be a stunning piece to add to your collection. Formed in the Centennial colour of purple, the stone is set in a silver finish metal, with rows of crystals on either side. Our Soroptimist logo sits proudly in the middle of the piece, inscribed with our commemorative dates ‘1921-2021’ and ‘100 years’ The brooch is 37mm in diameter with a thickness of 2mm. It is an extremely versatile piece that may be worn as a brooch or pendant, bringing happy memories of Soroptimist friends and events all over the world. To place your order for this unique brooch, please complete the form below and send to: SIGBI Federation Office, 2nd Floor Beckwith House, Wellington Road North, Stockport, SK4 1AF Dispatch will begin end September 2020 Title . Surname . Initials . Club . Address . Post/Zip Code . Contact details: Tel: . E-mail: . Please tick appropriate boxes below. The cost of the Soroptimist 100 Brooch is £25.00 per item plus P&P. Please note: P&P is calculated on Postage & Packaging Costs the number of brooches ordered. Please complete the order form below along with your payment: UK Second Class - 1-10 Brooches - £4.00 UK Second Class Signed For - Quantity . Sub Total . plus P&P (see the P&P table for costs) Grand Total .
    [Show full text]
  • Sighted Surfaces Ocular Agency in Early Anglo-Saxon Cremation Burials
    Sighted Surfaces Ocular Agency in Early Anglo-Saxon Cremation Burials Ruth Nugent & Howard Williams Abstract The art of early Anglo-Saxon cremation urns is rich, diverse and rarely explored beyond its presumed status as reflecting the earliest Germanic settlers in fifth-century eastern and southern England (Williams 2005a). We consider why and how decorated cinerary urns operated in funerals through their haptic and visual qualities. In particular, recurring overt and abstract depictions of eyes, as well as apertures in the urn body, suggest the cremated dead were perceived as being inherently sensing and ‘sighted’ even after their fiery transformation. Introduction Alluding in no small measure to Julian D. Richards’ (1987; 1992) ground-breaking investigation of the mortuary symbolism of early Anglo-Saxon urn form and decora- tion, Neil Price has recently noted what an ‘… extraordinary resource [Anglo-Saxon funerary urns] represent for the symbolic repertoire of early English mortuary behaviour’ (Price 2010a:xvi). This paper aims to build on this statement. Rather than seeking to decode urn decoration in the manner suggested by Richards, we explore the sensory agency of the art on cinerary urns in early Anglo-Saxon England. In doing so, the study draws upon recent debates that have foregrounded the active roles of imagery in constituting links with the supernatural and shared senses of past and present in Migration Period Europe (e.g. Behr 2010) and wider discussions of the material agency of art (Gell 1992; 1998). While this discussion has, to date, largely focused on metalwork, we argue that the decoration of cinerary urns held a commemorative significance in the mortuary arena by emphasising the pot as containing, protecting, storing and perhaps also ‘reanimating’ the dead.
    [Show full text]
  • Purpose, Wells Should Have Been Able to Abandon the Descriptive Level Of
    110 111 purpose, Wells should have been I,15) . Although we can tentatively Merovingian period metalwork from Roman to Medieval times . able to abandon the descriptive identify 'Angles' and 'Saxons' in Lower Saxony. level of his analysis and expand the material from archaeological The six English papers tackle A useful feature of this fest­ the general model through its ap­ excavations, 'Jutes' have always a wide range of subjects on settle­ schrift must be the comprehensive plication to the specific situa­ proved difficult to locate with ments, artefacts and cemeteries. bibliography of Myres' published tion, and such work has been done certainty. These eternal problems , Catherine Hills discusses the works . However, the book has a few with far greater expertise and suc­ then, could be seen as inspira­ origin and dating of barred zoo­ shortcomings. There is no index and cess by Frankenstein and Rowlands. tional for the papers in this book. morphic bone combs, many of which some of the Continental papers hav~ It is therefore difficult to see All the contributors refer, in some have been found in her excavation been translated into English and that Wells' book makes any original way, to one of these three peoples, at Spong Hill. Vera Evison presents seem to have lost their original contribution to, or expands on, whether on the Continent or in distribution maps of certain early crispness in the process . The these earlier studies of essential­ England, The title of this fest­ artefact types and aims to demon­ figures and maps and bibliographies ly the same problem. schrift could be called an all­ strate parallels between some for each paper come after the embracing one; it signifies not English grave groups and 4th/5th paper's text but the plates are * * * only the peoples on whose material century 'Germanic' burials on the grouped together at the back of the culture Myres based most of his Continent.
    [Show full text]
  • Regalia and Weaponry in Early Anglo-Saxon Royal Graves Archaeologia John Hines
    V. THE ROLE OF WEAPONS AND WEAPONRY IN POLITICAL AND MILITARY LEADERSHIP BALTICA 8 BALTICA FIT FOR A KING? REGALIA AND WEAPONRY IN EARLY ANGLO-SAXON ROYAL GRAVES ARCHAEOLOGIA JOHN HINES Abstract The excavation of a princely grave of the early seventh century at Prittlewell, Essex, in 2003, is the starting point for a review of the development of kingship in early Anglo-Saxon England. Emphasis is placed upon the equally important contributions of history and archaeology. It is also argued that it is essential to balance the attention given to the immediate contexts in England with the long-term development of kingship amongst the Germanic peoples. Valuable supplementary evidence is found in the terminology of kingship and lordship in Germanic philology, as well as the comparative study of Continental Fürstengräber of the Roman Iron Age. Key words: Anglo-Saxon, archaeology, burial, kingship, Prittlewell, Sutton Hoo. Early-medieval kingship 1938; Genrich 1954; Wegewitz 1977). It has proved rather easy to lose sight of that situation when German- In our many efforts to understand how the organization ic kingship in the middle of the first millennium AD V of society developed amongst the Germanic-speaking is considered principally in the light of the different THE ROLE peoples over the two thousand years from the Iron Age, scope for political leadership in the context of the great OF WEAPONS before the birth of Christ, to the High Middle Ages, the war-bands, such as those of the Goths, which invaded AND WEAPONRY history of kingship remains one of the most fundamen- and conquered the more southerly parts of the Roman IN POLITICAL tal challenges for archaeological and historical scholar- Empire in Europe, and are therefore better illuminated AND MILITARY ship.
    [Show full text]
  • Clothing, Memory and Identity in 16Th Century Swedish Funerary Practice
    Joseph M. Gonzalez 6 Fashioning Death: Clothing, Memory and Identity in 16th Century Swedish Funerary Practice Introduction King Gustav Vasa was married three times. In 1531, less than a decade after his election as King of Sweden, he made a match calculated to boost his prestige and help consolidate his position as king and married Katarina von Sax-Lauenburg, the daughter of Duke Magnus and a relative of the emperor. She bore the king one son, Erik, and died suddenly in 1535 (Svalenius, 1992). After her death, the king married the daughter of one of the most powerful noble houses in Sweden, Margareta Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud in 1536. Queen Margareta bore the king eight children before she died in 1551. By August of 1552, the fifty-six year old Gustav Vasa had found a new queen, the 16-year-old Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock, daughter of another of Sweden’s leading noble houses. Despite the youth of his bride, the marriage bore no children and the old king died eight years later (Svalenius, 1992). The king’s death occasioned a funeral of unprecedented magnificence that was unique both in its scale and in its promotion of the Vasa dynasty’s image and interests. Unique to Vasa’s funeral was the literal incorporation of the bodies of his two deceased wives in the ceremony. They shared his bed-like hearse on the long road to Uppsala and the single copper casket that was interred in the cathedral crypt. Six months after the funeral, Gustav Vasa’s son with Katarina von Sax-Lauenburg, Erik, was crowned king.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson 18 - the Situation in the West After the Fall of Rome
    Church History Lesson 18 - The Situation in the West After the Fall of Rome 1. Introduction - A Crumbling Empire 1.1. In the last session we looked at a number of Christological controversies which embroiled the church, and consequently the Empire, up until the council of Chalcedon in 451. 1.2. As we saw, these controversies involved both the East and the West, but there were of far greater concern in the East than in the West, and the majority of bishops attending the various councils were overwhelmingly from the East. 1.3. Although there were a number of reasons for this, one of the major reasons was the rapidly changing situation in the West. After Rome was sacked for the first time in 410 AD, it sent shockwaves through the whole empire, but especially in the West. Although the Eastern part of the Empire continued in one form or another for over 1,000 years more, the situation in the West was far different. 1.4. Today we will take a brief look at what happened in the West after the first sacking of Rome in 410, and see how this affected life and the church in the West for the next 300 years or so. 2. The Barbarian Invasions 2.1. The events that most affected life and the church in the West were a series of invasions by “barbarian” tribes. 2.2. Obviously the first major invasion was when Alaric and his band of Visigoths, who invaded Italy and sacked Rome in 410. It was the shockwaves from this event that caused Augustine to write his opus City of God.
    [Show full text]