Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent Anglo-Saxon England View Online 1. Campbell, James, John, Eric, Wormald, Patrick: The Anglo-Saxons. Phaidon, Oxford (1982). 2. Blair, John: The Anglo-Saxon age: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, New York (2000). 3. Yorke, Barbara: The Anglo-Saxons. Sutton, Stroud (1999). 4. Whitelock, Dorothy: The beginnings of English society. Penguin, Harmondsworth (1965). 5. A companion to the early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c.500-1100. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester (2009). 6. Blair, Peter Hunter: An introduction to Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1977). 1/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 7. Campbell, James, John, Eric, Wormald, Patrick: The Anglo-Saxons. Phaidon, Oxford (1982). 8. Hill, D.: An atlas of Anglo-Saxon England. Blackwell, [Place of publication not identified] (1981). 9. International medieval bibliography. 10. S. Keynes: Anglo-Saxon England: A Bibliographical Handbook for Students of Anglo-Saxon History. resources. 11. Lapidge, Michael, Blair, John, Keynes, Simon, Scragg, Donald: The Blackwell encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Blackwelll Publishers, Oxford (1999). 12. Stenton, F M.: Anglo-Saxon England. Clarendon Press, Oxford (1971). 13. Whitelock, Dorothy, Douglas, David C.: English historical documents: Vol.1: c.500-1042 / edited by Dorothy Whitelock. O.U.P., London (1979). 14. Campbell, James, John, Eric, Wormald, Patrick: chapter 1 and 2. In: The Anglo-Saxons. 2/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent Phaidon, Oxford (1982). 15. Collins, Roger: Early medieval Europe, 300-1000. St. Martin’s Press, Basingstoke (1999). 16. Hill, C.: Roman Britain to Anglo-Saxon England. History Today. 40, (1990). 17. James, Edward: Britain in the first millennium. Hodder Arnold, London (2001). 18. Gildas: The ruin of Britain and other works. Phillimore, London (1978). 19. Nennius: British history, and, The Welsh annals; ed J Morris. Phillimore, [Place of publication not identified] (1980). 20. Bede, McClure, Judith, Collins, Roger, Bede, Bede: I.11-22. In: The ecclesiastical history of the English people: The greater chronicle. Bede’s letter to Egbert. Oxford University Press, New York (1994). 21. Whitelock, Dorothy: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the years 380-495. In: The beginnings of English society. Penguin, Harmondsworth (1965). 22. 3/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent Esmonde Cleary, A. S.: The ending of Roman Britain. Batsford, London (1989). 23. Dark, S. P.: ’Palaeoecological Evidence for Landscape Continuity and Change in Britain c. AD 400-800. In: External contacts and the economy of late Roman and post-Roman Britain. Boydell Press, Woodbridge, Suffolk (1996). 24. Higham, Nicholas J.: Rome, Britain, and the Anglo-Saxons. Seaby, London (1992). 25. Arnold, C. J.: An archaeology of the early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Routledge, London (1997). 26. Frazer, William O., Tyrrell, Andrew: Social identity in early medieval Britain. Leicester University Press, London (2000). 27. Geake, Helen, British Archaeological reports: The use of grave-goods in conversion-period England, c.600-c.850. John and Erica Hedges, Oxford (1997). 28. Gelling, Margaret: Signposts to the past. Phillimore, Chichester, England (1997). 29. Hamerow, H.: Migration Theory and the Anglo-Saxon Identity Crisis. In: Migrations and invasions in archaeological explanation. Archaeopress, Oxford (1997). 4/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 30. Harke, H.: Warrior Graves? The Background of the Anglo-Saxon Weapon Burial Rite. Past and present. 126, (1990). 31. Hrke, H.: Archaeologists and Migrations: a problem of attitude? Current archaeology. 39, (1998). 32. Heather, P. J.: Empires and barbarians: migration, development and the birth of Europe. Pan, London (2010). 33. Higham, N.: Britons in Northern England in the early Middle Ages: Through a Thick Glass Darkly. Northern history. 38, (2001). 34. Hill, C.: The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England in the Pagan Period: a Review. Anglo-Saxon England. 8, (1979). 35. Hines, John, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Stress: The Anglo-Saxons from the Migration period to the eighth century: an ethnographic perspective. Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Social Stress, San Marino, R.S.M. (1997). 36. Hines, J.: The Becoming of the English: identity, material culture and language in early Anglo-Saxon England. In: Anglo-Saxon studies in archaeology and history: 7: edited by William Filmer-Sankey and David Griffiths. Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, Oxford (1994). 5/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 37. James, Edward: Europe’s barbarians, AD 200-600. Pearson Longman, New York (2009). 38. Lucy, Sam: Chapter 3. In: The Anglo-Saxon way of death: burial rites in early England. Sutton, Stroud (2000). 39. Lucy, Sam, Reynolds, Andrew: Burial in early medieval England and Wales. Society for Medieval Archaeology, London (2002). 40. Reynolds, S.: ’What do we mean by ‘Anglo-Saxon’ and ‘Anglo-Saxons’. Journal of British studies. 24, (1985). 41. Sims-Williams, P.: The Settlement of England in Bede and the Chronicle. Anglo-Saxon England. 12, (1983). 42. Ward-Perkins, B.: Why did the Anglo-Saxons not become more British? English historical review. (2000). 43. Yorke, B.: Fact or Fiction? The Written Evidence for the Fifth and Sixth Centuries AD. In: Anglo-Saxon studies in archaeology and history: 6: edited by William Filmer-Sankey. Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1993. 44. Yorke, B.: Anglo-Saxon Origin Legends. In: Myth, rulership, church and charters: essays in 6/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent honour of Nicholas Brooks. Ashgate, Aldershot (2008). 45. Budd, P., et al.: Investigating population movement by stable isotope analysis: a report from Britain. Antiquity: a quarterly review of archaeology. 78, (2004). 46. Evison, M. P.: All in the genes? Evaluating Biological Evidence of Contact and Migration. In: Cultures in contact: Scandinavian settlement in England in the ninth and tenth centuries. Brepols, Turnhout, Belgium (2000). 47. Halsall, G.: The (Ab)use of DNA in the Study of Early Medieval Cemeteries. Historian on the Edge: The (Ab)Use of DNA in the Study of Early Medieval Cemeteries. 48. Heaney, Seamus: Beowulf. Faber, London (1999). 49. Bassett, Steven: Introduction. In: The Origins of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Leicester University Press, London (1989). 50. Campbell, James, John, Eric, Wormald, Patrick: Chapter 2. In: The Anglo-Saxons. Phaidon, Oxford (1982). 51. Jack G., and Carver, M.: Beowulf/ Sutton Hoo. In: The Blackwell encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Blackwelll Publishers, Oxford (1999). 7/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 52. Ellis Davidson, H.: Royal Graves as Religious Symbols. In: Anglo-Saxon studies in archaeology and history: 5: edited by William Filmer-Sankey and Sonia Chadwick Hawkes, James Campbell, David Brown. Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1992. 53. Bruce-Mitford, Rupert Leo Scott: The Sutton Hoo ship-burial. British Museum Pub, [Place of publication not identified] (1975). 54. Evans, Angela Care: The Sutton Hoo ship burial. Published for the Trustees of the British Museum by British Museum Press, London (1994). 55. Carver, M. O. H.: The age of Sutton Hoo: the seventh century in north-western Europe. Boydell Press, Rochester, NY (1992). 56. Carver, M. O. H.: Sutton Hoo: burial ground of kings? British Museum Press, London (1998). 57. Carver, M. O. H., Evans, Angela, Society of Antiquaries of London: Sutton Hoo: a seventh-century princely burial ground and its context. British Museum Press, London (2005). 58. Cramp, R.: The Hall in Beowulf and Archaeology. In: Heroic poetry in the Anglo-Saxon period: studies in honor of Jess B. Bessinger, Jr. Medieval Institute Publications, Kalamazoo, Mich (1993). 8/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 59. Farrell, Robert, Newman de Vegvar, Carol L., University of Miami, Conference on Medieval Studies: Sutton Hoo: fifty years after. American Early Medieval Studies, Miami University, Dept. of Art, Oxford, Ohio (1992). 60. Williamson, Tom: Sutton Hoo and its landscape: the context of monuments. Windgather Press, Oxford (2008). 61. East, K.: The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial: the Case Against the Coffin. In: Anglo-Saxon studies in archaeology and history: 3: edited by Sonia Chadwick Hawkes, James Campbell and David Brown. Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1984. 62. Enright, M.: The Sutton Hoo Whetstone Sceptre. Anglo-Saxon England. 11, (1983). 63. Envison, V. I.: The Body in the Ship at Sutton Hoo. In: Anglo-Saxon studies in archaeology and history: 1-2. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford (1979). 64. Filmer-Sankey, W.: The Roman Emperor in the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 149, (1996). 65. Fletcher, E.: Sutton Hoo Volume 3: A Comment on the Silver Spoons. Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 138, (1985). 66. 9/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent Hicks, C.: The Birds on the Sutton Hoo Purse. Anglo-Saxon England. 15, (1986). 67. Marzinzik, Sonja, British Museum: The Sutton Hoo helmet. British Museum, London (2007). 68. Meeks, N. D., and Holmes, R.: The Sutton Hoo Garnet Jewellery. In: Anglo-Saxon studies in archaeology and history: 4: edited by Sonia Chadwick Hawkes, James Campbell and David Brown. Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1985. 69. Pearson, M., et al.: Three Men and a Boat: Sutton Hoo and the East Saxon Kingdom. Anglo-Saxon England. 22, (1993). 70. Wood, I.: The Franks at Sutton Hoo. In: People and places in northern Europe, 500-1600: essays in honour of Peter Hayes Sawyer. Boydell Press, Rochester, NY, USA (1991). 71. Blair, John: The church in Anglo-Saxon society. Oxford University Press, New York (2005). 72. Carver, M.: Ideology and Allegiance in East Anglia. In: Sutton Hoo: fifty years after. American Early Medieval Studies, Miami University, Dept. of Art, Oxford, Ohio (1992). 73. Campbell, James: The Anglo-Saxon state. Hambledon and London, London, New York (2000). 10/56 09/26/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 74.
Recommended publications
  • Leeds Studies in English
    Leeds Studies in English Article: Paul Cavill, 'The Armour-Bearer in Abbo's Passio sancti Eadmundi and Anglo-Saxon England', Leeds Studies in English, n.s. 36 (2005), 47-61 Permanent URL: https://ludos.leeds.ac.uk:443/R/-?func=dbin-jump- full&object_id=123813&silo_library=GEN01 Leeds Studies in English School of English University of Leeds http://www.leeds.ac.uk/lse The Armour-Bearer in Abbo's Passio sancti Eadmundi and Anglo-Saxon England Paul Cavill There has been a good deal of interest expressed over recent decades in the historicity or otherwise of the martyrdom of Edmund of East Anglia. The early literary sources of the legend are from the end of the tenth century, Abbo of Fleury's Passio sancti Eadmundi of c. 987, and vElfric's abbreviated version of this in his Old English Lives of Saints sometime later but before the end of the century. The story of the martyrdom tells how a Viking army led by Irlguar demand Edmund's submission and tribute; Edmund refuses, is captured by the Vikings, beaten, tied to a tree and shot at, then finally beheaded. In the dedicatory epistle which precedes the Passio proper, Abbo claims he had been told the story by Archbishop Dunstan who had heard it as a young man at the court of King /Ethelstan from the lips of a very old armour- bearer of Edmund who had actually been present and seen it all happen. Dorothy Whitelock reviewed the sources and concluded that the account of the martyrdom of St Edmund was not entirely implausible.
    [Show full text]
  • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’, 865–96
    Clare Downham, University of Liverpool 2 Annals, armies, and artistry: ‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’, 865–96 ‘THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE’ from 865 to 896 is an engrossing description of affairs in England during the mature years of Alfred the Great, king of the West Saxons and then overking of the Anglo-Saxons (871–99). Much of the narrative is pre-occupied with the description of viking-campaigns, and it is a major source for understanding how vikings first came to conquer and settle English territory. Nevertheless, it is striking that the presentation of information in ‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ for those years was influenced by stylistic and political considerations. These can provide important clues to the circumstances of the composition of annals 865 to 896. For the years 865–96 there seem to be two distinct phases of chronicling activity in ‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’. The first runs from A.D. 864/5 to 891/2 (annals 865–92) and belongs to the Chronicle’s ‘Common Stock’ (60 B.C.–A.D. 892), while the second constitutes its first continuation, for the four years 893– 6. Ruth Waterhouse has discussed the former section.1 She has drawn attention to the distinct word-order of annals 865–91 and the stylistic features (such as its verbs of motion) which distinguish it from what precedes and what follows.2 Peter Sawyer has argued persuasively that this section properly ends at 892 (not 891), which is therefore where that ‘Common Stock’ of the Chronicle ends.3 It is also in this section that the beginning of the year was calculated from September.4 1R.
    [Show full text]
  • Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent
    09/29/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent Anglo-Saxon England View Online 1. Campbell, James, John, Eric & Wormald, Patrick. The Anglo-Saxons. (Phaidon, 1982). 2. Blair, John. The Anglo-Saxon age: a very short introduction. vol. Very short introductions (Oxford University Press, 2000). 3. Yorke, Barbara. The Anglo-Saxons. vol. Sutton pocket histories (Sutton, 1999). 4. Whitelock, Dorothy. The beginnings of English society. vol. The Pelican history of England (Penguin, 1965). 5. A companion to the early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c.500-1100. vol. Blackwell companions to British history (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009). 6. Blair, Peter Hunter. An introduction to Anglo-Saxon England. (Cambridge University Press, 1977). 1/55 09/29/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 7. Campbell, James, John, Eric & Wormald, Patrick. The Anglo-Saxons. (Phaidon, 1982). 8. Hill, D. An atlas of Anglo-Saxon England. (Blackwell, 1981). 9. International medieval bibliography. 10. S. Keynes. Anglo-Saxon England: A Bibliographical Handbook for Students of Anglo-Saxon History. resources. 11. Lapidge, Michael, Blair, John, Keynes, Simon & Scragg, Donald. The Blackwell encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. (Blackwelll Publishers, 1999). 12. Stenton, F M. Anglo-Saxon England. (Clarendon Press, 1971). 13. Whitelock, Dorothy & Douglas, David C. English historical documents: Vol.1: c.500-1042 / edited by Dorothy Whitelock. (O.U.P., 1979). 14. Campbell, James, John, Eric & Wormald, Patrick. chapter 1 and 2. in The Anglo-Saxons (Phaidon, 1982). 2/55 09/29/21 Anglo-Saxon England | University of Kent 15. Collins, Roger. Early medieval Europe, 300-1000. vol. History of Europe (St. Martin’s Press, 1999).
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship Between King Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874-C.879)
    Penn History Review Volume 26 Issue 2 Article 2 February 2020 The Relationship between King Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874-c.879) Brent Weisberg University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/phr Recommended Citation Weisberg, Brent (2020) "The Relationship between King Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874-c.879)," Penn History Review: Vol. 26 : Iss. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://repository.upenn.edu/phr/vol26/iss2/2 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/phr/vol26/iss2/2 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II The Relationship between King Alfred the Great and Ceolwulf II of Mercia (874-c.879) Brent Weisberg, University of Pennsylvania Introduction Studying King Ceolwulf II of Mercia presents one with a situation not unlike the one former US Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld’s described concerning American intelligence work in Iraq in 2002: "there are known knowns… there are known unknowns… but there are also unknown unknowns."1 The "known knowns" of Ceolwulf’s reign are few and far between. All we have to bear witness to the life and legacy of Ceolwulf, the last independent ruler of Mercia, are two charters of his, a few mentions in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as well as two of its likely derivatives, and several dozen coins.2 The few coins we have, particularly examples of Two Emperors type coins from the recent Watlington hoard find, provide material evidence of Ceolwulf’s reign that may be used to corroborate or contravene literary evidence.3 I shall seek to elucidate the history of Ceolwulf that I discern to be most plausible through the lens of his relationships with King Alfred of Wessex and the Vikings.
    [Show full text]
  • Changing Thegns: Cnut's Conquest and the English Aristocracy*
    The 1983 Denis Bethell Prize Essay of the Charles Homer Haskins Society Changing Thegns: Cnut's Conquest and the English Aristocracy* Katharin Mack England was conquered twice in the eleventh century: first in 1016 by Cnut the Dane and again in 1066 by William Duke of Normandy. The influence of the Norman Conquest has been the subject of scholarly warfare ever since E.A. Freeman published the first volume of his History of the Nor~ man Conquest of England in 1867-and indeed, long before.' The conse~ quences of Cnut's conquest, on the other hand, have not been subjected to the same scrutiny. Because England was conquered twice in less than fifty years, historians have often succumbed to the temptation of comparing the two events. But since Cnut's reign is poorly documented and was followed quickly by the restoration of the house of Cerdic in the person of Edward the Confessor, such studies have tended to judge 1016 by the standards of 1066. While such comparisons are useful, they have imposed a model on Cnut's reign which has distorted the importance of the Anglo-Scandinavian period. 2 If, however, Cnut's reign is compared with the Anglo-Saxon past rather than the Anglo-Norman future, the influence of 1016 can be more fairly assessed. At first sight, there would seem little to debate. Cnut appears to have adopted wholeheartedly the traditional role of Anglo-Saxon kingship. The sources suggest that at every chance, Cnut proclaimed his determination to be a good English king,3 and modern scholarship has confirmed many of • An abbreviated version of this article was presented at the Haskins Society Conference at the University of Houston, November, 1983.
    [Show full text]
  • Leeds Studies in English
    Leeds Studies in English Article: Susanne Kries, '"Westward I came across the Sea": Anglo- Scandinavian History through Scandinavian Eyes', Leeds Studies in English, n.s. 34 (2003), 47-76 Permanent URL: https://ludos.leeds.ac.uk:443/R/-?func=dbin-jump- full&object_id=123802&silo_library=GEN01 Leeds Studies in English School of English University of Leeds http://www.leeds.ac.uk/lse 'Westward I came across the Sea': Anglo-Scandinavian History through Scandinavian Eyes Susanne Kries The co-existence of Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians in the Anglo-Saxon period has traditionally been evaluated on the basis of Anglo-Saxon written sources, and above all by recourse to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.1 The Chronicle is significant as an ideological work in creating cultural identity and defining national culture. Martin Irvine2 and Janet Thormann convincingly presented the tenth-century poems incorporated in the various manuscripts of the Chronicle as promoting an 'Englishness' constituted through West Saxon rule.4 Those scholars who have turned to Scandinavian poetic records have, however, generally been sceptical about the 'historical' content that skaldic testimony might provide.5 The wider cultural-historical implications of the Scandinavian sources have largely been ignored and their status as testimony to a specifically 'Scandinavian' point of view neglected. This paper seeks to provide a re-evaluation of the question of Anglo- Scandinavian inter-cultural communication by examining a fragmentary poem of the tenth century, Egill Skallagrimsson's Adalsteinsdrapa, which was composed in praise of the West-Saxon King ^thelstan. The poem is a potentially valuable witness since its origin can be traced back to an English context.
    [Show full text]
  • Dyeing Sutton Hoo Nordic Blonde: an Interpretation of Swedish Influences on the East Anglian Gravesite
    DYEING SUTTON HOO NORDIC BLONDE: AN INTERPRETATION OF SWEDISH INFLUENCES ON THE EAST ANGLIAN GRAVESITE Casandra Vasu A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2008 Committee: Andrew Hershberger, Advisor Charles E. Kanwischer © 2008 Casandra Vasu All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Andrew Hershberger, Advisor Nearly seventy years have passed since the series of tumuli surrounding Edith Pretty’s estate at Sutton Hoo in Eastern Suffolk, England were first excavated, and the site, particularly the magnificent ship-burial and its associated pieces located in Mound 1, remains enigmatic to archaeologists and historians. Dated to approximately the early seventh century, the Sutton Hoo entombment retains its importance by illuminating a period of English history that straddles both myth and historical documentation. The burial also exists in a multicultural context, an era when Scandinavian influences factored heavily upon society in the British Isles, predominantly in the areas of art, religion and literature. Literary works such as the Old English epic of Beowulf, a tale of a Geatish hero and his Danish and Swedish counterparts, offer insight into the cultural background of the custom of ship-burial and the various accoutrements of Norse warrior society. Beowulf may hold an even more specific affinity with Sutton Hoo, in that a character from the tale, Weohstan, is considered to be an ancestor of the man commemorated in the ship- burial in Mound 1. Weohstan, whose allegiance lay with the Geats, was nonetheless a member of the Wægmunding clan, distant relations to the Swedish Scylfing dynasty.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Anglo-Danes': Anachronistic Ethnicities and Viking-Age England1
    ‘Hiberno-Norwegians’ and ‘Anglo-Danes’: anachronistic ethnicities and Viking-Age England1 CLARE DOWNHAM University of Aberdeen TWO papers have recently been published, with reference to Irish sources from the Viking-Age, challenging the identification of Dubgaill (‘Dark Foreigners’) with ‘Danes’ and Finngaill (‘Fair Foreigners’) with ‘Norwegians’.2 In this paper I seek to broaden the debate by suggesting that the categorisation of Insular-viking politics as a struggle between opposing Danish and Norwegian factions is similarly unhelpful. For example, the use of the term Dene in ‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ can be regarded as similar to the use of the terms Dani and Nordmanni in Frankish chronicles: that is, as a general name for those of Scandinavian cultural identity rather than a label referring to people of one particular Scandinavian ethnicity.3 I argue that the supposed animosity between ‘Hiberno-Norwegian’ and ‘Anglo- Danish’ factions in English politics before 954 is largely a historiographic invention and not a Viking-Age reality. The stereotypes applied to each of these so-called groups (the ‘Hiberno-Norwegians’ being generally seen as more violent, more heathen, and more chaotic than the ‘Anglo-Danes’) can also be called into question. If this argument holds true, then references to ‘Hiberno-Norwegians’ and ‘Anglo- 1 I should like to thank Judith Jesch and Alex Woolf for the opportunity to present versions of this paper at Nottingham and St Andrews in February and April 2007. My thanks also go to Paul Bibire, Stefan Brink, and David Roffe for reading and commenting on the text. 2 David N. Dumville, ‘Old Dubliners and New Dubliners in Ireland and Britain: a Viking- Age story’, Medieval Dublin 6 (2004) 78–93, reprinted in his Celtic Essays, 2001–2007 (2 vols, Aberdeen 2007), I.103–22; C.
    [Show full text]
  • 3~79 // 8 /D HEROISM and FAILURE in ANGLO-SAXON POETRY: the IDEAL and the REAL WITHIN the COMITATUS DISSERTATION Presented to Th
    3~79 // 8 /d HEROISM AND FAILURE IN ANGLO-SAXON POETRY: THE IDEAL AND THE REAL WITHIN THE COMITATUS DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of North Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Nancy Susan Nelson, B.A., M.A, Denton, Texas May, 1989 c Nelson, Nancy Susan, Heroism and Failure in Anglo-Saxon Poetry: The Ideal and the Real Within the Comitatus. Doctor of Philosophy (English), May, 1989, 144 pp., bibliography, 142 titles. This dissertation discusses the complicated relation- ship (known as the comitatus) of kings and followers as presented in the heroic poetry of the Anglo-Saxons. The anonymous poets of the age celebrated the ideals of their culture but consistently portrayed the real behavior of the characters within their works. Other studies have examined the ideals of the comitatus in general terms while refer- ring to the poetry as a body of work, or they have discussed them in particular terms while referring to one or two poems in detail. This study is both broader and deeper in scope than are the earlier works. In a number of poems I have identified the heroic ideals and examined the poetic treatment of those ideals. In order to establish the necessary background, Chapter I reviews the historical sources, such as Tacitus, Bede, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and the work of modern historians. Chapter II discusses such attributes of the king as wisdom, courage, and generosity. Chapter III examines the role of aristocratic women within the society. Chapter IV describes the proper behavior of followers, primarily their loyalty in return for treasures earlier bestowed.
    [Show full text]
  • The Genuine Asser
    THE STENTON LECTURE I967 THE GENUINE ASSER Dorothy Whitelock UNIVERSITY OF READING HI, ."~.'~ .~O J', ' THE STENTON LECTURE 1967 THE GENUINE ASSER by Dorothy Whitelock CBE, FBA Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the University of Cambridge UNIVERSITY OF READING 1968 The Genuine Asser by Dorothy Whitelock It is no accident that we know more about King Alfred than about any other Anglo-Saxon king. He differed from all other kings in leaving writings of his own. He invited scholars to his court, and he was the sort of man to inspire one of them, the 'Welshman Asser, to write a biography of him. Until 1904, it was difficult to separate the text of Asser's Life of King Alfred from sixteenth-century interpolations which had brought it into disrepute. These were finally cleared out of the way by W. H. Stevenson, in his excellent edition of 1904.1 He was then able to answer criticisms levelled against the authenticity of the Life in a way that has convinced most scholars ever since, particularly since his refutation of the attacks was combined with a con• siderable amount of evidence pointing to contemporary writing. Never• theless, the authenticity has since been called in question, and attempts have been made to find a likely fabricator of the alleged forgery.2 The latest suggestion is that of Professor Galbraith,3 that the Life might have been forged by Leofric, who became bishop of Devon and Cornwall in 1046, with his see first at Crediton, and after lOso, at Exeter. The main purpose of my lecture is to re-establish both the authenticity and the value of the work; and, in so doing, to clear Bishop Leofric from the accusation of being a forger, and W.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Dictionary of the Vikings
    112722 pb cover 11/7/03 3:48 PM Page 1 Holman History • Ancient • General Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 11 Rarely has an era evoked the same sense of adventure as the Viking age. For more than three centuries, small but intrepid bands of Scandinavians used Historical longships to launch lightning raids on their European neighbors to colonize new lands in the east and west and exchange furs for wine, spices, and silver. Dictionary Historical Significant changes also occurred at home, as the local kings extended their power, Norse paganism lost ground to Christianity, and new towns and ports Dictionary thrived as a result of increased contact with the world. And this new world was amazingly vast, stretching over the British Isles, much of continental Europe, into the far reaches of Russia and the Middle East, and to an undetermined extent, even North America. of the There were so many expeditions, under so many leaders, to so many places, and for so many purposes that it is difficult to track events. Moreover, much of the information is shrouded in mystery because few archaeological remains Vikings and even fewer written documents corroborate the sagas. This Historical Dictionary of the Vikings helps fill the void by providing information on major historical figures, important battles and treaties, key works, and archae- ological finds. This dictionary not only presents the big picture, but also examines the everday aspects of how people lived and worked. A chronology, detailed and annotated bibliographies for different themes and geographical locations, and an introduction discussing the major events and developments of the Viking age are also included.
    [Show full text]
  • Reflections on Alfred, Asser and the Power of Memory in the West Saxon Landscape
    Chapter 15 Places I’ll Remember? Reflections on Alfred, Asser and the Power of Memory in the West Saxon Landscape Ryan Lavelle We are shaped by our memories and by others’ memories of us. That statement may be a truism, but there are few places better than a Festschrift where one can get away with starting a paper in such a manner. And it is a valuable truism. Those memories which shape us, as so many studies have shown, are shaped by place, and the places themselves are shaped by memory. This has been dem- onstrated in neuroscientific terms over the last four decades by the identifica- tion of the role of ‘place cells’ within the hippocampus of the brain linked to the subjective ‘sense of place’, in part linked to the creation of personal memo- ry, while the significance of Lieux de mémoire in French historiography pro- vides an endorsement of what many of us already feel.1 The development of the spatial turn has proved a particularly rich field in the study of Anglo-Saxon history and culture: Nicholas Howe showed the ways in which the experiences of place—those of the modern scholar and the medieval sense of place—can collide in a visit to a location, often in a way that forces us to consider how we approach the past.2 A range of work on Anglo-Saxon landscapes, addressing the context of place-names, settlement, and perception has proved particu- larly fruitful in the last decade or so.3 1 A seminal work in the field of neuroscience is John O’Keefe, “Place Units in the Hippocampus of the Freely Moving Rat,” Experimental Neurology 51 (1976), 78–109; a recent study is Sheri J.Y.
    [Show full text]