1 " ---" - ~n offprint from. - ---Pi' L ]L.AL i~elan0an0 no~~he~npRance ao wo-sso JEAN-MICHEL PICARD EDITOR FOUR COURTS PRESS IV. The English link in Hiberno-Frankish relations in the seventh century Michael Richter Uniuersität Konstanz There is much in the seventh century that we will never know; some things we know vaguely and in outline. In this paper I want to concentrate on what we know with some certainty about relations between England, Ireland and Northern France in the seventh century. It is true, nevertheless, that much of the information we have is highly incidental, and we must accept that the picture that will emerge is very fragmentary. Most of the sources available for this subject have been known for the past century; consequently, what will be presented here has been treated before although not quite in this way. In taking up the theme it is necessary once more to go over what amounts to extremely pooriy attested ground; this, in itself, can be undertaken adequately only by assessing the general nature of our sources and the context in which they arose. It is impossible to come to satisfactory conclusions without some sort of Quellenkritik. In so far as there has been a treatment of the theme, the general views were characterized by the following two positions: 1) Links between the various societies existed in the ecclesias- tical sphere (conversion). 2) In the task of conversion there was a neat division of labour: the south of England was converted from Rome, while the north of England was influenced from Ireland. These movements are also associated with ecclesiastical offices, the bishops in the south, the abbots and monks in the north. On closer inspection things are much more complex. Of those scholars who have wrestled with our subject I should like to quote James Campbell: 'In the seventh century the Churches of England, Gaul and Ireland formed in some ways one intercon- 96 IRELAND AND NORTHERN FRANCE nected world and one in which the influence of Rome was strong and growing strenger'.' While I agree with Campbell's view, an attempt will be made here to show that the links between the churches in the three countries are only one facet of other, more complex links, mainly of a secular nature. Taking the position in England, I want to underline that these international links are not so much incidental as an integral part and a manifestation of the exist- ing 'political order'. It will be argued that links between England, Gaul and Ireland manifested themselves in the secular as well as the ecclesiastical sphere, and that the latter was largely dependent an the former. This is easily lost sight of due to the nature of the sources available: these are of ecclesiastical origin and for that reason document ecclesiastical matters incomparably better than secular affairs. I am conscious of the imhalance in the subsequent presentation, but this imbalance is due to our sources and thus to our resources. It is also reflected in the secondary literature.2 I will trace connections from England with Gaul as well as with Ireland. In this context, a shift of emphasis is necessary. It is my impression that in the process of Christianisation, the English have been assigned traditionally the role of passive recipients; for a Change, I want to show them as active partici- pants.3 When we look at the issue in this way, it will soon become apparent that we are dealing, almost exclusively, with the leading circles of society in England, with aristocracy and 1 James Camphell, 'The first century of Christianity in England', Ampleforth Journal 76 (1971) p. 10-29, at p. 27. A similar position is expressed by Campbell in 'The debt of tbe early English Church to Ireland', in P. Ni Chathain and M. Richter (eds), Zrelund and Christendom. The Bible und the missions (Stuttgart 1987) p. 343. Links with Gaul are also mentioned, in some detail, hy J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, 'Rome and the early English Church: some questions of transmission', Settimana 7 (1960) p. 519-47. See also Friedrich Prinz, 'Zum fränkischen und irischen Anteil an der Bekehrung der Angelsachsen' ZK 95 (1984) p. 315-36. 2 No attempt will he made to give a comprehensive survey of the learned literature; that would be against the purpose of this paper which intends to highlight features hitherto rather neglected. 3 For this see M. Richter, 'Practical aspects of conversion', in Ni Chathain and Richter, Ireland und Christendom, p. 362-76. RICHTER. THE ENGLISH LINK 97 royalty; and it is from this layer also that the leaders of Christianity whom we know were recruited. The term 'England' requires a comment. For the seventh century, England is a unit neither in geographical nor in politi- cal terms; the tenns 'heptarchy' or bretwalda convey an incor- rect idea of political order, of stability or hierarchy. What we are witnessing instead is part of the process by which continental Gerrnanic groups that had invaded Britain from late Roman times onwards fought for existence and political survival in a deeply hostile environment. This process was to last for many more centuries.4 Terms such as 'Anglo-Saxon Settlement of Britain' are too euphemistic. Settlement was one of the by-products of forcible expansions, of wars.6 These wars, furthermore, cannot be reduced to a confrontation between native Britons and invading Saxons. The invaders did not, act as one group, but largely inde- pendent of each other in groups the number even of which is impossible to give. Also, the Saxons fought amongst each ~ther.~ We have to go even a step further. These Saxon groups were not at peace inside either. This we can state as fact without in most cases being able to show it in detail. Nevertheless, the Statement is necessary to counter ideas of apparent stability conjured up by terms such as 'royalty', 'nobility' and so On. The Same applies to notions such as 'marriage' or 'family' and the like. It has been rightly stated that 'when we gaze deeper through the surface waters of Bede's Ecclesiastical History, we find the Scene darkens, currents swirl, and dimly we perceive in the black abyss of time the savage mien and baleful deeds of more fearsome beings'.? It is no exaggeration to claim that throughout the seventh century political turmoil predominated 4 It can be argued that only the conquest of the principality of Wales in 1282-84 put an end to this expansion in the westerly direction at the expense of the Britons. 5 A good account for one region is provided by Kenneth Jackson, 'Angles and Britons in Northumbria and Cumbria' in Angles und Britons, O'Donnell Lectures (Cardiff 1963) p. 60-84. 6 Note the expressions of hatred the people of Lindsey had for their neighbour Oswald, as related by Bede, HE, 111, 11: 'quia de alia provincia ortus fuerat et super eos regnum acceperat'. 7 D. P. Kirby, 'Northumhria in the time of Wilfrid', in D. P. Kirby (ed.), Saint Wilfrid at Hexharn (Newcastle 1974) p. 29. 9B IRELAND AND NORTHERN FRANCE in many parts of Britain. The results of this state of affairs confront the observer in the barren entries in the Handbook of British Chronology and the many queries entered in connection with names and reigns.8 In taking our stance firrnly in England, we have available two major sources both of which have their idiosyncrasies. One of these is Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum. It is incumbent on anyone who uses this work in a major way, to declare their position towards it, however briefly. For our subject it is relevant that for the seventh century, the period covered in most detail, the Historia Ecclesiastica is no contemporary source. Yet Bede provides most of the information that we have for this century. No wonder that he often remains tantalizingly vague when we desperately want detail. Bede's distance from the events he describes may well cast general doubt on his relia- bility, and in the Course of this paper contradictions and inaccu- racies in his work will be noted. Yet, to dispense with the Ecclesiastical History would result in having to abandon work altogether. What characterizes Bede's work, however, is that in it history is reduced to individuals. I am not so much worried here about his tendency to select Christians, pass over in silence non- Christians and the like. What requires our attention is that Bede's individuals are all too often presented as detached from their political and social context; Special effort to counter this tendency is called for. Our other major source is Eddius's Vita Wilfridi. Here the author offers an account of events some of which he himself had witnessed. But the work is designed as eulogy, is a partisan account and often fails the attentive reader. In the Vita Wilfridi also history is personalized in a big way.9 We cannot do without these sources, but we must try- difficult though it may be-to put them into our service, not to become enslaved by them. In the links between England, 8 See below notes 28, 33 and 37 regarding Hilda and her family. 9 D. P. Kirby, 'Bede, Eddius Stephanus and the Life of Wilfrid'EHR 98 (1983) p. 101-14, presents the latest assessment. See also G. Isenberg, Die Würdigung Wilfrieds uon York in der Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum Bedas und der Vita Wilfridi des Eddius, Dissertation (Münster 1978). RICHTER, THE ENGLISH LINK 93 Ireland and Gaul, and the cultural exchanges that resulted from them, the English were at the receiving end.