Jayne Carroll, Andrew Reynolds, and Barbara Yorke
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter provides an interdisciplinary, scene-setting review of the current state of knowledge in the field of early medieval social complexity and sets out an agenda for future work in this ...
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This chapter provides an interdisciplinary, scene-setting review of the current state of knowledge in the field of early medieval social complexity and sets out an agenda for future work in this topical area. While much previous work in this field tends to focus on comparisons with the classical world, this contribution emphasises the uniqueness of early medieval modes of social organisation. Introductions are provided to the study of geographies of power through archaeological analyses, vocabularies of power drawing on place-name evidence and notions of law and its enactment at assembly sites from written sources. It is argued that places where power was enacted in a period of non-urban social and administrative complexity must be understood on their own terms. The robusticity and flexibility of early medieval networks of power is also emphasised in the context of a comparative discussion ranging across the European area.Less
This chapter provides an interdisciplinary, scene-setting review of the current state of knowledge in the field of early medieval social complexity and sets out an agenda for future work in this topical area. While much previous work in this field tends to focus on comparisons with the classical world, this contribution emphasises the uniqueness of early medieval modes of social organisation. Introductions are provided to the study of geographies of power through archaeological analyses, vocabularies of power drawing on place-name evidence and notions of law and its enactment at assembly sites from written sources. It is argued that places where power was enacted in a period of non-urban social and administrative complexity must be understood on their own terms. The robusticity and flexibility of early medieval networks of power is also emphasised in the context of a comparative discussion ranging across the European area.
Andy Seaman
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.003.0015
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Wales provides a rare opportunity to explore the development of an early medieval socio-political landscape in a part of the Western Roman Empire that was not subject to Germanic incursion before the ...
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Wales provides a rare opportunity to explore the development of an early medieval socio-political landscape in a part of the Western Roman Empire that was not subject to Germanic incursion before the 11th century. South-East Wales is particularly important in this respect as it lies within the Romanised zone of lowland Britain. A lack of early evidence, however, has led scholars to construct anachronistic interpretations overly dependent upon evidence drawn from lawbooks of the 13th century. Archaeological evidence and documentary sources from South-East Wales do, however, afford an opportunity to explore the organisation and exploitation of the early medieval landscape independently of the lawbooks. This chapter examines territorial organisation, central places and long-term political continuity in early medieval South-East Wales. It concludes by considering some of the contrasts between patterns of power in South-East Wales and Anglo-Saxon England.Less
Wales provides a rare opportunity to explore the development of an early medieval socio-political landscape in a part of the Western Roman Empire that was not subject to Germanic incursion before the 11th century. South-East Wales is particularly important in this respect as it lies within the Romanised zone of lowland Britain. A lack of early evidence, however, has led scholars to construct anachronistic interpretations overly dependent upon evidence drawn from lawbooks of the 13th century. Archaeological evidence and documentary sources from South-East Wales do, however, afford an opportunity to explore the organisation and exploitation of the early medieval landscape independently of the lawbooks. This chapter examines territorial organisation, central places and long-term political continuity in early medieval South-East Wales. It concludes by considering some of the contrasts between patterns of power in South-East Wales and Anglo-Saxon England.
Rory Naismith
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.003.0019
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Thanks to the inscriptions on early medieval coins, the locations where they were made—mints—are among the best-recorded selections of places in Europe. This chapter seeks to demonstrate that the ...
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Thanks to the inscriptions on early medieval coins, the locations where they were made—mints—are among the best-recorded selections of places in Europe. This chapter seeks to demonstrate that the establishment of mints at particular times and places depended above all on contemporary governmental and social conditions. The later Roman Empire had emphasised the centrality of a few large mints closely tied to the fiscal system, but its successor kingdoms in England, Francia, Italy and Spain followed different criteria. Production was often organised on a more personal than institutional basis through the mediation of moneyers, and commercial activity, administrative functions or military/political significance could all dictate the production of coin. It is essential to consider the interaction of these and other factors in shaping the role of a mint, as well as the diversity in function and scale that could apply within even one territory.Less
Thanks to the inscriptions on early medieval coins, the locations where they were made—mints—are among the best-recorded selections of places in Europe. This chapter seeks to demonstrate that the establishment of mints at particular times and places depended above all on contemporary governmental and social conditions. The later Roman Empire had emphasised the centrality of a few large mints closely tied to the fiscal system, but its successor kingdoms in England, Francia, Italy and Spain followed different criteria. Production was often organised on a more personal than institutional basis through the mediation of moneyers, and commercial activity, administrative functions or military/political significance could all dictate the production of coin. It is essential to consider the interaction of these and other factors in shaping the role of a mint, as well as the diversity in function and scale that could apply within even one territory.
Helena Hamerow
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199203253
- eISBN:
- 9780191741760
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203253.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
In the course of the fifth century, the Roman farms and villas of lowland Britain were replaced by the new, distinctive settlements of Anglo-Saxon communities. This volume presents a major synthesis ...
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In the course of the fifth century, the Roman farms and villas of lowland Britain were replaced by the new, distinctive settlements of Anglo-Saxon communities. This volume presents a major synthesis of the evidence, now rapidly growing, for such settlements from across England and throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. Its aim is to explore what this evidence reveals about the communities who lived in them and whose daily lives went almost wholly unrecorded. The book examines the appearance, ‘life-cycles’ and function of their buildings; the relationship of Anglo-Saxon settlements to the Romano-British landscape and to later medieval villages; the role of ritual in daily life; what distinguished ‘rural’ from ‘urban’; and the relationship between farming regimes and settlement forms. A central theme throughout the book is the impact on rural producers of the rise of lordship and markets, and how this impact is reflected in the remains of their settlements.Less
In the course of the fifth century, the Roman farms and villas of lowland Britain were replaced by the new, distinctive settlements of Anglo-Saxon communities. This volume presents a major synthesis of the evidence, now rapidly growing, for such settlements from across England and throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. Its aim is to explore what this evidence reveals about the communities who lived in them and whose daily lives went almost wholly unrecorded. The book examines the appearance, ‘life-cycles’ and function of their buildings; the relationship of Anglo-Saxon settlements to the Romano-British landscape and to later medieval villages; the role of ritual in daily life; what distinguished ‘rural’ from ‘urban’; and the relationship between farming regimes and settlement forms. A central theme throughout the book is the impact on rural producers of the rise of lordship and markets, and how this impact is reflected in the remains of their settlements.
Jayne Carroll, Andrew Reynolds, and Barbara Yorke (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This volume brings together a series of case studies of spatial configurations of power among the early medieval societies of Europe. The geographical range extends from Ireland to Kosovo and from ...
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This volume brings together a series of case studies of spatial configurations of power among the early medieval societies of Europe. The geographical range extends from Ireland to Kosovo and from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean world and brings together quite different scholarly traditions in a focused enquiry into the character of places of power from the end of the Roman period into the central Middle Ages. The book's strength lies in the basis that it provides for a comparative analysis of the formation, function and range of power relations in early medieval societies. The editors' introductory chapter provides an extended scene setting review of the current state of knowledge in the field of early medieval social complexity and sets out an agenda for future work in this topical area. The regional and local case studies found in the volume, most of them interdisciplinary, showcase detailed studies of particular situations at a range of scales. While much previous work tends to focus on comparisons with the classical world, this volume emphasises the uniqueness of early medieval modes of social organisation and the need to assess these societies on their own terms.Less
This volume brings together a series of case studies of spatial configurations of power among the early medieval societies of Europe. The geographical range extends from Ireland to Kosovo and from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean world and brings together quite different scholarly traditions in a focused enquiry into the character of places of power from the end of the Roman period into the central Middle Ages. The book's strength lies in the basis that it provides for a comparative analysis of the formation, function and range of power relations in early medieval societies. The editors' introductory chapter provides an extended scene setting review of the current state of knowledge in the field of early medieval social complexity and sets out an agenda for future work in this topical area. The regional and local case studies found in the volume, most of them interdisciplinary, showcase detailed studies of particular situations at a range of scales. While much previous work tends to focus on comparisons with the classical world, this volume emphasises the uniqueness of early medieval modes of social organisation and the need to assess these societies on their own terms.
Elizabeth Fentress and Caroline Goodson
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.003.0013
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
In early medieval Italy, some settlements were anchored on Roman sites which provided authority and legitimacy for their post-Roman inhabitants. This chapter examines the use and reuse of an ancient ...
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In early medieval Italy, some settlements were anchored on Roman sites which provided authority and legitimacy for their post-Roman inhabitants. This chapter examines the use and reuse of an ancient imperial site through the case study of Villamagna, near Anagni in Central-Southern Italy. We argue that the estate of Villa Magna, founded in the 2nd century, remained an imperial property through the 7th century and was transferred to the bishopric of Rome before the 9th century. The history of the estate between the late 5th and the 12th century and the evidence for changes of ownership is discussed. The use of the villa’s physical structures, the maintenance of its agricultural terrain and the remains of its architectural materials to project power over the surrounding landscape can be seen as a case of imperial ownership, over time, providing an unbreakable stability and anchoring a centre of power even through changed historical contexts.Less
In early medieval Italy, some settlements were anchored on Roman sites which provided authority and legitimacy for their post-Roman inhabitants. This chapter examines the use and reuse of an ancient imperial site through the case study of Villamagna, near Anagni in Central-Southern Italy. We argue that the estate of Villa Magna, founded in the 2nd century, remained an imperial property through the 7th century and was transferred to the bishopric of Rome before the 9th century. The history of the estate between the late 5th and the 12th century and the evidence for changes of ownership is discussed. The use of the villa’s physical structures, the maintenance of its agricultural terrain and the remains of its architectural materials to project power over the surrounding landscape can be seen as a case of imperial ownership, over time, providing an unbreakable stability and anchoring a centre of power even through changed historical contexts.
Egge Knol
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.003.0017
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Across the North Sea from England was a land that was known in the early Middle Ages, as part of it is today, as Frisia. This largely marshy land was a good place to live for those who managed to ...
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Across the North Sea from England was a land that was known in the early Middle Ages, as part of it is today, as Frisia. This largely marshy land was a good place to live for those who managed to adjust to its potentially extreme but fertile habitat. Despite many archaeological observations and finds, our view of their social organisation is not very clear, and in part derived from better-documented parallels elsewhere. This chapter will first briefly describe the former landscape and its archaeological record, before dealing with the organisation of Frisia. Its focus will be on the northern part of Frisia. The aim of the chapter is to offer a general picture, based on recent research, of this country oriented towards the North Sea and its maintaining of close links to early medieval England.Less
Across the North Sea from England was a land that was known in the early Middle Ages, as part of it is today, as Frisia. This largely marshy land was a good place to live for those who managed to adjust to its potentially extreme but fertile habitat. Despite many archaeological observations and finds, our view of their social organisation is not very clear, and in part derived from better-documented parallels elsewhere. This chapter will first briefly describe the former landscape and its archaeological record, before dealing with the organisation of Frisia. Its focus will be on the northern part of Frisia. The aim of the chapter is to offer a general picture, based on recent research, of this country oriented towards the North Sea and its maintaining of close links to early medieval England.
Patrick Gleeson
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.003.0016
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter explores the development of a kingdom of Munster through the lens of the evolution of the Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary. Traditionally regarded as the provincial capital of Munster from ...
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This chapter explores the development of a kingdom of Munster through the lens of the evolution of the Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary. Traditionally regarded as the provincial capital of Munster from at least the beginning of the early medieval period, it is argued instead that the provincial status of the Rock emerged out of political discourses associated with the creation of a kingdom of Munster during the 7th to 9th centuries. Alternative seas of kingship, rivals to Cashel and the politics associated with these early centres of kingship are explored with reference to their wider implications for provincial models of later prehistoric and early medieval Ireland.Less
This chapter explores the development of a kingdom of Munster through the lens of the evolution of the Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary. Traditionally regarded as the provincial capital of Munster from at least the beginning of the early medieval period, it is argued instead that the provincial status of the Rock emerged out of political discourses associated with the creation of a kingdom of Munster during the 7th to 9th centuries. Alternative seas of kingship, rivals to Cashel and the politics associated with these early centres of kingship are explored with reference to their wider implications for provincial models of later prehistoric and early medieval Ireland.
Christina Harrington
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208235
- eISBN:
- 9780191716683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208235.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
Monasteries in early medieval Ireland resembled nothing so much as slightly miniaturised villages. By the 7th century, there were many places resembling this general description, so successful had ...
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Monasteries in early medieval Ireland resembled nothing so much as slightly miniaturised villages. By the 7th century, there were many places resembling this general description, so successful had Christian evangelism been. A handful were women's monasteries, and one at least was a double house. Though the sources on large female monasteries are patchy, a good deal can be gleaned: the rules, daily activities, ministry to the laity, as well as attitudes on nuns' chastity. This chapter looks at nuns in large women's monasteries in Kildare, Killeedy, Killevy, and Clonbroney. Ceremonials in large Irish nunneries are also discussed, along with claustration, and the openness of nunneries in the 7th to 9th centuries.Less
Monasteries in early medieval Ireland resembled nothing so much as slightly miniaturised villages. By the 7th century, there were many places resembling this general description, so successful had Christian evangelism been. A handful were women's monasteries, and one at least was a double house. Though the sources on large female monasteries are patchy, a good deal can be gleaned: the rules, daily activities, ministry to the laity, as well as attitudes on nuns' chastity. This chapter looks at nuns in large women's monasteries in Kildare, Killeedy, Killevy, and Clonbroney. Ceremonials in large Irish nunneries are also discussed, along with claustration, and the openness of nunneries in the 7th to 9th centuries.
Alexandra Chavarría Arnau
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197266588
- eISBN:
- 9780191896040
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266588.003.0009
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Since the end of the 19th century, Italian historiography concerning the beginnings of the ‘comune’ has identified the expression ante ecclesia in convento, from chapter 343 of the Lombard Edict of ...
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Since the end of the 19th century, Italian historiography concerning the beginnings of the ‘comune’ has identified the expression ante ecclesia in convento, from chapter 343 of the Lombard Edict of Rothari, as evidence of an early medieval communal organisation based on earlier Roman structures. This interpretation is of significance not only for the history of cities, but also for the countryside and the organisation of commons. This chapter explores the function of churches and their surroundings as places of assembly, analysing other Italian written sources that mention meetings of a non-ecclesiastical character in relation to these buildings, and introduces the archaeological evidence to identify where exactly these meetings could have been conductedLess
Since the end of the 19th century, Italian historiography concerning the beginnings of the ‘comune’ has identified the expression ante ecclesia in convento, from chapter 343 of the Lombard Edict of Rothari, as evidence of an early medieval communal organisation based on earlier Roman structures. This interpretation is of significance not only for the history of cities, but also for the countryside and the organisation of commons. This chapter explores the function of churches and their surroundings as places of assembly, analysing other Italian written sources that mention meetings of a non-ecclesiastical character in relation to these buildings, and introduces the archaeological evidence to identify where exactly these meetings could have been conducted
John Marenbon
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691142555
- eISBN:
- 9781400866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691142555.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter looks at the ease with which the ancient pagan culture was adopted and adapted to fit into a Christian world (without in many cases being actually Christianized) during the Early Middle ...
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This chapter looks at the ease with which the ancient pagan culture was adopted and adapted to fit into a Christian world (without in many cases being actually Christianized) during the Early Middle Ages. In writing which was not strictly theological or philosophical, early medieval scholars used ancient models and language freely within a Christian context. They took the compatibility of pagan culture and Christian belief so much for granted that the Problem of Paganism did not arise; and the same is true for their predecessors in the sixth and seventh centuries as for some tenth- and eleventh-century writing. This broad, unproblematic acceptance of classical culture set what would remain the mainstream view throughout the Middle Ages. The chapter also looks at how Christian Europe came about only as the result of a long process.Less
This chapter looks at the ease with which the ancient pagan culture was adopted and adapted to fit into a Christian world (without in many cases being actually Christianized) during the Early Middle Ages. In writing which was not strictly theological or philosophical, early medieval scholars used ancient models and language freely within a Christian context. They took the compatibility of pagan culture and Christian belief so much for granted that the Problem of Paganism did not arise; and the same is true for their predecessors in the sixth and seventh centuries as for some tenth- and eleventh-century writing. This broad, unproblematic acceptance of classical culture set what would remain the mainstream view throughout the Middle Ages. The chapter also looks at how Christian Europe came about only as the result of a long process.
Paul J. E. Kershaw
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198208709
- eISBN:
- 9780191594731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208709.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
What did early medieval authors think about when they thought about peace? Early medieval political culture is impossible to understand without a full awareness of the foundations upon which it was ...
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What did early medieval authors think about when they thought about peace? Early medieval political culture is impossible to understand without a full awareness of the foundations upon which it was constructed, and the inherited thought and imagery with which it was built. Briefly discussing the linguistic issues involved in the subject, this chapter uses Bede's famous image of the peace of King Edwin of Northumbria's reign as a means to explore the various currents that fed into the early medieval political imagination. Biblical material, and the forms of its re‐use in early medieval culture is addressed — with emphasis upon the treatment of Solomon — as is the legacy of antiquity through an examination of the late history of the ara pacis of Augustus and the reconfiguration of Rome's central precincts. Byzantine, Augustinian, early Irish, and ‘Germanic’ notions of peace also come under scrutiny.Less
What did early medieval authors think about when they thought about peace? Early medieval political culture is impossible to understand without a full awareness of the foundations upon which it was constructed, and the inherited thought and imagery with which it was built. Briefly discussing the linguistic issues involved in the subject, this chapter uses Bede's famous image of the peace of King Edwin of Northumbria's reign as a means to explore the various currents that fed into the early medieval political imagination. Biblical material, and the forms of its re‐use in early medieval culture is addressed — with emphasis upon the treatment of Solomon — as is the legacy of antiquity through an examination of the late history of the ara pacis of Augustus and the reconfiguration of Rome's central precincts. Byzantine, Augustinian, early Irish, and ‘Germanic’ notions of peace also come under scrutiny.
Christina Harrington
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198208235
- eISBN:
- 9780191716683
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208235.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
If the Irish attitudes were increasingly mixed on the subject of men and women sharing space in the religious life, this ambivalence is nowhere clearer than in one new and most extraordinary type of ...
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If the Irish attitudes were increasingly mixed on the subject of men and women sharing space in the religious life, this ambivalence is nowhere clearer than in one new and most extraordinary type of narrative. It both epitomises the issues and reveals the underlying common lines of thinking and rationalisation. The Irish consort stories have perplexed historians for nearly a hundred years, and the discussions have so far produced no plausible explanation. In 1968, Roger Reynolds suggested that it was likely for female consorts to live with holy men in early medieval Ireland. According to Reynolds, Celtic syneisactism represented one of the most primitive aspects of Christianity to survive in medieval Western Europe. This chapter discusses cohabitation between female consorts and holy men in early medieval Ireland, the crackdown on nicolaitism, and clerical marriage.Less
If the Irish attitudes were increasingly mixed on the subject of men and women sharing space in the religious life, this ambivalence is nowhere clearer than in one new and most extraordinary type of narrative. It both epitomises the issues and reveals the underlying common lines of thinking and rationalisation. The Irish consort stories have perplexed historians for nearly a hundred years, and the discussions have so far produced no plausible explanation. In 1968, Roger Reynolds suggested that it was likely for female consorts to live with holy men in early medieval Ireland. According to Reynolds, Celtic syneisactism represented one of the most primitive aspects of Christianity to survive in medieval Western Europe. This chapter discusses cohabitation between female consorts and holy men in early medieval Ireland, the crackdown on nicolaitism, and clerical marriage.
Paul J. E. Kershaw
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198208709
- eISBN:
- 9780191594731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208709.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
The preface sets out the historical questions pursued through the rest of the book: what did it mean to talk about peace in the centuries following the end of the Roman Empire in the West? What role ...
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The preface sets out the historical questions pursued through the rest of the book: what did it mean to talk about peace in the centuries following the end of the Roman Empire in the West? What role did it play in the wider conception of rulership? Beginning with a single case‐study — the coronation of Charles the Bald in Metz in 869, and the poetry written for the occasion by Sedulius Scottus, an Irish scholar — this opening sketches the modes by which early medieval kings and their theorists worked. Competing treatments of peace in the same year are explored, as are the means of making peace (oaths, hostages, treaties) to reveal the diversity of attitudes even within a single year. Peace in wider time and space is addressed. So, too, is earlier scholarship on the field. The chapter closes with an investigation of the place of peace in the early medieval imagination more broadly (Beowulf, the Waltharius).Less
The preface sets out the historical questions pursued through the rest of the book: what did it mean to talk about peace in the centuries following the end of the Roman Empire in the West? What role did it play in the wider conception of rulership? Beginning with a single case‐study — the coronation of Charles the Bald in Metz in 869, and the poetry written for the occasion by Sedulius Scottus, an Irish scholar — this opening sketches the modes by which early medieval kings and their theorists worked. Competing treatments of peace in the same year are explored, as are the means of making peace (oaths, hostages, treaties) to reveal the diversity of attitudes even within a single year. Peace in wider time and space is addressed. So, too, is earlier scholarship on the field. The chapter closes with an investigation of the place of peace in the early medieval imagination more broadly (Beowulf, the Waltharius).
Joe Cribb and Georgina Herrmann (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263846
- eISBN:
- 9780191734113
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263846.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This is a study of the history, archaeology, and numismatics of Central Asia, an area of great significance for our understanding of the ancient and early medieval world. This vast, land-locked ...
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This is a study of the history, archaeology, and numismatics of Central Asia, an area of great significance for our understanding of the ancient and early medieval world. This vast, land-locked region, with its extreme continental climate, was a centre of civilization with great metropolises. Its cosmopolitan population followed different religions (Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism), and traded extensively with China, India, the Middle East, and Europe. The millennium from the overthrow of the first world empire of Achaemenian Persians by Alexander the Great to the arrival of the Arabs and Islam was a period of considerable change and conflict. The book focuses on investigations in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, providing a complex analysis of the symbiosis between the city life based on oases, and the nomadic peoples grazing their animals in the surrounding semi-deserts. Other topics include the influence of the Greek colonists on military architecture, and the major impact of the Great Kushans on the spread of Buddhism and on the development of the Central Asian metropolis. Although written documents rarely survive, coinage has provided essential evidence for the political and cultural history of the region.Less
This is a study of the history, archaeology, and numismatics of Central Asia, an area of great significance for our understanding of the ancient and early medieval world. This vast, land-locked region, with its extreme continental climate, was a centre of civilization with great metropolises. Its cosmopolitan population followed different religions (Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism), and traded extensively with China, India, the Middle East, and Europe. The millennium from the overthrow of the first world empire of Achaemenian Persians by Alexander the Great to the arrival of the Arabs and Islam was a period of considerable change and conflict. The book focuses on investigations in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, providing a complex analysis of the symbiosis between the city life based on oases, and the nomadic peoples grazing their animals in the surrounding semi-deserts. Other topics include the influence of the Greek colonists on military architecture, and the major impact of the Great Kushans on the spread of Buddhism and on the development of the Central Asian metropolis. Although written documents rarely survive, coinage has provided essential evidence for the political and cultural history of the region.
Joyce Hill
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263518
- eISBN:
- 9780191734021
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263518.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This lecture discusses the intellectual and textual systems within which Ælfric and his Carolingian models were working. It focuses on Ælfric's cultural context, compositional process, and his ...
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This lecture discusses the intellectual and textual systems within which Ælfric and his Carolingian models were working. It focuses on Ælfric's cultural context, compositional process, and his interaction with his textual community. The sources are considered to be simply forms of evidence for interpretation. The author uses two main investigation procedures: a critical examination of the efficacy of the models of interpretation used in modern source-study scholarship, and an analysis of the construction of the early medieval system of intertextual discourse.Less
This lecture discusses the intellectual and textual systems within which Ælfric and his Carolingian models were working. It focuses on Ælfric's cultural context, compositional process, and his interaction with his textual community. The sources are considered to be simply forms of evidence for interpretation. The author uses two main investigation procedures: a critical examination of the efficacy of the models of interpretation used in modern source-study scholarship, and an analysis of the construction of the early medieval system of intertextual discourse.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199544554
- eISBN:
- 9780191720390
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544554.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This book is the first to investigate how Anglo‐Saxon society dealt with social outcasts. The study begins in the period immediately following Roman rule and ends in the century following the Norman ...
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This book is the first to investigate how Anglo‐Saxon society dealt with social outcasts. The study begins in the period immediately following Roman rule and ends in the century following the Norman Conquest. This period, the 5th to 11th centuries, witnessed the conversion to Christianity, the emergence of the late Saxon state, and the development of the landscape of Domesday Book. While the study of early Anglo‐Saxon cemeteries and churchyards of the Christian period is well established, a substantial body of excavated and documented evidence for human burial in a range of other contexts has remained neglected until now. This book thus reveals for the first time a nuanced and varied approach to burial rites in Anglo‐Saxon England, particularly relating to individuals cast out from mainstream society. Although impressive written evidence survives, archaeology is uniquely placed to investigate the earliest period of post‐Roman society, the 5th to 7th centuries, where documents are lacking and to provide an independent assessment of documented situations in the later part of the period. The landscape setting of unusual human burials provides insights into the chronology of territorial arrangements and how features such as boundaries and pre‐existing monuments, such as barrows and linear earthworks, were perceived by the Anglo‐Saxons. Overall, the book argues that modes of outcast burial show a clear pattern of development from the pre‐Christian centuries, where deviant burials are found only in community cemeteries, to a situation whereby locally determined rites, such as crossroads burial, existed alongside formal measures imposed from the 7th century ad in the context of kingdom formation.Less
This book is the first to investigate how Anglo‐Saxon society dealt with social outcasts. The study begins in the period immediately following Roman rule and ends in the century following the Norman Conquest. This period, the 5th to 11th centuries, witnessed the conversion to Christianity, the emergence of the late Saxon state, and the development of the landscape of Domesday Book. While the study of early Anglo‐Saxon cemeteries and churchyards of the Christian period is well established, a substantial body of excavated and documented evidence for human burial in a range of other contexts has remained neglected until now. This book thus reveals for the first time a nuanced and varied approach to burial rites in Anglo‐Saxon England, particularly relating to individuals cast out from mainstream society. Although impressive written evidence survives, archaeology is uniquely placed to investigate the earliest period of post‐Roman society, the 5th to 7th centuries, where documents are lacking and to provide an independent assessment of documented situations in the later part of the period. The landscape setting of unusual human burials provides insights into the chronology of territorial arrangements and how features such as boundaries and pre‐existing monuments, such as barrows and linear earthworks, were perceived by the Anglo‐Saxons. Overall, the book argues that modes of outcast burial show a clear pattern of development from the pre‐Christian centuries, where deviant burials are found only in community cemeteries, to a situation whereby locally determined rites, such as crossroads burial, existed alongside formal measures imposed from the 7th century ad in the context of kingdom formation.
T. M. Charles-Edwards
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198217312
- eISBN:
- 9780191744778
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198217312.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This is a history of the Welsh in the centuries in which Wales acquired the shape it was to retain until the present day. In 350 what is now Wales was just one part of Roman Britain: contemporaries ...
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This is a history of the Welsh in the centuries in which Wales acquired the shape it was to retain until the present day. In 350 what is now Wales was just one part of Roman Britain: contemporaries had no notion of Wales or the Welsh in the later-medieval or modern sense. The inhabitants of what is now Wales were just Britons; and, in the early middle ages, the Welsh remained one part of a larger group, the Britons, called Walas or Wealas by the English. The book thus includes the Britons of North Britain, of Cornwall, and of Brittany, although its main focus is the Britons of Wales. The period saw, first, the creation of an English people and, later, of an English state; relations with the Britons of Wales were an essential strand in these developments. For the Britons themselves relations with the English shaped the political and military side of their history; but, in the cultural and religious sphere relations with Ireland were usually more important. For relations of power the Britons of Wales looked east; in the intellectual and spiritual sphere they mostly looked west. The book is divided into four parts: the Post-Roman period, approximately 400–600; early Welsh society; relations with the English; and the religious organization and culture, both in Latin and the vernacular.Less
This is a history of the Welsh in the centuries in which Wales acquired the shape it was to retain until the present day. In 350 what is now Wales was just one part of Roman Britain: contemporaries had no notion of Wales or the Welsh in the later-medieval or modern sense. The inhabitants of what is now Wales were just Britons; and, in the early middle ages, the Welsh remained one part of a larger group, the Britons, called Walas or Wealas by the English. The book thus includes the Britons of North Britain, of Cornwall, and of Brittany, although its main focus is the Britons of Wales. The period saw, first, the creation of an English people and, later, of an English state; relations with the Britons of Wales were an essential strand in these developments. For the Britons themselves relations with the English shaped the political and military side of their history; but, in the cultural and religious sphere relations with Ireland were usually more important. For relations of power the Britons of Wales looked east; in the intellectual and spiritual sphere they mostly looked west. The book is divided into four parts: the Post-Roman period, approximately 400–600; early Welsh society; relations with the English; and the religious organization and culture, both in Latin and the vernacular.
T. M. Charles-Edwards
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198217312
- eISBN:
- 9780191744778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198217312.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
The chapter considers the different senses of ‘Britain’. ‘the Britons’, ‘the Welsh’, and ‘Cymry’ in the early medieval period. It also surveys the lands that remained British up to c. 600. These ...
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The chapter considers the different senses of ‘Britain’. ‘the Britons’, ‘the Welsh’, and ‘Cymry’ in the early medieval period. It also surveys the lands that remained British up to c. 600. These extended southwards from the Firth of Forth (which divided the territory of the Picts to the north from the British people known as the Votadini, later Gododdin) and proceeds from one people and kingdom to another down the west side of Britain, including the Isle of Man, to Wales, Dumnonia and Cornwall in the south‐west, and across the sea to Brittany.Less
The chapter considers the different senses of ‘Britain’. ‘the Britons’, ‘the Welsh’, and ‘Cymry’ in the early medieval period. It also surveys the lands that remained British up to c. 600. These extended southwards from the Firth of Forth (which divided the territory of the Picts to the north from the British people known as the Votadini, later Gododdin) and proceeds from one people and kingdom to another down the west side of Britain, including the Isle of Man, to Wales, Dumnonia and Cornwall in the south‐west, and across the sea to Brittany.
Wendy Davies
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198201533
- eISBN:
- 9780191674921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198201533.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
This chapter investigates the practice of power within early medieval Wales. It begins with an overview of the political history until the late eleventh century. It then considers the pre-ninth ...
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This chapter investigates the practice of power within early medieval Wales. It begins with an overview of the political history until the late eleventh century. It then considers the pre-ninth century background, and goes on to examine the relationships between Welsh rulers in the ninth- to eleventh-century period. It focuses specifically on the Welshmen's relationships with, and reactions to, each other. It also describes three aspects of political relationships within Wales: the rulers and regions, the territorial range of rulers, and segmentation.Less
This chapter investigates the practice of power within early medieval Wales. It begins with an overview of the political history until the late eleventh century. It then considers the pre-ninth century background, and goes on to examine the relationships between Welsh rulers in the ninth- to eleventh-century period. It focuses specifically on the Welshmen's relationships with, and reactions to, each other. It also describes three aspects of political relationships within Wales: the rulers and regions, the territorial range of rulers, and segmentation.
