1

Unit 3: Towards the Middle Ages

Historical Introduction
(The making of England: Anglo-Saxon art and culture AD 600-900 – Backhouse, J. & Webster, L –
Pags. 9-14)
Introduction
The true ancestors of the English are the Anglo-Saxons. There were several rival Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms, with their own dialect, dynasty, aristocracy, loyalty and traditions. However, the Anglo-
Saxons had a sense that they were one people: this sense of belonging derived from a shared
experience of migration from the continent and of winning land from the native British population,
from a common religious background (allegiance to pagan Germanic gods) and from having
accepted Christianity, tying them to the roman authority.
Britain by 600
In the 5th and 6th centuries, Britain had undergone political, economic and cultural changes because
of the fall of the Roman Empire. Britain reverted to barbarianism after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Political control was split between Celtic British peoples, who stayed in the highlands and eastern
areas, and the Germanic Anglo-Saxon invaders, who took over most of the east and the south.
Latin was abandoned except for the Christian church, which positioned England in striking contrast
with the continent.
Authority was in a chaotic situation: British kings, tyrants and warlords (a.k.a anyone who could
defend you) were not roman aristocrats. They were leaders of war-bards who took advantage of the
collapse of imperial authority. Their power came from raiding the neighboring territories for gold,
silver, cattle and captives who could become slaves.
During the so-called dark ages (no sources from 475 AD
to 6th century), the economy or Roman Britain collapsed.
There was no need for roman currency. Urban crafts in
mental, bone and leather died or decayed; urban
marketing and trade withered with the collapse of the
currency and town-buildings decayed and were replaced
with timber or not replaced at all.
Mid-6th century, a British monk, Gildas, wrote of the
Saxons being invited to Britain as mercenary troops to
defend the British communities from attacks by their
northern enemies. Saxons rebelled against their
paymasters over the issue of rations. This is dated to the
year 441/2 – In 721, Bede wrote that invaders were said to
be from the three most powerful races of Germany: the
Saxons, the angles and the jutes.

Unit 3
 2

The advance of Anglo-Saxon conquest and settlement was checked for the first half of the 6 th
century. It was not until the second half of the sixth century that the majority of the Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms known were formed.

There is migration to escape the Huns (theory) – Germanic migration in Europe

The Anglo-Saxons brought with them language and religion.
Anglo Saxon religion
The Anglo Saxons brought with hem their own pagan gods whose cult replaced Christianity in
lowland Britain. Pagan gods such as Tiw, Woden, Thor and Frig.
They also introduced new Burial practices:
1. Cremation + funerary urns (common people)
2. Burial + luxury objects (important people) (See Sutton Hoo)
Until 7th and 8th centuries when they adopted Christian ideas about death
As British people were killed or enslaved, their religion was not important.
England 600-900
596: 1st Christian mission to Kent (Pope Gregory)
634: Northumbrian conversion
New sources: writing, treasure boards (See Staffordshire Hoard)
By the last decade of the 7th century, all they royal Anglo Saxon courts were Christian. This had a
dramatic impact: on the one hand, new opening at the church provided artistic and technical
expression and on the other hand, it brought an end to pagan forms.
Sutton Hoo ship burial:
Pieces of gold and metal found
Majority of things were made of gold
Garnet: red, pink and orange
One third of the things was made of silver
Glass and other inlays – to decorate some objects
The hoard is the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver treasure were found
The possession of the hoard beloinged to royalty and it contains Christian and pagan symbolism.
Ship burials were rare in Anglo-Saxon England – probably reserved for the most important people
in society – so it's likely that there was a huge funeral ceremony.
The objects in the burial chamber were designed to signal power on earth and in the hereafter. Each
object tells a story and reveals something about the person they accompanied into the afterlife.
Weaponry such as a pattern welded sword suggests a great war leader, a lyre evokes a musician
and poet, the exquisite gold and garnet craftsmanship on many items represent a patron of the arts
whereas objects like the drinking horns speak of a generous host.
Unit 3
 3

Sutton Hoo helmet: Highly corroded and broken into more than one hundred fragments when the
burial chamber collapsed, the helmet took many years work by the British Museum conservation
team to reconstruct.
Staffordshire Hoard:
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found
The majority of the objects are made of gold. Gold survives well when it is buried because it is very
stable and does not corrode like other metals such as iron. This means that the hoard objects have
remained remarkably unchanged and we can see all the intricate details and designs created in the
6th and 7th century.
The gold used in the hoard is mixed with small amounts of copper, silver and other metals and it
was probably recycled from older objects or coins. Overall, the quality of the gold used in the hoard
is good, but some of the most striking objects are made with exceptionally pure gold. This suggests
that the goldsmiths had access to stashes of better-quality metal for particularly prestigious objects.
Benefits of Christianity for the British
1. Cristian king: you were a king that was Christian.
a. Had to be related to previous kings
b. Assessed by old people (Wutan)
c. The wutan decided who was king
d. +flexibility = + competition
e. You’ll die a Christian king
f. They could remove you as king by Wuton
2. Missionaries are useful – they can read and write:
a. Writing of laws
b. Property
c. Keep track of what you did
d. Organization of the kingdom
3. Everybody was becoming Christian
a. You’d be part of the international community (trading, relationships, external trade)
Sources of wealth.
Wealth enabled the church to become the dominant patron.
 Landed resources:
o Land you control, own resources, exact tributes (sort of a tax, it was not money, it was
goods) for protection
o To control said landed resources, kings had a Militia to tour the kingdom. Why
tour de kingdom? To consume the goods, to exert and display power (for loyalty and
to know that the people are still following them), to distribute gifts, to enforce justice
and issue laws
 To collect tributes (not money, goods)
 To consume some of these
 External trade:
o New trading centres (Hamwic – London; Lundenwic; Ipswhich; Eofornic - York) – Kings
were seeking to break the monopoly of long-distance trade. By channeling the trade

Unit 3
 4

of their own kingdoms through their own ports, they could exact tolls on goods and
ships for their own benefit.
 War:
o Concept of overlord: there were many kings but one overlord; they had more power
than most kings did in that time. If you don’t fight, you are not leader. ( see Bretwalda)
o Prevent your people from being conquered
o Exploitation of borders
o Annexation of neighboring kingdoms
o Wergild – compensation to a family if you kill a member of that family. – conflict of
interest with the church – against Christians, no problem – between Anglo-Saxons,
peace message – Anglo Saxons didn’t care much
o Prolonged feuds – family problems – feuds between families, eye for an eye.
Bretwalda: this name is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century
onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
Pagan into Christian
(The making of England: Anglo-Saxon art and culture AD 600-900 – Backhouse, J. & Webster, L –
Pags. 15-16)
The most important cultural change around 600 was the adoption of Christianity. It provided a
unifying element and a basis of a structure of organization.
It involved:
 the introduction of literacy and the written record,
 the introduction of Latin as a vehicle of transmission of knowledge involving the acceptance
of an authority outside the kingdom,
 the acceptance of servants of the church as a source of local authority
 Consumers of precious resources
The means of introduction to Christianity on Anglo-Saxon Britain varied from one kingdom or territory
to the other. This created its own internal crises within the new territorially based churches (Synod
of Whitby - 664)
Conversion of the pagan Anglo-Saxon settlers came from various sources:
 The contribution of neighboring Christian British territories, there were legal penalties against
contact with the invading pagans.
 The introduction of Christian faith was bound up with the establishment of larger units of
political power, the growth of kingdoms and wider hegemonies
 There was the idea that Christianism was the old religion, the faith of emperors, of the roman
world, the world of cities, markets, and coinage, of laws and armies.
 In Kent, conversion was achieved by royal consent to patronage by the direct intervention of
pope Gregory I
Christianism expanded for “spiritual reasons”, wisdom by spreading the word of Christ and to get
land and power that the church wanted.
Conversion had many common things amongst the converted people. It was a top-to-bottom
conversion, first the king, then kingdom.

Unit 3
 5

Conversion of Kent
The Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England was a process spanning the
7th century. It was essentially the result of the Gregorian mission of 597.
In kent, king Æthelbert of Kent marries Bertha, she was already a Christian.
she was the daughter of one of the Frank Kings.
After the Gregorian mission arrives, the king converts to Christianity,
however he cannot compel his kingdom to covert. The reasons are unknown
but it is supposed that I twas to smooth things with the kingdom of Gaul.
The conversion had the political benefit of bringing the entire eastern
seaboard from Northumbria to Kent under the dominion of Christian rulers in alliance with Edwin,
with the single exception of the Essex.
Saints and Sinners
(BBC Four Documentary)
There were two sources of Christianity (see map). There was roman
Christianity as interpreted by roman standards (in red) and Celtic of
insular Christianity (green)
Roman Christianism: roman Christianism followed benedict rules. It
was based on classical knowledge, culture, civilization and faith.
Augustine: Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who
became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is
considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English
Church.
Insular Christianism:
Patrick: Patrick: was the Celtic monk who brought Christianity to
Ireland in 432. He studied in monasteries Gaul.
Celtic Christianism was different from roman Christianism because the Irish island was further away
from continental Europe. Celtic monasticism grafted itself onto this existing clan system and began
to serve as their conduits to God. The monasteries were adaptations of the previous religion.
Columba: Columba was a monk; he was the prince of Ireland’s most powerful clan. He moves to
Iona when his clan loses war. He moves to Del Riade (western part of Scotland which was part of
Ireland at the time) and establishes a monastery. This Celtic Christianity was transferred from the
Iona people, to the Pictish people to the British Isles and to the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons.
Celtic monasteries mirror secular law, if you were to do something wrong, you were expected to pay
(Wergild) a financial compensation
Aidan: In 635, the Irish monk Aidan founded his own island in Lindisfarne and began the conversion
of this extensive kingdom. Aidan’s successor was Cuthbert, who was a Celtic monk who accepted
the roman system of monasteries winning against the Celts. He would enforce the rules of benedict

Unit 3
 6

Celtic monasteries spread across North Umbria 22 years after Lindisfarne. One was established a
hundred miles down the coast at Whitby (657). In the Celtic tradition, the king endowed the land and
a member of his family was put in charge.
The Church in North Umbria
(The making of England: Anglo-Saxon art and culture AD 600-900 – Backhouse, J. & Webster, L –
Pags. 108-110)
In north Umbria, Celtic Christianism and roman Christianism co-existed. Celtic monasticism was
about being alone and in solitude and roman monasticism was about community and being united
as a community.
Both branches of Christianism celebrated Easter in different days.
Queen Eanfled of Bernicia and her court observed Easter on a different day than did King Oswiu.
While one royal faction was celebrating Easter, the other would still be fasting during Lent. This
could cause some sort of probkem for their kingdom
Synod of Whitby
This was a synod to determine which date was the right one to celebrate Easter. There were two
sides: Celtic vs roman
 On the Celtic side was Colman, Irishman educated on Iona who was Abbot of Lindisfarne
 On the Roman side was Wilfrid who had been educated in Canterbury and Gaul and he'd
visited Rome where he met the Pope during his time in Europe
The roman side won at the Synod of Whitby against Coleman and his more rustic Celtic monastic
system was pretty much a foregone conclusion King as he had very little to gain
The great European Union of monasteries would give him access to
 classical knowledge
 diplomatic network

Unit 3
 7

The monk who accepted the job of making Celtic monasteries to roman ones was Cuthbert, a Celtic
monk who had converted to roman system following the rules of benedict.

Unit 3