The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England

Transcription

1 Certificate in the Study of Early Medieval England Syllabus for Unit 1 Michaelmas Term 2015 The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England Start date 16 October 2015 End date 6 December 2015 Day October 2015 and Time Friday evening to Sunday 4 6 December 2015 lunchtime Venue Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ Tutor(s) Prof. Stephen Upex No of meetings Two weekends Aims This course aims: 1. To give a broad understanding of the archaeological development of the landscape and culture of England between AD 2. To enable students to use the basic archaeological approaches to landscape interpretation 3. To encourage students to be confident, autonomous researchers within the field and through work carried out in class and through their own independent projects Content Roman administration was withdrawn from Britain in about 400AD; by 700AD the inhabitants of England were calling themselves English and by 950AD the kingdom of England had been established. This unit explores surviving British and evolving Anglo-Saxon identities through the rich and often enigmatic archaeology of the period. Roman towns and villas gradually disappeared and the landscape evolved in a very different way as new Anglo- Saxon influences took hold. The development of Anglo-Saxon kingship; trade and other economic links; changes in religious belief and practices; Viking raids; new settlements; the development of estates and manors and the Norman conquest all left their mark. A field visit and some practical handling of archaeological material is included. Presentation of the unit Sessions will consist of a formal presentation by the tutor and there will be ample time for discussion and questions. Each weekend will include a field visit to significant sites or areas

2 related to the course and one session is included which allows first-hand experience of handling original archaeological material. Lecture list Weekend 1: October 2015 Session Time Content Friday 16 October Session pm Introduction to the course/ The end of Roman Britain towns/villas/ the countryside/economy/the army Saturday 17 October Session am Romans into Saxons?/Christianity/landscape continuity/migration/where do the Romans go to? am Session am 12.30pm The archaeology of Anglo-Saxon culture/dress/artefacts/tools/pottery Session 4 & pm Field visit to Castor to view the Roman and Saxon remains around the church and village Session pm Practical handling session of original objects related to the course. Sunday 18 October Session am Cemeteries- layout, interpretation and their contexts within the landscape am Session am 12.30pm Cemeteries and burial practice and Sutton Hoo and other status burials DEPART Weekend 2: 4 6 December 2015 Session Time Content Friday 4 December Session pm The archaeological evidence for Anglo-Saxon buildings- their types and functions and problems of interpretation Saturday 5 December Session am Anglo-Saxon villages and their development/estates/regional organisation/place names am

3 Session am 12.30pm Dyke systems, the development of the Kingship / hoards and their significance Session 12 & pm West Stow Anglo-Saxon village reconstruction and Cambridgeshire Dykes Session pm The Viking influence the Pictish evidence Sunday 6 December Session am 10.30am The archaeology of the Anglo-Saxon church and monastic sites am Session am 12.30pm Towns, castles, monasteries, the Norman conquest and change the late evidence, Domesday Book DEPART Outcomes As a result of the unit and within the constraints of the time available, students should be able to:- 1. give a general account of the archaeological evidence available for consideration within the period of interest. 2. show a basic knowledge of the development of Anglo-Saxon settlements, cemeteries and other significant features from the period. 3. critically assess the value of landscape archaeology within the period and how the evidence is interpreted along with an ability to develop alternative views. 4. assess the problems of using archaeological evidence for this period and thus be able to critically assess the value of their own research and case studies. Student assignments This unit is independently assessed on the basis of satisfactory completion of one of the assignments outlined below, totaling 3,000 4,000 words. The assessment can include essays, case-studies and projects and be fieldwork-based. Students are urged to consult the tutor before embarking on an assignment. 1. Explain how the study of Anglo-Saxon settlements shows a variation of settlement and building types but also highlights the problems in reading too much into what the archaeology tells us about the period. 2. What can the study of cemeteries tell us about the people and the period in question and how are new archaeological techniques throwing new light on old problems? 3. Does the Roman period simply end and the Anglo-Saxon simply start in Britain or does archaeology begin to outline a more complicated process of assimilation or the merging of cultures?

4 4. Assess critically the range of evidence available to archaeologists for interpreting Anglo-Saxon England from AD. 5. For a parish, area or region, assess the evidence for Anglo-Saxon occupation and show how this information can be plotted and interpreted. Students are expected to submit their assignments online and feedback on assignments is delivered online. Students wishing to create their own titles must agree a question in writing with the tutor in advance. Closing date for submission of assignment: Monday 11 January 2016 by (noon) UTC/GMT * *Co-ordinated Universal Time/Greenwich Mean Time Reading and resource list Suggested reading list Author Title Publisher and date Welch, M Anglo-Saxon England English Heritage (1992) Campbell, J, (ed) The Anglo-Saxons Phaidon Press (1982 and reprints) Wilson, D.M. (ed) The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England Methuen (1976) Hamerow, H. Hamerow, H. Hamerow, H. Rural Settlement and Society in Anglo-Saxon England Early Medieval Settlements: The Archaeology of Rural Communities in Northwest Europe, AD Excavations at Mucking Vol 2: the Anglo-Saxon settlement Oxford University Press (2014 paperback ed.) Oxford, University Press (2002) English Heritage (1993) Owen-Crocker, G.R. Dress in Anglo-Saxon England Boydell (1986) Williams, G, Pentz, P, Wemhoff M. Vikings life and legend British Museum (2014) Lucy, S. The Anglo-Saxon way of death Sutton (2000) Lucy, S. and Reynolds, A. (eds) Burial in Early medieval England and Wales Soc. Of Med. Archaeology, Monograph 17. (2002) Stafford, P. The East Midlands in the early middle ages Leicester University Press (1985) Higham, N. Rome, Britain and the Anglo-Saxons Seaby (1992) Higham, N. and Ryan, M. The Anglo-Saxon world Yale University Press (2013)

5 Certificate in the Study of Early Medieval England Syllabus for Unit 2 Lent term 2016 The Landscape Archaeology of Anglo- Saxon England Start date 22 January 2016 End date 28 February 2016 Days January 2016 and February 2016 Time Friday evening to Sunday lunchtime Venue Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ Tutor(s) Dr Susan Oosthuizen and Dr Caitlin Green No of meetings Two weekends Aims This course aims: 1. To provide a general overview of the origins and development of economic activity in the Anglo-Saxon landscape; 2. To offer an overview of the principal concepts and ideas that currently explain the origins and development of the Anglo-Saxon agricultural and other landscapes; 3. To introduce students to the broad range of available sources and methods for landscape historians interested in the period. Content This unit explores two questions central to understanding the medieval and modern English landscape: how local peasants and their lords coped with calamitous climatic, economic and political changes and significant immigration in the centuries between 400 and 650 AD; and how agricultural, administrative and social innovations were scored into fields and settlements between 650 and Underlying both questions are the two central problems for the period: first, the degree of continuity from Roman Britain into the Anglo-Saxon centuries against the extent of change in the same period; and second, how that balance between tradition and transformation is to be explained. The principal source for the unit is the landscape itself - fields and pastures, woods and marshes, villages and hamlets supported by some sparse archaeological and documentary evidence. Presentation of the unit Teaching and learning on the course is delivered through a combination of formal lectures and presentations. Students are encouraged throughout the course to be interactive and participative. At least one field visit will be included. Students are encouraged at all times to

6 undertake independent reading and study, in order to consolidate their knowledge and learning of the subject. Lecture list Weekend 1: January 2016 Session Time Content Friday 22 January 2016 Session 1 Saturday 23 January pm Introduction to the course: the world they lost (SMO) Session am Peasant livelihoods c (SMO) am Session am 12.30pm Place-names and identity (CRG) Session pm Territories, groups and central places (CRG) Tea Session 5 Session 6 Sunday 24 January pm pm 6.30pm pm Territories and their resources before 700 (SMO) Discussion of assignments (SMO/ CRG) Presentation of a case study (CRG) Session am Emerging commercial centres (CRG) am Session am 12.30pm The economies of large estates (SMO) DEPART 12.45pm Weekend 2: February 2016 Session Time Content Friday 26 February 2016 Session 9 Saturday 27 February pm Economic landscapes 1: arable cultivation (SMO) Session am Economic landscapes 2: pastures and

7 am commons (SMO) Session am 12.30pm Social structure and the economy (CRG) Session pm Anglo-Saxon towns (CRG) Tea Session 13 Session pm pm 6.30pm Sunday 28 February pm Economic expansion across the landscape (SMO) Discussion of assignments Presentation of a case study (SMO) Session am 10.30am The Scandinavian impact (CRG) Session 16 DEPART am 11.00am 12.30pm 12.45pm The Anglo-Saxon economy in its European context (CRG) Outcomes As a result of the unit and within the constraints of the time available, students should be able to: 1. To demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of the chronology of the origins and development of economic activity in the Anglo-Saxon landscape; 2. To demonstrate some familiarity with the principal concepts and ideas that currently explain the origins and development of the Anglo-Saxon agricultural and other landscapes; 3. To show a broad knowledge of straightforwardly-accessible sources and methods for exploring Anglo-Saxon landscape history. Student assignments Essay titles Students should choose one of the essay questions given below and must discuss and agree the location of case study areas in advance with the tutor. Assignments should total words. Students must agree the specific wording of the title of their assignment with the Tutors in advance. 1. In the context of a specific landscape of your choice, evaluate arguments for or against continuity or change in the local Anglo-Saxon economy. 2. How important was the legacy of Roman Britain in Anglo-Saxon agricultural/economic landscapes? Use examples and/or case studies to illustrate your argument.

8 3. Briton or Anglo-Saxon? What does the pattern of economic activity in the Anglo- Saxon landscape reveal about the relationship between Britons and Anglo-Saxons? Use examples and/or case studies to illustrate your argument. Closing date for the submission of assignments: Monday 28 March 2016 by (noon) BST* (11.00 UTC). *British Summer Time Students are expected to submit their assignments online and feedback on assignments is delivered online. Students wishing to create their own titles must agree a question in writing with the tutor in advance. READING AND RESOURCE LIST An asterisk (*) denotes essential reading. The list below is indicative rather than comprehensive. Where relevant, students will be given additional, but limited, reading lists specifically tailored to their own assignment topics and questions. Some of the titles listed below are out of print; second hand copies can often be obtained at reasonable cost through Author Title Publisher Aston, M Interpreting the landscape Routledge, 1985 *Aston, M & Gerrard, C Interpreting the English village: Landscape and community in Shapwick, Somerset Oxbow, 2013 Bailey, M A marginal economy? CUP, 1989 Baker, A & Butlin R eds. Studies of field systems in the British Isles Banham, D & Faith, R Anglo-Saxon farms and farming OUP, 2014 Barnes, G & Williamson, T Bowden, M, Brown, G and Smith, N Hedgerow history: Ecology, history and landscape Character An archaeology of town commons in England Darby, HC The Domesday geography of eastern England CUP, 1971 (new edition 1980) Windgather, 2006 English Heritage, 2009 CUP, 1971 Darby, HC The medieval fenland CUP, 1940 Dark, K & P Dark The landscape of Roman Britain Sutton, 1997 Fowler, P Farming in the first millennium AD CUP, 2002 Fox, HSA Dartmoor s alluring uplands Exeter UP, 2012 Gelling, M & A Cole The landscape of place-names Paul Watkins, 2000 Green, T Britons and Anglo-Saxons: Lincolnshire AD History of Lincolnshire Committee, 2012

9 Hall, D Medieval fields Shire, 1982 Hamerow, H Hamerow, H, Hinton, D & Crawford, S Rural settlements and society in Anglo- Saxon England The Oxford handbook of Anglo-Saxon archaeology OUP, 2012 OUP, 2011 *Hatcher, J & M Bailey Modelling the middle ages OUP, 2001 Higham, N & Ryan, M. eds. Higham, N & Ryan, M eds. Place-names, language and the Anglo- Saxon landscape The landscape archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England Voydell, 2010 Boydell, 2010 Hooke, D The landscape of Anglo-Saxon England Leicester UP, 1998 Hooke, D The Anglo-Saxon landscape: the kingdom of the Hwicce Manchester UP, 2009 Hooke, D Trees in Anglo-Saxon England Boydell, 2010 Johnson, N & Rose, P Bodmin Moor, an archaeological survey, Vol 1: the human landscape to c1800 English Heritage, 2008 ed. Jones, M England before Domesday Batsford, 1986 Langdon, J & Astill, G Medieval farming and technology: the impact of agricultural change in north-west Europe Langton, J & Jones, G eds Lewis, C, P Mitchell- Fox and C Dyer Forests and chases of medieval England & Wales c1000-c1500 Brill, 1997 St John s College Oxford, 2010 Village, hamlet and field (2nd ed.) Windgather, 2001 Oosthuizen, S Landscapes decoded: the origins and development of Cambridgeshire's medieval fields University Hertfordshire Press, 2006 Oosthuizen, S Tradition and transformation in Anglo-Saxon England: Archaeology, common rights and landscape Bloomsbury 2013 Academic, Rackham, O The history of the countryside (1st ed.) Dent, 1986 Rackham, O Trees and woodlands in the British landscape (2nd ed.) Ravensdale, J Liable to floods: village landscape on the edge of the fens, AD Weidenfeld Nicolson, 1990 CUP, 1974 and

10 Rees, S Ancient agricultural implements Shire, 1981 Roberts, BK and S Wrathmell Silvester, RJ Region and place: a study of English rural settlement Fenland Project No 3: Norfolk survey, Marshland and the Nar Valley Taylor, C Fields in the English landscape Dent, 1975 Taylor, C Williamson, T Village and farmstead: a history of rural settlement in England Shaping medieval landscapes: settlement, society, environment English Heritage, 2002 East Anglian Archaeology 45, 1988 George Philip, 1983 Windgather, 2003 *Williamson, T Environment, society and landscape in early medieval England: Time & topography Boydell & Brewer, 2013 Online resources Anglo-Saxon Churches in England Early British Kingdoms Electronic Sawyer: Anglo-Saxon charters English Heritage Introduction to Heritage Assets (Archaeology) offers excellent short summaries of recent research on archaeological sites and topics e.g. Animal Management, Field Systems, Linear Frontiers, Medieval Settlements, River Fishers and Coastal Weirs etc. Key to English Place-Names, English Place-Name Society Langscape online searchable database of words used in Anglo-Saxon charters to describe the landscape Lyminge Archaeological Project Portable Antiquities Scheme, Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (a who s who) Rackham, J (ed.), Environment and economy in Anglo-Saxon England (CBA, 1994), full open access: Richards, J, Naylor, J and Holas-Clark, C, 'Anglo-Saxon Landscape and Economy: using portable antiquities to study Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age England', Internet Archaeology 25 (2010), online at Staffordshire Hoard PORTALS The Labyrinth: Resources for medieval studies (reasonably good, but a number of broken links)

11 University of Cambridge, Dept. of Anglo-Saxon Norse & Celtic

12 Certificate in the Study of Early Medieval England Syllabus for Unit 3 Easter term 2016 Anglo-Saxon Art and Architecture Start 20 May 2016 End date 26 June 2016 date Time Friday evening to Days May 2016, Sunday lunchtime 4 June 2016 and June 2016 Venue Madingley Hall, Madingley, Cambridge, CB23 8AQ Tutor(s) Dr Frank Woodman and Dr Eileen Rubery Aims This course aims: No of meetings Two weekends plus one museum visit 1. To give a broad understanding of the development of the architecture and artistic culture of England between AD 2. To enable students to learn some of the basic art historical interpretation 3. To encourage students to be confident, autonomous researchers within the field and through work carried out in class and through their own independent projects Content The art and architecture of Anglo-Saxon England is numinous and intriguing and from the period after c.600, dominated by the Church. It is investigated in this unit through a wide range of objects - the iconic jewellery like the gold and garnet shoulder-clasps discovered at Sutton Hoo, magnificent illuminated manuscripts of the seventh to the eleventh centuries, reliquaries of carved ivory and precious metals, brass, glass and other high status objects, some imported from Europe and Byzantium, as well as carved stones and monumental churches and other buildings. A field visit is included. Presentation of the unit

13 Sessions will consist of a formal presentation by the tutor and there will be ample time for discussion and questions. Each weekend will include a field visit to significant sites or areas related to the course Lecture list Weekend 1: May 2016 Session Time Content Friday 20 May 2016 Session pm 1.Introduction to Anglo Saxon Art and Architecture (FW) 2. Anglo-Saxon Art; its range and its historical and religious context (ER) Saturday 21 May 2016 Session am Anglo-Saxon art (ER) am Session am 12.30pm Anglo-Saxon art and its links with other insular art (ER) Session 4 & pm Visit to St Benet s Church & Hadstock (FW) Session pm Sutton Hoo ship burial and its context (ER) Sunday 22 May 2016 Session am Anglo-Saxon art and Pagan influences (ER) am Session am 12.30pm Christian architecture in the age of Augustine (FW) DEPART Saturday 4 June 2016: All-day Visit to London to the British Library and to the British Museum to see Lindisfarne Gospels, Roman mosaics and some other related contemporary objects (Eileen Rubery). Meet in the foyer at the British Library at 10.30am Weekend 2: June 2016 Session Time Content Friday 24 June 2016 Session pm Anglo-Saxon Architecture (FW)

14 Saturday 25 June 2016 Session am The Anglo-Saxons and Rome: Christianity, Mosaics and Manuscripts (ER) am Session am Manuscripts in context (ER) Session pm Field trip to Paxton and Barnack (FW) Session pm Celtic Art (ER) Sunday 26 June 2016 Session am 10.30am Monumental stone sculpture, gold and metalwork (ER) am Session am 12.30pm Anglo-Saxon architecture and its European context (FW) DEPART Outcomes As a result of the unit, within the constraints of the time available, students should be able to: 1. give a general account of the architectural and artistic evidence available for consideration within the period of interest; 2. show a basic knowledge of the development of Anglo-Saxon art and architecture and other significant objects from the period; 3. critically assess the relationship of the architecture and arts of Anglo-Saxon England with their continental counterparts; 4. assess the problems of using architectural and artistic evidence for this period and thus be able to critically assess the value of their own research and case studies. Student assignments This unit is independently assessed on the basis of satisfactory completion of one of the assignments outlined below, totaling 3,000 4,000 words. The assessment can include essays, case-studies and projects and be fieldwork-based. Students are urged to consult the tutor before embarking on an assignment Example essay titles 1. What does the Sutton Hoo burial tell us of the artistic, trade and political connections of the rulers of East Anglia? 2. Discuss the influences of up to three other artistic styles on Anglo-Saxon Art.

15 3. How important was the Celtic tradition in the development of the arts in Anglo-Saxon England? 4. Is Anglo-Saxon architecture of any consequence on the European stage? Students are expected to submit their assignments online and feedback on assignments is delivered online. Students wishing to create their own titles must agree a question in writing with the tutor in advance. Closing date for the submission of assignments: Monday 18 July 2016 by (noon) BST* (11.00 UTC). *British Summer Time Reading and resource list Formatted for consistency Author Title Publisher Backhouse, J. & Turner, D.H., and Webster, Leslie, eds. The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art, British Museum Publications Ltd (1984) Brown, G Baldwin. The Arts in Early England Ulan Press (2012) Original John Murray 1925 Bord, B. ed. Early Britain, the Cambridge cultural history CUP (1992) Brown, M. Clapham, A. Coatsworth, Pinder, M, E.& The Lindisfarne Gospels and the Early Medieval World English Romanesque architecture before the conquest The Art of the Anglo-Saxon Goldsmith; Fine Metalwork in Anglo-Saxon England: its Practice and Practitioners The British Library Publishing Division (2010) Oxford (1930 and 1964) Boydell Press (2002) Dodwell, C. R. Anglo-Saxon Art, A New Perspective Manchester UP (1982) Dodwell, C. R. The Pictorial arts of the West, Yale UP (1993) Fernie, E. The architecture of the Anglo-Saxons Batsford (1983) Gem, R. ed. St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury English Heritage (1997) Henderson, George Early Medieval Penguin (1972, rev. 1977) Humble, R. The Saxon Kings London (1980) Karkov, C.E. The Art of Anglo-Saxon England Boydell Press (2011) Mayr-Harting, H The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon Batsford (1972)

16 Nordenfalk, Carl England Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Painting: Book illumination in the British Isles Chatto & Windus (1977) Rickert, M. Paintings in Britain in the Middle Ages Harmonsworth (1964) Rodwell, W. The Archaeology of the Parish Church Eng. Heritage (1987) Taylor, H.M. & Taylor, J. Anglo-Saxon Architecture, (3 vols) Cambridge University Press; Reissue edition (2011) Webster, Leslie Anglo-Saxon Art British Museum Press (2012) Wilson, D.M. Anglo-Saxon: Art From The Seventh Century To The Norman Conquest Zarnecki, George and others English Romanesque Art, Thames and Hudson (1984) Arts Council of Great Britain (1984)