In the first couple centuries of our period, there isn't very much evidence the people in the British lowlands were part of powerful kingdoms. Compared to neighbouring Franks or even Gildas' highland kings we don't see very much in the lowlands. The Franks as a powerful polity shouldn't need much explanation. For the Romano-British highlands, we find expensive Mediterranean pottery and many refortified hillforts. This tells us they were able to command man power and resources to build these hillforts, and Gilds hints at a fairly prosperous highland world despite his disdainful rhetoric.

It should be noted furnished inhumation doesn't actually suggest a prosperous society, but rather one of local instability, where at death the society felt it necessary to display ones status. We know the Franks were very powerful, but most of the furnished inhumations of the frankish world are on its periphery near the Rhine and in Kent, not in the Frankish heartlands. No need to display your status in more secure societies... Big problem for us is that the more powerful you are, the less visible your archaeology in this world of wood. Salin Style 1 hints the Anglo-Saxon world looked east across the north sea and we have to ask ourselves why? Despite centuries of copying and appropriation of Roman society.

Historians have started to ponder perhaps there was a poweful central authority in Denmark. The Image above outlines earthworks that were thought to have been built in the 8th century in Denmark, as a response to Slavic or Frankish encroachment. Recent carbon dating suggests the first phase was actually built in the 5th and 6thh century, whcih has required historians to re-evaluate the context of these earthworks, otherwise known as the Danevirke.

The Danevirke first phase includes a long earthworks as well as a turf wall and post holes. Like the highland kings in Britian this suggests both centralised control, and a control over man power and resources. This first early phase is smaller than the line shown in the image. The early phase is shaped like a really straight forward slash, where the top of the slash is under the D in the image. Still, its a massive wall, a sort of reverse hadrians wall, wikipedia gives a hint of what it might have looked like (can't know if thats accurate or not), including the rampart. The wikipedia image still has the later dates that now need revaluation.

What was this society that was able to command the commissioning of such works? Danes enter the written record early in the 6th century as an enemy of the Franks. Like the Franks the furnished inhumations of this Danish culture are away from its centre. We could argue vendel and valsgarde are on one end and Sutton hoo on the other. No written evidence like we have elsewhere can hint of what happened here. Otherwise we should know Denmark does become a powerful kingdom a few centuries later. Interestingly, although Beowulf was recorded in old English, really, its a story centered in Denmark... Perhaps also the origin mythology of the Angles and Jutes being in Denmark also makes sense. Perhaps the Anglo-Saxon world is really just a borderlands of this world centered around Denmark.

More on the Danevirke here: https://offaswatsdyke.wordpress.com/2019/12/16/offas-dyke-journal-volume-1-for-2019/

The paper has a fun new context for why the Danvirke were built much earlier than before. They suggest based on the archaeology including changes in burials, the Angles pushed into denmark creating a polity in the 1st century. They built their own earthworks facing north (Olgerdiget at AD 31 and Æ vold at around AD 150). At some point the Angles were dislodged and pushed south by the original inhabitants and they built the Danvirke to keep the Angles out.

At this time the identity of this group[ who pushed the Angles out ] is unknown, it is possible it was one of the groups known from written sources (Dorey 1969; Gudeman 1900) of the first century AD, such as ‘Jutes’, ‘the Varian tribe’ or ‘Danes’ (Ethelberg 2017: 15−17, 27)

There was this shoot em up game like metal slug inspired game which was based on Anglo war type period...where some empire either British or Saxon empire invaded another kingdom which was don't know but I need your help my memory isn't gud enough.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/William-The-Conqueror-Exploding-Corpse/

Branching off last weeks Salin Style 1 disc brooches, its time to look at more coherent Salin Style 1 on cruciform brooches found in Britian. These use motifs and forms that are found in northern germany and scandinavia. Toby Martin describes 3 phases of development, the last 2 are shown to the right in the photo.

On the furthest right is obviously the most well developed and last phase between 525AD to 575AD. The head plate knob could be - the well observed - masked figure with ravens shooting out of his head. If you look closely the ravens and their beak curl up. Yes this could be Woden. Other motifs are much harder to decode, the lappets sometimes take animal form with split imagery, or could be masked figures. Honestly, they all look like a Predator from recent Predator remakes from the last few decades.

This development really starts around Lincolnshire and East Anglia. Look here at the distribution of each phase. Phase 1 and 2 finds coincide with giant cremation cemeteries that we know represent the burial rite of pagans from northern germany and scandinavia. many of these type of cremation urns are also found in northern germany, we are without doubt looking at a germanic migrant culture.

Phase 3 is very interesting as it moves westward. Phase 3 also seems to coincide with the disappearance of cremation in Lincolnshire and introduction of inhumation in these cemeteries. Something happened here, we can only wildly speculate. The paper does suggest this movement westwards could be related to the founding of Mercia. Phase 2 starts after the fall of Rome around 475AD, many comment that this is when the population may have felt more confident expressing their barbarian identity.

Many might notice these are 'Anglian' lands and in this era in the written record there is often no mention of Angles in this time and only Saxons. A few months back I did a post about how before Bede much of England was referred to as Saxonia. I do believe the political identification of the early Anglo-Saxons in Anglian lands is Saxons, with Angles being a later Christian development. So I do then believe Gildas' Saxons in the east must be here.

Cruciform brooches are one of the most numerous finds but we can't not show the amazing Salin Stlye 1 great square headed brooch found in the isle of wight.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/styles/uncropped_medium/public/2022-07/square-headed-anglo-saxon-brooch-key.jpg?itok=ZLC_oplz

Again right in the middle a face mask with 2 ravens above just begs us to think it must be Woden.

For most of Rome's history, barbarian migrants are archeologically invisible in Roman land. I guess everyone by 475AD had no experience of what "normal" Roman administration looked like. New symbols of power are needed, and it looks like the early Anglo-Saxons in Lincolnshire and East Anglia looked back to their ancestral lands.

More on Toby Martin's paper here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335988246_Women_knowledge_and_power_the_iconography_of_early_Anglo-Saxon_cruciform_brooches

Not trying to offend any Anglo Saxon enthusiasts, I genuinely want to know. Did Anglo saxons learn interlace from interactions with another culture and improve upon/edit it in some way to suit their own, or was it something totally original? Because I see a lot of similar interwoven patterns from other cultures, like the Roman mosaics, that make it seem highly unlikely that there wasn't some sort of outside influence.

Hi everyone,

I've recently been talking with some friends who are primarily students of British and European prehistory about the general division in the modern perception of Roman Britain against their immediate predecessors (Iron Age Britons) and successors (Anglo Saxons). I was trying to think of examples of this in popular media. The 2004 film 'King Arthur' came to mind but I couldn't think of anything more recently. Does anyone have any more recent shows or films which perpetuate this outdated idea?

Does anybody know the sizes of the armies involved in Athelstan's Invasion Of Scotland in 934 and the Battle Of Brunanburh in 937? I did some research, and for his Invasion Of Scotland, I could not get any good results, but most sources say about 10,000 men fought on each side at the Battle Of Brunanburh.

476AD and Rome has fallen!!! Nobody listens to you anymore even with your fancy Quoit Brooch. Probably felt similar to any authority with a hammer and sickle in the 90s, the Empire is gone and new symbols of power are needed.

So what did the Anglo-Saxons south of the Thames do? Nothing really, life went on, this is what a disc brooch looked like in Wessex after around 475

https://finds.org.uk/database/search/results/q/HAMP3423

Beautiful.

Here is a better one, or this one. These are all examples of disc brooches around Wessex which seem to be approximately later than Quoit Brooch style, these are hard times. I got these from From "Roman civitas to Anglo-Saxon shire : topographical studies on the formation of Wessex" by Bruce Eagles, its an excellent collection from the period but I don't like his analysis at all, he uses what I consider to be an old fashioned interpretation of Gildas. Anyway, he confirms that there is a majority style in Wessex for the 5th and 6th centuries are disc brooches and that this is widely consodered a 'Saxon' style.

Elsewhere in academia, many will tell you circular brooches have always been a Roman symbol of power for centuries. Of the finds above I certainly don't think they are germanic yet, I guess its in the eye of the beholder.

The former Quoit Brooch areas have similar later archaeology and a little later in this period the Kentish disc brooches are a little more to write home about. These Kentish disc brooches are probably inspired by Frankish ones, who themselves are invested in Roman continuity. You will find the circular brooch on many old Roman cavaly tomb stones in Britain, or perhaps Roman coins which are rare in this period. Here is a contemporary mid 6th century Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian, or perhaps its best to view one of his mosaics. Justinian's brooch looks like it might have been made in Kent, and he too, like us was a fan of Saxon symbols of power!

Anyway, i've made a biased point here. The truth on the ground is things are very complex and muddy. After 475AD a new style does become popular all over Britian that is originally from germany/scandinavia, its found mostly on women's metalwork and it is really thanks to them that we can trace 'Germanic' material culture in Britain in this era. This is called Salin's Style 1 and after 475AD you find elaborate and detailed cruciform brooches in Anglian lands with this style. As you can see less of these cruciform brooches are found in 'Saxon' lands, in this area the style is found on saucer brooches. Again pairs of saucer brooches are found in female graves and these finds are shown on the main image attached to this post.

There is a very important thing to be said of the saucer brooches with Salin Style 1. You will see it spread north beyond the Thames Upper valley, into lands that we should all agree are mostly Romano-British in this time. The Salin style 1 on these saucer brooches are often derivative or degenerate, the style can be gemoetric and perhaps has lost its meaning from where it is originally from. I like to think its like when you see tatoos with Chinese characters on Westerners that don't mean anything to Chinese people. The Salin Style 1 is 'cool', but the motifs that are found in the location where this style originates from, are no longer apparent.

In Tania Dickensons paper below she suggests either the Saucer brooch creaters are working on an alien art form, not understanding its origonal meaning or:

https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/753/1/dickinsontm1.pdf

"...All of this[degenerate and lost meanings in the style and many geometric motifs] would be consistent with an idea that in the east leading kindreds were more likely to utilise direct references to a Northern Germanic background, while further west the message was compromised or reinvented by allusions to another, more >>Roman<< past."

Yes ladies and gentlemen, we have an example of early medieval cultural appropriation of Germanic styles by Romano-Britons!

All of this does highlight that we are entering a period of mixed culture. The germanic material culture is cool now, and Western Britons are adorning their woman in these styles. But look at that huge cluster around Dorchester and the Upper Thames valley. I would honestly have thought the early Saxons there would have made sure they got the style right. Its probably alien to them too, germanics aren't the same as we should all know. Or they are 3 or 4 generations in Roman land. They are like 4th generation Japanese Americans who are weebs. Sorry I'll stop that now.

I really don't see Wessex as germanic at yet even after the fall of Rome, their kings are going to have Romano British names and even their germanic style metalwork is reinvented to appease a Roman past. But we are definitely getting there, the new culture that will become the English is being formed.

I found this old post of the Sutton Hoo man, I can't be sure how accurate it is but it kind of summarises all the discussed items here. His disc brooch, his round shield and spear show him to be a proper late Roman Soldier soldier. Look closer and motifs on his metalwork represent his roots on the continent and Scandinavia. Recent research did show they were likely still fighting for the Romans against the Sassanids as mercinaries in the middle east. A man of his time, still holding onto Roman symbols of power but unashamedly adorning himself with cultural artifacts of his roots. It makes me think of this photo.

Hello,

I'm interested in Icelandic, Old Norse, and Anglo-Saxon.

I keep trying to learn, but I hold off as I want to start off on the right foot. The pronunciation is most important to me as I start.

Is there an audio series by an authoritative resource that I could get from a library or elsewhere, so that I could record myself developing my pronunciation skills?

Thank you.

Sorry all, production quality will have to drop further due to the lack of maps available online.

Anyway, what we see in this photograph are findings of the Quoit Brooch Style in Britain. This is the last Roman metal work that dissappears in graves after the Western Roman Empire fell in the late 5th century.

The belt in my last post with faces, zoomorphic animal forms and serpents was... yes Quiot Brooch Style. So it is technically Roman and found also in northern Gaul.

But what is Roman style in the Roman Army really in this time? In northern Gaul, after decades of catastrophic civil war the Roman Army there is referred to as 'The Franks'. The best interpretation is that it is still an official Roman Army with many recent recruits from among the franks inside roman lands and beyond the Rhine. This is fairly common for the Romans at this time, the military units in the Notitia Dignitatum have a 'barbarian' identity. Some of these identities are quite funny, there are 'franks' in egypt, a sythian (long disappeared) unit and a 'celtic' unit, we also have the Saxon shore, almost certainly now considered to represent the Saxons hired to defend the English coastline. I like to compare it to military units in the later British Empire. Ghurkas and Scottish Regiment(highlanders) have a 'fierce' reputation tied to their ethnicity. Obviously, this is endorsed by the groups themselves, Sihks commonly believe themselves to be a 'martial race', but that seems to have been promoted by the British Empire for Sikh recruits in British forces.

Back to the photograph, we see a large cluster of quiot brooch style finds in kent and sussex, some finds in wessex and along the thames. Obviously nothing is found across the weald and that single find on the north side of the thames estuary we could claim is from Essex. We are looking at the last Roman metal work of the 'Saxon kingdoms'.

A Historian(forgot his name will dig it out and post in comments) makes an interesting observation that one of Bedes sources is probably a list of kings who had ruled over Kent (including AElla and Ceawlin) and this might represent overlords of an early Anglo-Saxon powerful southern polity.

When we look at the multiple attempts by the kentish kingdom to fight off wessex and create its own founding myths like with the Jutes. It might be a propaganda attempt to gain independence from this polity, they might also have looked to the franks for this reason, to gain support from a different power.

When quoit brooch style metalwork dissapears there is a bit of a void. Saxon circular brooches become popular, some in a style called 'style 1'. I guess like the fall of the soviet union or the axis powers in ww2, it makes sense there is a sudden disappearance of their material, we are lucky enough to see in furnished graves. Upholding an identity tied to the authority of Rome no longer held as much value, so new sources of authority were required. Mostly female graves have helped identify style 1 like this square headed brooch. For completeness lets also briefly introduce style 2 which replaces style 1 in the later 6th century, and that style should be entirely familiar to all of us.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/styles/uncropped_medium/public/2022-07/sutton-hoo-gold-buckle-key.jpg?itok=dysv0MO3

I think its quite nice to interpret the slow development of Roman to Saxon identity, probably a reordering and removal of layers in a layered identity well known from Roman times.

Roman(like American perhaps) -> province(british, gallic or italian, even germania) -> civitas(Kent, Lindsey, Dumnonia, Deria)

Made a bit more simple, with the Roman layer gone, identities based on provinces (like the 'Garmani' as Bede tells us) and civitas (like Cantwara as the Saxon who's ancestors probably wore quoit brooch style in east kent would calll it) became more important when The Western Roman Empire was no more.

Yesterday's circular brooch was supposedly Quoit Brooch Style. So technically it was Roman.

https://www.reddit.com/r/anglosaxon/s/NenS8f053N

What about Today's high status metalwork?

The below was what is known as Saxon Relief Style, not traditionally throught to be celtic.

https://www.reddit.com/r/anglosaxon/s/4ouEo3l8Xj

But what about this new brooch? Its also from the 5th century.

Saw it on history memes and something felt off.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VMNjmGeN3-WSXqdoba_4Yx4SSY8OkpUgS97yi7iop3c/edit?tab=t.0

Was there a name for thegns, who had won glory in battle, or the son of an earl who was not an heir to the earldom, perhaps a thegn who was very well off or an adviser for the king? And was there also a name for a thegn who was less well off, pehaps just a standard farmer with a lot of land.

I am a history GCSE question, and have a few questions

1. Who was responsible for enforcing the law when the fryd was not mobalised (was it the houscarls or did buhrs have there own medeival police forces.)

2. Were the only earls people with earldoms?

3. How many people would live in each buhr?

4. where were weapons stored and who trained the fryd

5. Who defended buhrs?