Signals of Belief in Early England

Signals of Belief in Early England
Author: M. O. H. Carver
Publisher: Oxbow Books Limited
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781842173954

This volume attempts to throw new light on the mentality of the earliest English - the way they thought, the way they viewed nature and the supernatural. Previous approaches have regarded the English as adherents of two consecutive religions, paganism and Christianity. Paganism held sway among the Anglo-Saxon settlers from the 4th to the 6th century, but Christianity superseded it from the 7th to the 10th century. Of the two Christianity documented itself thoroughly. Paganism failed to do so, and thereby laid itself open to centuries of abuse, conjecture or mindless admiration. Although archaeology does not provide direct access to the mind, it can reveal a great deal about pagan mentalities through analysis of the signals of belief left in material culture. Scrutinising a range of material from locations across northern Europe in Scandinavia as well as England the authors of the current volume demonstrate that beliefs varied from place to place. The conclusion of this volume is that `paganism' does not refer to a specific set of religious beliefs with geographically widespread rules and institutions. Instead `paganism' is a loose term for a variety of local world views and practices. Anglo-Saxon Christianity also appears in a similar light as a source on which communities in different localities drew selectively. Overall the volume offers a new perspective on the preoccupations and anxieties of a crucial age.

Trees in the Religions of Early Medieval England

Trees in the Religions of Early Medieval England
Author: Michael D. J. Bintley
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2015
Genre: History
ISBN: 184383989X

Drawing on sources from archaeology and written texts, the author brings out the full significance of trees in both pagan and Christian Anglo-Saxon religion.

Anglo-Saxon Deviant Burial Customs

Anglo-Saxon Deviant Burial Customs
Author: Andrew Reynolds
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2009-03-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 0191567655

Anglo-Saxon Deviant Burial Customs is the first detailed consideration of the ways in which Anglo-Saxon society dealt with social outcasts. Beginning with the period following Roman rule and ending in the century following the Norman Conquest, it surveys a period of fundamental social change, which included the conversion to Christianity, the emergence of the late Saxon state, and the development of the landscape of the Domesday Book. While an impressive body of written evidence for the period survives in the form of charters and law-codes, archaeology is uniquely placed to investigate the earliest period of post-Roman society - the fifth to seventh centuries - for which documents are lacking. For later centuries, archaeological evidence can provide us with an independent assessment of the realities of capital punishment and the status of outcasts. Andrew Reynolds argues that outcast burials show a clear pattern of development in this period. In the pre-Christian centuries, 'deviant' burial remains are found only in community cemeteries, but the growth of kingship and the consolidation of territories during the seventh century witnessed the emergence of capital punishment and places of execution in the English landscape. Locally determined rites, such as crossroads burial, now existed alongside more formal execution cemeteries. Gallows were located on major boundaries, often next to highways, always in highly visible places. The findings of this pioneering national study thus have important consequences on our understanding of Anglo-Saxon society. Overall, Reynolds concludes, organized judicial behaviour was a feature of the earliest Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, rather than just the two centuries prior to the Norman Conquest.

A Companion to Religion in Late Antiquity

A Companion to Religion in Late Antiquity
Author: Josef Lössl
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 711
Release: 2018-05-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1118968107

A comprehensive review of the development, geographic spread, and cultural influence of religion in Late Antiquity A Companion to Religion in Late Antiquity offers an authoritative and comprehensive survey of religion in Late Antiquity. This historical era spanned from the second century to the eighth century of the Common Era. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, the Companion explores the evolution and development of religion and the role various religions played in the cultural, political, and social transformations of the late antique period. The authors examine the theories and methods used in the study of religion during this period, consider the most notable historical developments, and reveal how religions spread geographically. The authors also review the major religious traditions that emerged in Late Antiquity and include reflections on the interaction of these religions within their particular societies and cultures. This important Companion: Brings together in one volume the work of a notable team of international scholars Explores the principal geographical divisions of the late antique world Offers a deep examination of the predominant religions of Late Antiquity Examines established views in the scholarly assessment of the religions of Late Antiquity Includes information on the current trends in late-antique scholarship on religion Written for scholars and students of religion, A Companion to Religion in Late Antiquity offers a comprehensive survey of religion and the influence religion played in the culture, politics, and social change during the late antique period.

Perceptions of the Prehistoric in Anglo-Saxon England

Perceptions of the Prehistoric in Anglo-Saxon England
Author: Sarah Semple
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2013-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199683107

Represents an unparalleled exploration of the place of prehistoric monuments in the Anglo-Saxon psyche, and examines how Anglo-Saxon communities perceived and used these monuments during the period AD 400-1100.

Tradition and Belief

Tradition and Belief
Author: Clare A. Lees
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 220
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781452903880

In this major study of Angle-Saxon religious tests sermons, homilies, and saints' lives written in Old English -- Clare A. Lees reveals how the invention of preaching transformed the early medieval church, and thus the culture of medieval England in placing Anglo-Saxon prose within a social matrix, her work offers a new way of seeing medieval literature through the lens of cultures. To show how the preaching mission of the later Anglo-Saxon church was constructed and received, Lees explores the emergence of preaching from the traditional structures of the early medieval church -- its institutional knowledge, genres, and beliefs. Understood as a powerful rhetorical, social, and epistemological process, preaching is shown to have helped define the sociocultural concerns specific to late Anglo-Saxon England. The first detailed study of traditionality in medieval culture, Tradition and Belief is also a case study of one cultural phenomenon from the past. As such -- and by concentrating on the theoretically problematic areas of history, religious belief, and aesthetics -- the book contributes to debates about the evolving meaning of culture.

Medieval Childhood

Medieval Childhood
Author: D. M. Hadley
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2014-08-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 178297699X

The nine papers presented here set out to broaden the recent focus of archaeological evidence for medieval children and childhood and to offer new ways of exploring their lives and experiences. The everyday use of space and changes in the layout of buildings are examined, in order to reveal how these impacted upon the daily practices and tasks of household tasks relating to the upbringing of children. Aspects of work and play are explored: how, archaeologically, we can determine whether, and in what context, children played board and dice games? How we may gain insights into the medieval countryside from the perspective of children and thus begin to understand the processes of reproduction of particular aspects of medieval society and the spaces where children’s activities occurred; and the possible role of children in the medieval pottery industry. Funerary aspects are considered: the burial of infants in early English Christian cemeteries the treatment and disposal of infants and children in the cremation ritual of early Anglo-Saxon England; and childhood, children and mobility in early medieval western Britain, especially Wales. The volume concludes with an exploration of what archaeologists can draw from other disciplines – historians, art historians, folklorists and literary scholars – and the approaches that they take to the study of childhood and thus the enhancement of our knowledge of medieval society in general.

The Oxford Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology

The Oxford Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology
Author: Helena Hamerow
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 1110
Release: 2011-03-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0199212147

Written by a team of experts and presenting the results of the most up-to-date research, The Handbook of Anglo-Saxon Archaeology will both stimulate and support further investigation into a society poised at the interface between prehistory and history.

The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901

The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901
Author: John D. Niles
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2015-07-29
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 111894335X

The Idea of Anglo Saxon England, 1066-1901 presents the first systematic review of the ways in which Anglo-Saxon studies have evolved from their beginnings to the twentieth century Tells the story of how the idea of Anglo-Saxon England evolved from the Anglo-Saxons themselves to the Victorians, serving as a myth of origins for the English people, their language, and some of their most cherished institutions Combines original research with established scholarship to reveal how current conceptions of English identity might be very different if it were not for the discovery – and invention – of the Anglo-Saxon past Reveals how documents dating from the Anglo-Saxon era have greatly influenced modern attitudes toward nationhood, race, religious practice, and constitutional liberties Includes more than fifty images of manuscripts, early printed books, paintings, sculptures, and major historians of the era