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A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c.500-1100
Drawing on 28 original essays, A Companion to the Early Middle Ages takes an inclusive approach to the history of Britain and Ireland from c.500 to c.1100 to overcome artificial distinctions of modern national boundaries.
576 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2009
About the author
Pauline Stafford
19 books5 followersProfessor Emerita of early medieval history at the University of Liverpool. She has specialised on British history at and prior to the Norman conquest and has a particular interest in elite Anglo-Saxon women.
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August 6, 2021
A Companion to the Early Middle Ages, Britain and Ireland, c500-c1100, ed P Stafford, 2013, 476 pages or 554 pages all in
This is a fantastic collection of papers concerning the history of the Atlantic Archipelago (their preferred term). I spent almost as long making notes as I did reading some of the papers. I rather thought that this might have been the proceedings of a conference, but it's not. Each paper is an in-depth survey and there is a lovely plethora of perspectives that are other than Wessex/England. There are a dozen or so pages to each paper, but these are big pages with a lot to digest and each one is rounded off with end-notes, further reading and a bibliography. The overall impression you get is that every contributor had had their Weetabix before they put pen to paper, as every one is top notch. This is not a beginners book, but is is definitely one to buy.
Part 1 Introductory Matters
Introduction
Historiography
Sources – all by P Stafford
Part 2 Britain and Ireland 500 - 750
Britain and Ireland c500, B Yorke
This is a splendid and measured survey of how things stood in the various areas around 500. Well read students of the period may not learn anything new, but it's a lovely read and for those fairly new to the topic, it's an essential read.
Economy, H Clarke
Economic history doesn't have a reputation for being the most fascinating of subjects, but a surprising amount can be learnt from it. This paper was chockful of information, much of it of a background nature, but the facts of which made the societies of the day possible. Clarke uses 25 economic propositions by Fox to examine the factors that made a difference to the polities of this period and then discusses the structures that underpinned life.
Kings and Kingship, B Yorke
This is another smashing paper by Yorke. It takes in all of the major peoples of the Atlantic Archipelago and gives a short, but thorough overview of the mechanisms by which kingship operated. It takes in origins, sub-kingdoms, military power, succession and duties.
Communities and Kinship, D Thornton
This paper was a lot more interesting than what you'd have expected from the title. It took in 'ingas', kinship and status, feud and settlement and much else. This was an age when family, mattered. They were a vital support network and to be without it made a person a lot more vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life. Faux kinship ties through fosterage or lordship helped a lot.
Social Structure, T Charles-Edwards
There was a lot to take in from this paper. It covered names and personal identity, life-cycles and sexual identities and then status and class. Charles-Edwards managed to fit in a lot of good stuff and amongst other things, proposed a mechanism for social development from the earliest settlement to a complex society with kings and social stratification. AND in addition to that there was a lot from Imma,exiles, feud, fosterage and retinues.
Britain, Ireland and Europe, c500 – c750, P Fouracre
Fouracre demonstrates that influence didn't flow solely from Europe to Britain and Ireland, but went in all directions. Trade, brides and exiles went in both directions and the same can be said for aspects of Christianity. Æthelberht received a Roman mission, but the Franks were influenced by the Irish monk, Columbanus and the English in their turn evangelised amongst the continental Saxons. Relations between insular kingdoms were mirrored in many ways by exchanges with the continent. The British Isles were very much a part of Europe.
Conversions to Christianity, H Pryce
To begin with this paper felt a touch theoretical, but then it expanded to take in the history of not only the conversion episodes, but also what was there prior. This aspect of the paper examined British Christianity and Anglo-Saxon paganism before going into the affects of conversion. The latter part was quite heavily influenced by the ideas of Yorke expressed in The adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon royal courts to Christianity and this is no bad thing at all.
Church organisation and pastoral care, T Pickles
This paper looks at the administration of the church, with diocese and the number, plus power of bishops being examined, before moving onto the pastoral side of things. It's always good to be reminded of just how large a proprietorial aspect there was to the church. Monasteries were often seen as a family business and there is also possible evidence for early private churches, too. When it came to religious communities there was a huge element of variety in practice, although some form of pastoral care was expected.
Latin learning and Christian art, M Ryan
I wasn't especially grabbed by this topic, but it was a well put together paper. It went into Latin learning and then the representation of Christianity in a visual medium. The contribution of Theodore and Hadrian to the intellectual life in Anglo-Saxon England cannot be overestimated. Academic and artistic influences flowed very easily around these islands, more than what some people would necessarily expect.
Part 3 Britain and Ireland in the long 9th Century
Viking raids and conquest, D Hadley
This was very readable and enjoyable. Refreshingly it wasn't Wessex or even English centred and instead took in Ireland, the Irish Sea zone and more of a viking perspective. It was great to see the notion of the vikings having insular bases long before they are believed to have settled given an airing. The section concerning how the vikings secured their conquests was solid and again from a viking perspective. Hadley makes a very good point that although the vikings were in some ways seen off by rising powers, such as Wessex, the achievements of the kings who successfully defended and expanded their domains were in no way secure at the times of their deaths. There was a rare error in that Hadley has King Edmund defeating Aethelwold, rather than it being a West Saxon (Kentish) defeat.
Scandinavian settlement, D Hadley
This was a well balanced paper that took in all of the British Isles, including the Isle of Man. Hadley looked at the effects of settlement and how it could be measured. She pointed out just how uncertain so much evidence is in its interpretation and how old certainties involving place-names, archaeology, language and the boosts given to urbanisation and trade have been questioned. Alternative explanations and greater nuance than it simply being a 2 + 2 = the result of viking settlement are offered. Hadley makes the point that the effects of settlement depended upon the number of settlers and the political circumstances under which it occurred.
Britain, Ireland and Europe, c750 – c900, J Nelson
This paper was nicely different and it contained a warmth not often seen in books. Nelson explored relations through the medium of contemporary letters and this gave a lovely insight into the connections between realms and also the individuals involved. These were people who were working collaboratively to progress matters. The correspondents included Charlemagne (and Alcuin) and Offa, Lupus and Aethelwulf and finally Fulk and Alfred. I enjoyed reading this and it stood out for being much more personal than just an account of the import of the letters.
Part 4 – Britain and Ireland 900 - 1100
Scotland, A Woolf
This is a very good paper that feels like a condensed version of part of what Woolf wrote in his book, from Pictland to Alba and if you enjoy this, then buy that. I really appreciated this line when discussing the later 10th century kings of Scotland: 'can be fairly characterised as a catalogue of men with strange names killing each other.' Even if your interest in Scotland is limited, this is still worth reading as it offers a northern perspective on the occasions when the Anglo-Saxons and the Scots came into contact and with so many books Wessex centred, it's always valuable to get a different view.
Ireland c900 – c1100, E Bhreathnach
I wasn't that grabbed by this, although it was interesting enough to read. Bhreathnach used the Norse spellings for the names of vikings and I quite enjoyed translating them into the versions more familiar to me, hence Amlaib, son of Gothfrith, I mentally read as the Olaf Guthfrithson that I'm more used to.
Ireland c1000 – c1100, S Duffy
Two papers on Ireland in a row? I'll come back to this at a later date. It's great to see how the histories of the various components of these islands all link up, but beyond that I've only got so much interest in the internal affairs of other places.
Northumbria, W Aird
A thoroughly enjoyable paper that really made the point that Northumbria becoming part of Greater Wessex was not inevitable and that for too long its later history has been viewed as part of that process. For the Northumbrians, it was in many ways advantageous to be part of the Scandinavian world instead of ruled by the West Saxons and it's no surprise that there was a lack of enthusiasm for southern rule. This paper goes from 10th century to the Norman conquest and instead of getting bogged down with who was the gaffer in York, it looks at longer term trends and relationships, showing just how little an England containing large parts of the north was pre-ordained.
Southumbria, C Insley
This is a very shrewd and insightful paper. Insley examines the making of England and how Alfred's success in identifying England with his line (as opposed to collateral branches) through their God given successes proved problematical following the reverses suffered under Aethelraed II. If the success of the kingdom is from a divine mandate given to a line of kings and that is then withdrawn, where does it leave that line? In a pickle is the answer. Insley also looks into church and state, how well integrated the areas outside of Wessex were and the economy. It all comes together extremely well, demonstrating that West Saxon domination was fragile and that a lot depended on luck. The areas outside of Wessex were semi-detached in many ways (and more so the further north you went), the growth in wealth from agricultural productivity increases were outside of the control of kings, but by keeping it all within the close family, the West Saxons managed to build something bigger than its parts. The comments concerning 1066 were of great interest.
Wales and West Britain, J Davies
Like so many papers in this collection this examines an area from it's own viewpoint and not an English one. It takes in the interactions between the Welsh, Cornish and the Anglo-Saxons, the inter-Welsh relationships and looks at the structures of power. One of the most interesting aspects was just how personal any temporary hegemony was that a Welsh king created. They had few institutions like what the English did in this later period and so much of what was achieved by one king died with him.
Britain, Ireland and Europe c900 – c1100, S MacLean
This was another very good paper that took a lot in. MacLean shows the breadth and also the depth of the contacts between these islands and Europe. If anyone had any lingering idea that Anglo-Saxon England wasn't part of mainstream European culture and commerce, this paper would cure them of it. Dynastic, religious, diplomatic and commercial links all get a look in, as does the rise in prestige of the papacy.
The institutional church, C Cubitt
This was a good paper that looked at the church as an institution within these islands. It went into all areas except those covered by the next paper. In the case of England, Cubitt looked beyond the Benedictine reformation, showing what was there before, the limits of this reform and showed that it was far from the be all and end all. The summing up of Stigand's irregularities was quite pithy.
Pastoral care and religious belief, C Cubitt
Right from Bede (and possibly Gildas), the higher echelons of the church have been placed at the centre of religious accounts. We know plenty about bishops and bishoprics and abbots and their monasteries. However, for pastoral care, our sources are much more limited. Cubitt looks into this, dealing with mother churches, the growth of local churches, lay piety, saints cults and the conversion of the Danelaw. This was an exceptionally good paper.
Nobility, J Crick
This was a bit more tricky to read through than many, but some good points were made about how the nobility were recognised and how their relationships functioned. I was pretty much astounded not to see Ann Williams' The world before Domesday: The English Aristocracy, 900-1066, not cited.
Settlement and social differentiation, S Crawford
This was a very wide ranging paper that took in a lot of areas and had a wide chronological spread, too. I learnt quite a bit about how status could be signified through different types and styles of settlement. However, in places it felt a bit like a gazetteer and I think that whilst we got an overview, it didn't quite focus on any one aspect enough to do much more than to whet my appetite to learn more.
Localities, D Thornton
A paper on administration is always welcome and this was no exception. It was short and sweet and went into shires, hundreds and law, including feuds. It packed a lot into a small area.
Queens and Queenship, P Stafford
This is a very strong paper that suffers from being at the end of a long book. Stafford introduces the topic, discusses the sources and then examines how Queenship manifested itself within the household and also as an institution. She shows what we know and also the aspects where we can just see the faint outlines of a bigger picture.
This is a fantastic collection of papers concerning the history of the Atlantic Archipelago (their preferred term). I spent almost as long making notes as I did reading some of the papers. I rather thought that this might have been the proceedings of a conference, but it's not. Each paper is an in-depth survey and there is a lovely plethora of perspectives that are other than Wessex/England. There are a dozen or so pages to each paper, but these are big pages with a lot to digest and each one is rounded off with end-notes, further reading and a bibliography. The overall impression you get is that every contributor had had their Weetabix before they put pen to paper, as every one is top notch. This is not a beginners book, but is is definitely one to buy.
Part 1 Introductory Matters
Introduction
Historiography
Sources – all by P Stafford
Part 2 Britain and Ireland 500 - 750
Britain and Ireland c500, B Yorke
This is a splendid and measured survey of how things stood in the various areas around 500. Well read students of the period may not learn anything new, but it's a lovely read and for those fairly new to the topic, it's an essential read.
Economy, H Clarke
Economic history doesn't have a reputation for being the most fascinating of subjects, but a surprising amount can be learnt from it. This paper was chockful of information, much of it of a background nature, but the facts of which made the societies of the day possible. Clarke uses 25 economic propositions by Fox to examine the factors that made a difference to the polities of this period and then discusses the structures that underpinned life.
Kings and Kingship, B Yorke
This is another smashing paper by Yorke. It takes in all of the major peoples of the Atlantic Archipelago and gives a short, but thorough overview of the mechanisms by which kingship operated. It takes in origins, sub-kingdoms, military power, succession and duties.
Communities and Kinship, D Thornton
This paper was a lot more interesting than what you'd have expected from the title. It took in 'ingas', kinship and status, feud and settlement and much else. This was an age when family, mattered. They were a vital support network and to be without it made a person a lot more vulnerable to the vicissitudes of life. Faux kinship ties through fosterage or lordship helped a lot.
Social Structure, T Charles-Edwards
There was a lot to take in from this paper. It covered names and personal identity, life-cycles and sexual identities and then status and class. Charles-Edwards managed to fit in a lot of good stuff and amongst other things, proposed a mechanism for social development from the earliest settlement to a complex society with kings and social stratification. AND in addition to that there was a lot from Imma,exiles, feud, fosterage and retinues.
Britain, Ireland and Europe, c500 – c750, P Fouracre
Fouracre demonstrates that influence didn't flow solely from Europe to Britain and Ireland, but went in all directions. Trade, brides and exiles went in both directions and the same can be said for aspects of Christianity. Æthelberht received a Roman mission, but the Franks were influenced by the Irish monk, Columbanus and the English in their turn evangelised amongst the continental Saxons. Relations between insular kingdoms were mirrored in many ways by exchanges with the continent. The British Isles were very much a part of Europe.
Conversions to Christianity, H Pryce
To begin with this paper felt a touch theoretical, but then it expanded to take in the history of not only the conversion episodes, but also what was there prior. This aspect of the paper examined British Christianity and Anglo-Saxon paganism before going into the affects of conversion. The latter part was quite heavily influenced by the ideas of Yorke expressed in The adaptation of the Anglo-Saxon royal courts to Christianity and this is no bad thing at all.
Church organisation and pastoral care, T Pickles
This paper looks at the administration of the church, with diocese and the number, plus power of bishops being examined, before moving onto the pastoral side of things. It's always good to be reminded of just how large a proprietorial aspect there was to the church. Monasteries were often seen as a family business and there is also possible evidence for early private churches, too. When it came to religious communities there was a huge element of variety in practice, although some form of pastoral care was expected.
Latin learning and Christian art, M Ryan
I wasn't especially grabbed by this topic, but it was a well put together paper. It went into Latin learning and then the representation of Christianity in a visual medium. The contribution of Theodore and Hadrian to the intellectual life in Anglo-Saxon England cannot be overestimated. Academic and artistic influences flowed very easily around these islands, more than what some people would necessarily expect.
Part 3 Britain and Ireland in the long 9th Century
Viking raids and conquest, D Hadley
This was very readable and enjoyable. Refreshingly it wasn't Wessex or even English centred and instead took in Ireland, the Irish Sea zone and more of a viking perspective. It was great to see the notion of the vikings having insular bases long before they are believed to have settled given an airing. The section concerning how the vikings secured their conquests was solid and again from a viking perspective. Hadley makes a very good point that although the vikings were in some ways seen off by rising powers, such as Wessex, the achievements of the kings who successfully defended and expanded their domains were in no way secure at the times of their deaths. There was a rare error in that Hadley has King Edmund defeating Aethelwold, rather than it being a West Saxon (Kentish) defeat.
Scandinavian settlement, D Hadley
This was a well balanced paper that took in all of the British Isles, including the Isle of Man. Hadley looked at the effects of settlement and how it could be measured. She pointed out just how uncertain so much evidence is in its interpretation and how old certainties involving place-names, archaeology, language and the boosts given to urbanisation and trade have been questioned. Alternative explanations and greater nuance than it simply being a 2 + 2 = the result of viking settlement are offered. Hadley makes the point that the effects of settlement depended upon the number of settlers and the political circumstances under which it occurred.
Britain, Ireland and Europe, c750 – c900, J Nelson
This paper was nicely different and it contained a warmth not often seen in books. Nelson explored relations through the medium of contemporary letters and this gave a lovely insight into the connections between realms and also the individuals involved. These were people who were working collaboratively to progress matters. The correspondents included Charlemagne (and Alcuin) and Offa, Lupus and Aethelwulf and finally Fulk and Alfred. I enjoyed reading this and it stood out for being much more personal than just an account of the import of the letters.
Part 4 – Britain and Ireland 900 - 1100
Scotland, A Woolf
This is a very good paper that feels like a condensed version of part of what Woolf wrote in his book, from Pictland to Alba and if you enjoy this, then buy that. I really appreciated this line when discussing the later 10th century kings of Scotland: 'can be fairly characterised as a catalogue of men with strange names killing each other.' Even if your interest in Scotland is limited, this is still worth reading as it offers a northern perspective on the occasions when the Anglo-Saxons and the Scots came into contact and with so many books Wessex centred, it's always valuable to get a different view.
Ireland c900 – c1100, E Bhreathnach
I wasn't that grabbed by this, although it was interesting enough to read. Bhreathnach used the Norse spellings for the names of vikings and I quite enjoyed translating them into the versions more familiar to me, hence Amlaib, son of Gothfrith, I mentally read as the Olaf Guthfrithson that I'm more used to.
Ireland c1000 – c1100, S Duffy
Two papers on Ireland in a row? I'll come back to this at a later date. It's great to see how the histories of the various components of these islands all link up, but beyond that I've only got so much interest in the internal affairs of other places.
Northumbria, W Aird
A thoroughly enjoyable paper that really made the point that Northumbria becoming part of Greater Wessex was not inevitable and that for too long its later history has been viewed as part of that process. For the Northumbrians, it was in many ways advantageous to be part of the Scandinavian world instead of ruled by the West Saxons and it's no surprise that there was a lack of enthusiasm for southern rule. This paper goes from 10th century to the Norman conquest and instead of getting bogged down with who was the gaffer in York, it looks at longer term trends and relationships, showing just how little an England containing large parts of the north was pre-ordained.
Southumbria, C Insley
This is a very shrewd and insightful paper. Insley examines the making of England and how Alfred's success in identifying England with his line (as opposed to collateral branches) through their God given successes proved problematical following the reverses suffered under Aethelraed II. If the success of the kingdom is from a divine mandate given to a line of kings and that is then withdrawn, where does it leave that line? In a pickle is the answer. Insley also looks into church and state, how well integrated the areas outside of Wessex were and the economy. It all comes together extremely well, demonstrating that West Saxon domination was fragile and that a lot depended on luck. The areas outside of Wessex were semi-detached in many ways (and more so the further north you went), the growth in wealth from agricultural productivity increases were outside of the control of kings, but by keeping it all within the close family, the West Saxons managed to build something bigger than its parts. The comments concerning 1066 were of great interest.
Wales and West Britain, J Davies
Like so many papers in this collection this examines an area from it's own viewpoint and not an English one. It takes in the interactions between the Welsh, Cornish and the Anglo-Saxons, the inter-Welsh relationships and looks at the structures of power. One of the most interesting aspects was just how personal any temporary hegemony was that a Welsh king created. They had few institutions like what the English did in this later period and so much of what was achieved by one king died with him.
Britain, Ireland and Europe c900 – c1100, S MacLean
This was another very good paper that took a lot in. MacLean shows the breadth and also the depth of the contacts between these islands and Europe. If anyone had any lingering idea that Anglo-Saxon England wasn't part of mainstream European culture and commerce, this paper would cure them of it. Dynastic, religious, diplomatic and commercial links all get a look in, as does the rise in prestige of the papacy.
The institutional church, C Cubitt
This was a good paper that looked at the church as an institution within these islands. It went into all areas except those covered by the next paper. In the case of England, Cubitt looked beyond the Benedictine reformation, showing what was there before, the limits of this reform and showed that it was far from the be all and end all. The summing up of Stigand's irregularities was quite pithy.
Pastoral care and religious belief, C Cubitt
Right from Bede (and possibly Gildas), the higher echelons of the church have been placed at the centre of religious accounts. We know plenty about bishops and bishoprics and abbots and their monasteries. However, for pastoral care, our sources are much more limited. Cubitt looks into this, dealing with mother churches, the growth of local churches, lay piety, saints cults and the conversion of the Danelaw. This was an exceptionally good paper.
Nobility, J Crick
This was a bit more tricky to read through than many, but some good points were made about how the nobility were recognised and how their relationships functioned. I was pretty much astounded not to see Ann Williams' The world before Domesday: The English Aristocracy, 900-1066, not cited.
Settlement and social differentiation, S Crawford
This was a very wide ranging paper that took in a lot of areas and had a wide chronological spread, too. I learnt quite a bit about how status could be signified through different types and styles of settlement. However, in places it felt a bit like a gazetteer and I think that whilst we got an overview, it didn't quite focus on any one aspect enough to do much more than to whet my appetite to learn more.
Localities, D Thornton
A paper on administration is always welcome and this was no exception. It was short and sweet and went into shires, hundreds and law, including feuds. It packed a lot into a small area.
Queens and Queenship, P Stafford
This is a very strong paper that suffers from being at the end of a long book. Stafford introduces the topic, discusses the sources and then examines how Queenship manifested itself within the household and also as an institution. She shows what we know and also the aspects where we can just see the faint outlines of a bigger picture.
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