Saxon Period Research Articles

From Spy to Editor – Informants of Elżbieta Sieniawska née Lubomirska (d. 1729), Wife of the Castellan of Krakow

Research on written newspapers of the Saxon period has been ongoing for several decades. By looking at the avis from the perspective of their editors and purveyors, we get a fuller picture of the mentality of society. Elżbieta Sieniawska, née Lubomirska (d. 1729), Wife of the Castellan of Krakow and one of the most enterprising magnates at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, collected information through her intelligence services. Had it not been for their efforts and every attempt to provide the Krakow castellan with news, it is likely that Sieniawska would have had serious problems keeping her knowledge of the country and the world up to date. Distinguishing in the article the profiles of spies, postal workers and newspaper editors, the author shows not only previously unpublished facts from the life of the information services, but above all points to the dependencies between their services.

Cetacean exploitation in Roman and medieval London: Reconstructing whaling activities by applying zooarchaeological, historical, and biomolecular analysis

Cetacean (whale, dolphin, and porpoise) remains are occasionally encountered at Roman and medieval sites in London and are regularly the topic of medieval historical sources. These sources are often concerned with whale strandings and the subsequent claims on the carcass by the king, queen, or other members of the nobility or clergy with jurisdiction over the coastline that the whale stranded upon. The meat stripped from the carcasses was regularly transported to London and cetaceans have therefore been ascribed as a “high-status food source”. Besides, strandings, several historical sources also suggest that active whaling was undertaken, and that meat was sold at several London markets. Based on these historical sources it however remains unclear to what extent active whaling was undertaken, and which species were exploited.Zooarchaeological studies address whales and their role in Roman and medieval society more directly through the study of animal bones. This study combines historical sources and the identification of zooarchaeological cetacean remains from the London sites of Bermondsey Abbey, Westminster Abbey (cellarium), Winchester Palace, Vintry, St Peter’s Hill, and Trig Lane through Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) and morphological analysis. The historical and zooarchaeological evidence from London indicates that cetacean meat was indeed associated with a high-status diet, in particular the ecclesiastical diet, though some form of commercialization of cetacean meat also took place. On occasion, whale bone was used for the creation of bone artefacts or tools, primarily during the Middle Saxon period. Additionally, it is suggested that active whaling might occasionally have been undertaken, potentially already from the Middle Saxon period onwards. However, the majority of the remains were probably acquired through opportunistic scavenging of stranded individuals.

Między wolnością a kryzysem. Sejm Rzeczypospolitej w dobie panowania Wettynów na polskim tronie w latach 1697–1763

During the Saxon period (1697–1763) the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth experienced an extremely serious crisis. The latter, however, did not come into being in 1697, but was a continuum of the inferior functioning of the Polish Parliament already during the previous years. In the course of the Saxon era this crisis grew more grievous as demonstrated by the intervention of foreign states (Russia, Prussia, the Empire, France, and partly Sweden) into the functioning of the Polish Parliament. The outcome assumed the form of a paralysis of the legislature, making it impossible to carry out indispensable reforms within the state. At the time of Augustus II the Strong (1697–1733) the Sejms partly fulfilled their function and were even capable of introducing order into the legal treasury system in Poland (e.g. the Silent Sejm in 1717), but during the reign of Augustus III (1734–63) the Sejm became the sole arena of the political struggle waged by the royal court and magnate factions, often supported by neighbouring countries. The symbol of the role played by this particular monarch was the solitary Sejm held at the time, which ended with the passage of a constitution (the pacification Sejm of 1736). Despite its decline the Sejm remained of considerable importance for the nobility of the modern era. Conceived as a symbol of the functioning of the state it was treated as pupilla libertatis, a personification of the sovereign existence of the state and an institution indispensable for reforming and modernising the country.

An Integrated Bioarchaeological Approach to the Medieval ‘Agricultural Revolution’: A Case Study from Stafford, England,c.ad800–1200

In much of Europe, the advent of low-input cereal farming regimes betweenc.ad800 and 1200 enabled landowners—lords—to amass wealth by greatly expanding the amount of land under cultivation and exploiting the labour of others. Scientific analysis of plant remains and animal bones from archaeological contexts is generating the first direct evidence for the development of such low-input regimes. This article outlines the methods used by the FeedSax project to resolve key questions regarding the ‘cerealization’ of the medieval countryside and presents preliminary results using the town of Stafford as a worked example. These indicate an increase in the scale of cultivation in the Mid-Saxon period, while the Late Saxon period saw a shift to a low-input cultivation regime and probably an expansion onto heavier soils. Crop rotation appears to have been practised from at least the mid-tenth century.

Pranciškaus Ksavero Mykolo Bohušo SJ bažnytinės karjeros bruožai

STROKES FROM THE CAREER OF FRANCISZEK KSAWERY MICHAŁ BOHUSZ Franciszek Ksawery Michał Bohusz (1746–1820) was a multifaceted, Jesuitshaped, wide-thinking personality. While growing-up and maturing in the Saxon period, Bohusz developed his public and intellectual life, as well as spiritual ministry, in the era of the Enlightenment. On the basis of historiography and primary sources the article analyses the development of the ecclesiastical career of Bohusz. It distinguishes and amply discusses the key stages of the ecclesiastical career of Bohusz: the novitiate, ministry of a parish priest, and membership in the chapter of Vilnius diocese. The article questions historiographic assertion that Bohusz was a prelate of the chapter of Vilnius diocese. The top level of the ecclesiastical career for Bohusz was becoming a coadjutor of cantor of prelate of the chapter of Vilnius diocese. This circumstance did not prevent either his contemporaries or Bohusz himself from actually using this title. Bohusz was not interested in a full-fledged office of prelate of the chapter of Vilnius diocese. The assumption here is that this was determined by Bohusz’s decision to favour secular ministry. Keywords: Franciszek Ksawery Michał Bohusz, ecclesiastical career, chapter of Vilnius diocese.

Iron Age and Roman Enclosed Settlement at Winchester Road, Basingstoke

Excavation in Area 1 identified an enclosed settlement of Middle–Late Iron Age and Early Roman date, which included a roundhouse gully and deep storage pits with complex fills. A group of undated four-post structures, situated in the east of Area 1, appeared to represent a specialised area of storage or crop processing of probable Middle Iron Age date. A sequence of re-cutting and reorganisation of ditches and boundaries in the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period was followed, possibly after a considerable hiatus, by a phase of later Roman activity, Late Iron Age reorganisation appeared to be associated with the abandonment of a roundhouse, and a number of structured pit deposits may also relate to this period of change. Seven Late Iron Age cremation burials were associated with a contemporary boundary ditch which crossed Area 1. Two partly-exposed, L-shaped ditches may represent a later Roman phase of enclosed settlement and a slight shift in settlement focus. An isolated inhumation burial within the northern margins of Area 1 was tentatively dated by grave goods to the Early Saxon period.<br/> Area 2 contained a possible trackway and field boundary ditches, of which one was of confirmed Late Iron Age/Early Roman date. A short posthole alignment in Area 2 was undated, and may be an earlier prehistoric feature.

Problemy edytorskie wydania Zbioru mniejszego poezji polskich drobniejszych Józefa Epifaniego Minasowicza

The article is a description of the proposal of a critical edition of Zbior mniejszy poezji polskich drobniejszych by Jozef Epifani Minasowicz, a Polish poet of the late Saxon period and the Reign of Stanislaw August Poniatowski. The author describes the problems which have to be faced by a publisher of texts from the past, willing to make readers familiar with the legacy of such a prolific writer. Zbior has over 270 pages and is the smallest volume among the works by Minasowicz, who was an extremely hard-working poet, an interpreter, an editor and a publisher, widely acclaimed by his contemporaries, but almost completely forgotten today. The article presents the most important problems concerning the process of preparing an edition, such as: selecting the type of edition, representativeness of the collection, and rules of edition. A factor worth mentioning is the situation ideal for an editor, in which an author of numerous lengthy volumes of low literary value, and at the same time deserving the attention of contemporary readers, had himself prepared a selection of his works: divided into smaller sections, systematized, and supplemented with explanations. It is only such a selection by the author that allows for preparing a critical edition, and only such an edition is useful in a cognitive sense. The analysis also includes doubts concerning the representativeness of the collection, which the author contradicts against the benefits from describing the character of the 18th century poet.

From credit to debt: A political history of English sovereign finance and money from the seventh century to the seventeenth

AbstractThis article provides a new perspective on sovereign finance and money in England from pre-modern to early modern times. Re-reading the literature on sovereign fiscality through the lens of sovereign jurisdictions and religious authority, it describes two distinct forms of sovereign finance: the rise and fall of sovereign credit from the seventh to eleventh century, followed by sovereign debt developing from the eleventh century into ‘modern’ sovereign debt from the seventeenth century onwards. In the early Anglo Saxon period, sovereign credit was given and received in non-monetised forms. It was when sovereign jurisdictions became too wide for labour and bulky produce to travel that tax was monetised. However, the monetisation of credit undermined the very sovereign-subject relation on which sovereign credit was based. After the introduction of short-term sovereign debt by the Normans, for the next five hundred years, the two distinct fiscal mechanisms of sovereign credit and sovereign debt ran in parallel, although the latter was restrained by the church's prohibition of usury. In the seventeenth century, sovereign credit and sovereign debt became conjoined elements within one fiscal system, rather than separate mechanisms.

Iron working in Anglo-Saxon England: New evidence to show fresh iron smelting of ironstone ores from the 6th–10th centuries CE

This paper discusses the current recycling and importation models of the Early Saxon iron economy. New evidence from the analysis of smelting slags and ores from the sites of Quarrington and Flixborough is presented which proves that fresh metal production was also occurring at this time, and with an increase in scale through the Saxon period. The findings are further supplemented by historical evidence which demonstrates that bedded iron ores were in use from at least the 7th century CE

A Saxon Fish Weir and Undated Fish Trap Frames Near Ashlett Creek, Hampshire, UK: Static Structures on a Dynamic Foreshore

The remains of a wooden V-shaped fish weir and associated structures have been discovered near Ashlett Creek on the tidal mudflats of Southampton Water in Hampshire, southern Britain. Radiocarbon dating of oak roundwood stakes taken from the main weir structure date it to the middle Saxon period. Clusters of as-yet undated roundwood posts within the catchment area of the weir are interpreted as the frames for fish traps that are assumed to pre- or post-date the operational period of the weir itself. The weir is contemporary with wooden V-shaped fish weirs found elsewhere in southern and central Britain, and also Ireland, but its circular catchment ‘pound’ remains restricted, in these islands, to the Solent and Severn estuaries: it has a close parallel with another Saxon-era weir on the nearby Isle of Wight. It also shows striking structural similarities with examples in use today in Basse Normandy, on the southern shore of the English Channel. The paper discusses the function and operation of the weir, and places it in its social and historical context. Regressive cartography demonstrates that the structures have become exposed as a result of saltmarsh retreat in this area of Southampton Water since the nineteenth century. The radiocarbon dates returned for the posts demonstrate that this transgression of the marsh must have been preceded by a prolonged period of progradation, which covered and preserved the site; its subsequent re-exposure has negative implications for its survival.

Characterising copper-based metals in Britain in the first millennium AD: a preliminary quantification of metal flow and recycling

Abstract

‘We'll have what they're having’, cultural identity through diet in the English Saxon Period

The roots of the English population lie in diverse cultural origins. Within the second half of the first millennium AD, there were two major migrations, firstly the Saxons in the immediate post-Roman period, and later following the ‘Viking’ incursions of the mid-9th century. This paper considers the visibility of these migrations in the animal economy. Zooarchaeological data from 141 Saxon sites within England were analysed for evidence of diet and animal husbandry. Results indicate that there were signatures specific to native British rural populations in the early Saxon phase, relying largely on a self-sufficient economy, consuming very few wild species or domestic birds. Saxon cultural differences were implied from a number of sites, dependant on the increased importance of cattle in the diet and as culturally symbolic animals signifying status and utilised for trade. There was also evidence for the earliest settlers to have used pigs as a ‘mobile larder’, to provide meat while they established herds and flocks of cattle and sheep. Regional differences were visible in the late Saxon phase, within Wessex and the Danelaw, related to agricultural changes in the midlands and central southern region, and cultural identity, particularly within the heartlands of the northern Danelaw, towards an increase in cattle production.

Bread and surpluses: the Anglo-Saxon ‘bread wheat thesis’ reconsidered

This paper presents a fundamental new assessment of crop husbandry in the Mid Saxon period in England (c. AD 650–850), using data from charred plant remains. While recent archaeological studies have begun to emphasise the importance of agricultural development in this period – focusing especially upon field systems and livestock – crops have received comparatively little attention. This study challenges one popular model of Anglo-Saxon arable farming, here dubbed the ‘bread wheat thesis’, which posits a Mid Saxon shift whereby bread wheat supplanted hulled barley as the most important cereal crop in this period. The empirical basis for this model is here re-examined in the light of an updated archaeobotanical dataset from selected regions in southern Britain. No evidence for bread wheat supplanting hulled barley is discovered. It is argued instead that rye and oats became substantially more important in the 7th–9th centuries, regional patterns in cereal cultivation in this period correlate with differences in the natural environment and Anglo-Saxon farmers were able to produce greater arable surpluses from the 7th century onwards.

Environment, Society and Landscape in Early Medieval England, by Tom Williamson

Environment, Society and Landscape in Early Medieval England, by Tom Williamson. Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2013. viii, 270 pp. $80.00 US (cloth). Tom Williamson tackles a tried-and-true landscape history question in his latest book on early medieval England: why do regional settlement differences appear the way they do? Because of the paucity of written evidence from the period, Williamson blends historical documents, archaeological investigations, and modern landscape configurations to propose some answers to the question. His thesis is that the landscape patterns of the early Saxon settlement, particularly the fifth to eighth centuries, are largely due to environmental factors, rather than cultural or social ones. The first two chapters set up the background material. In chapter one, Williamson gives readers an overview of the historiography of early medieval settlement in England, including how ethnicity, demographics, and social structures have been treated. He is particularly keen to discredit the model, which deals with the breaking up of large estates into smaller and smaller units over time. In the second chapter, Williamson outlines the physical geography of England, including soil, rainfall, bedrock, and drainage basin information. In each of the following chapters Williamson argues against a prevailing settlement theory using environmental variables. Watershed boundaries are more important than military conquest in establishing settlement areas of immigrants (chapter three). Co-axial are the result of resource linkage in topographic contexts rather than evidence of planning (chapter four). The different landholding patterns in east and west, which are usually explained by Viking invasions, are more attributable to climatic factors that created more risk for agricultural production in the west (chapter five). The big issue Williamson wants to address is the supposed differences between champion landscapes of nucleated villages with communal agriculture and areas of individually worked property. This takes up the remainder of the book (chapters six through nine). Williamson takes issue with scholars who portray these types as homogenous landscapes dictated by tenurial or social factors. He believes that the typologies are far too simple since landscapes are variable and depend on local environmental factors. He attacks the dichotomy of champion/woodland landscape on multiple fronts. First, he forcefully argues that woodland landscapes do not indicate late or dispersed settlement. Second, he writes that the prominent theory of nucleation of settlement in the Saxon period is a myth, positing instead that seemingly planned settlements were much more irregular and gradually developed in place. …

An Outstanding Hoard of Gold Objects Deposited in the Late Saxon Period

A HOARD OF FOUR GOLD FINGER-RINGS and other items discovered in West Yorkshire by a metal-detectorist is remarkable for the superb quality of the objects, their occurrence as a group and because some of the rings were probably never worn. Each piece is introduced and discussed against the relevant Anglo-Saxon, continental and Viking background, and a link to 10th-century Danelaw elites is proposed.

Does size matter? Changes in the size of animals throughout the English Saxon period (AD 450–1066)

Biometrical analysis of changes in the size of cattle, sheep/goat and pigs was carried out on data from 42 Anglo-Saxon sites. Log-scaling techniques on raw data and comparisons of summary data were employed in the analysis. A number of changes could be observed that were dependant on a continuation of Roman husbandry, importation of animals with the Saxon migration and links between stock size and Saxo-Norman developments in agriculture. A decline in the size of animals with time was also noted, yet it is likely that there would be little observable difference in the actual size of cattle and sheep of between one herd or flock to the next. Such homogeneity suggests that they were not isolated populations, but that some trade of stock occurred between sites. Limitations and problems in working with biometrical data are also discussed, most notably sample size, the reduction in the robustness of datasets with an increase in variables, and those associated with using summary and raw data.

Animal husbandry and farming in East Anglia from the 5th to the 10th centuries CE

Archaeological research that has been carried out in East Anglia since the 1960s has shed light on the changes in animal husbandry and farming that took place in eastern England between the 5th and the 10th centuries CE. The sites of West Stow and West Stow West have shed light on animal husbandry during the Early Saxon period. The rural estate centres of Brandon, Suffolk and Wicken Bonhunt, Essex provide evidence for Middle Saxon animal husbandry practices. Animal bones from the proto-urban ‘wic’ site of Ipswich in Suffolk show how this site was provisioned, while data from the Late Saxon contexts at Ipswich can shed light on the transition of this site from an emporium to a local market town. This paper takes a multi-proxy approach to changes in animal husbandry, farming, and landscape in Eastern England between the end of the Roman period and the 10th century, drawing on faunal data including species ratios, age profiles, biometrical data, and butchery patterns, as well as other classes of data that can inform us about changes in agriculture and landscape use.

‘Riveted Mounts’ Reconsidered: Horn Composite Combs in Early Medieval Britain, Ireland and France

Riveted bone strips have been described variously as ‘riveted mounts’ or the components of combs. They are examined here and interpreted as connecting plates from horn composite combs. This comb type came into use during the ninth century and quickly became the most common form of the Late Saxon period, continuing in use until the twelfth century. It is essentially an Anglo-Saxon comb form but examples have been found also in Dublin and across numerous sites in northern France. Connecting plates, made of antler or bone, occur in three basic shapes. Horn composite comb waste assemblages from Norwich, Thetford and Winchester suggest that by the late eleventh century commodity-based manufacture had superseded earlier forms of material-centred production.

Adapting Landscapes: The Continual Modification of Leicestershire's Open Fields

Alterations to open field systems were examined through detailed analysis of the furlong patterns of six Leicestershire parishes. It was found that all six open field systems had been subject to significant change during their use. This included the creation of new furlongs within the open field area, expansion onto meadow and waste, and the division of furlongs to increase their numbers. Alteration of these field systems occurred piecemeal rather than in a single phase of replanning, as examples can be dated to the Saxon, medieval and early modern periods. Concentrations of alterations were found to coincide with particular agricultural regions, suggesting that such changes were a response to technological developments, the introduction of new crops or, particularly in the case of expansion onto waste, population increase and food shortage. The creation of new furlongs on areas of waste, and the alteration of existing furlong patterns, appear to have been more widespread and persistent than previously realised, suggesting a more dynamic picture of agricultural production within these systems.

A geoarchaeological approach to the evolution of the town and port of Dover: Prehistoric to Saxon periods

Dover is located at the mouth of a narrow valley that forms the only significant break in almost 20 km of chalk cliffs along the Kentish Channel coast. This, together with the close proximity of the Continent, has ensured the site's standing as a port since pre-Roman times. However, little is known of the sequence of events associated with the transformation of the area since the later prehistoric period, and in particular the evolution of the harbour which has had at least four different locations. Work to regenerate central Dover has however provided opportunities to address these issues and we report here on geological evidence for harbour development and coastal change from the middle Holocene period to the present day. Foraminifera and ostracods recovered from boreholes and excavations in the town centre allow patterns of sedimentation to be identified and linked to archaeological finds such as the Dover Bronze Age Boat and Roman harbour installations. Radiocarbon dating, and archaeological spot-dating provides a chronological framework for these changes. In particular the later Prehistoric environments and their transformation to estuarine environments by the time of Roman activity in the area are examined (including the role of sea level change and coastal erosion). The history of sedimentation within the Roman harbour and the role played by human activity in accelerating sedimentation in the old valley mouth is also considered. Finally dune formation across former estuarine habitats is documented in the Anglo-Saxon period creating the topographic template on which the modern town is based.