Anglo-Saxon England

Any list of the most consequential Anglo-Saxons would need to include King Æthelberht of Kent. As the king who welcomed the Augustinian Mission in 597 and gave them his protection Æthelberht was personally responsible foe the start of England’s official conversion to Christianity; an event which would have massive cultural and political implications for later generations. At least that’s the traditional narrative. To what extent is Æthelberht’s reputation deserved? As I will show in this episode, much of what he pioneered vanished soon after his death and consequently it seems that his actual importance to early Anglo-Saxon England is somewhat overstated by later hagiography.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Kent consists of a small spur sticking out of the south-eastern tip of England. To its north lies the mouth of the River Thames and to its south it the English Channel. As the closest point between Britain and mainland Europe, Kent has always been an entry point into the British Isles. This means that it has often been a hub of international trade and communication, but it also means that it has one of the most vulnerable parts of England to invasion. The Kingdom of Kent that emerged here would serve as the entry point for wealth and new ideas to flow into England. The earliest history of Kent is mysterious, but what we can say demonstrates some of the major trends that shaped the course of Kentish history.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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As historians we thrive on the material culture of the past. You don’t need to be an historical materialist to recognize that without material culture our understanding of history is severely limited. Objects are the raw material from which we make history. What then do objects tell us about the early development of Anglo-Saxon history and society? When we look at this we can chart the material evolution of Anglo-Saxon England from a migrant society of farmers to a kingdom with towns and villages. At the centre of this development lies trade.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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The period of West Saxon consolidation under Ine had major implications not just for Wessex but for peoples elsewhere in Britain and even on the Continent. One man who embodies the international impact of Ine’s reign is Boniface, a West Saxon who devoted his life to missionary work in what is today Germany and Austria. A product of Wessex’s western expansion, Boniface’s eventful life brought him into contact with popes and kings and saw him leave an indelible mark on many of the peoples and countries of Europe’s Germanic centre.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Michael Lapidge called Aldhelm the first English ‘man of letters’ on account of his vast learning. Bede said of him that he was ‘most learned in every respect’ and that he was both a mast of style as well as possessing an unrivalled knowledge of both classical and patristic writings. Aldhelm’s writings set the standard for Anglo-Latin literature that would continue to be imitated up to the time of the Norman Conquest. Indeed each of his works inspired Latin and Old English imitators who through their engagement with Aldhelm’s legacy advanced the development of Anglo-Saxon intellectual history. Therefore, although he is not well known today, Aldhelm’s influence was truly immense, greater perhaps even than Bede’s.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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It’s probably no exaggeration to say the Alfred the Great is one of the most, if not the most, famous Anglo-Saxon of them all. The only British monarch given the epithet ‘the Great’, the traditional account of his life is one of a scholar forced into the role of a war leader who defied the odds to save and unite not just his people, but all the English. Indeed, Alfred is usually cast as the man who saved England, without whom all of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms would have fallen to Scandinavian invasion. However, it is not just for his military successes that Alfred is remembered. He was also celebrated as a wise king who cared deeply for law, religion, and learning. The revival of Latin and Old English learning that is called by scholars the ‘Alfredian Renaissance’ is usually attributed to Alfred’s vision of a just and pious English nation which he sought to realise by gathering to himself the learned man of Britain, Ireland, and the Continent. It is important to be wary, though, of mythmaking and the ‘great man’ interpretation of history. While Alfred was without question a great leader, we must take a step back and look at his life with dispassionate eyes so that we can cut through the layers of legend to reach the core of the man who saved England.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Much like the Advent Lyrics, the second Christ poem, which I will refer to as ‘The Ascension’ is focused on another key moment from the Christian story; the ascension of Christ 40 days after the Crucifixion. The poem is one of four written by the mysterious poet Cynewulf who drew on a wide array of scriptural and extra-biblical sources in the creation of this piece. The Ascension is the Exeter Book’s longest poem, even with a leaf missing from part way through the poem.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Æthelwulf’s will attests to his desire that upon his death Wessex would pass into the hands of his sons. This desire was fulfilled when his eldest surviving son Æthelbald became king following his father’s death in 858. The years that passed between this accession and the rise of the youngest son, Alfred, to the throne in 871 would see a complex detente form between the four brothers as Wessex rapidly passed from one to another. Histories of Wessex tend to overlook the years between Æthelwulf and Alfred, preferring to focus instead of Alfred, his father, and his grandfather to give the sense of a simple progression of a united Wessex developing into a united kingdom of England. However the reigns of Alfred’s three older brothers deserve to be discussed in detail since it is under them that several key factors in Alfred’s reign fully emerge into West Saxon history such as the transition from Scandinavian raiding into Scandinavian conquest and the alliance with Mercia, both of which would bear fruit in Alfred’s reign and shape the earliest form of the kingdom of England.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Æthelwulf, father of Alfred the Great, was perhaps the most innovative king Wessex had seen since the reign of Ine. Although he would dedicate much of his reign to securing the throne, through the dual impact of intense Viking raiding and personal hubris his experiment would finally explode in his face casting a permanent shadow on his legacy but also setting the scene for the rise of his mighty son.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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In 786 King Cynewulf was murdered throwing Wessex into disorder. In the midst of the feuding that followed King Offa of Mercia moved in to secure the West Saxons’ passivity by elevating a puppet to the throne. He did this in the form of his son-in-law Beorhtric. This manoeuvre did not go unchallenged, though, and Beorhtric faced opposition from at least one West Saxon nobleman, Ecgberht, who warred against Beorhtric but wa ultimately driven into exile in Francia for his troubles. Upon Beorhtric’s death in 802, Ecgberht would return from his exile and claim the West Saxon throne, and so would begin a period in which the political map of southern England was changed forever as Ecgberht led a reconquest of all the lands south of the Thames and secure West Saxon pre-eminence in southern England.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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