This thesis examines the physical legacy left by the unification of the Kingdom of England during the tenth century, and seeks to redress the way in which the Kingdom of Mercia is often overlooked or discounted in the traditional historical narrative. It principally examines the means by which Æthelflæd of Mercia extended political and military control over the West Midlands, both in terms of physical infrastructure and through ‘soft’ power in terms of economic control and material culture. It uses landscape archaeology, artefactual and textual evidence to compare Mercia with its ally, Wessex, and assess the different means by which Æthelflæd of Mercia and her brother Edward the Elder were able to consolidate and expand their territory, the physical infrastructure they established in order to defend it, and the ways in which these sites developed in response to the changing political, military and economic climates of the later tenth century. It will assess why some defensive sites developed into proto-urban settlements while others disappeared, and the extent to which this was a conscious or planned process. This thesis seeks to overturn the idea that burhs constructed in Mercia were insignificant or unplanned ‘emergency’ sites and instead were part of a sophisticated network of landscapes of defence, reflecting a significant level of manpower and logistical investment on the part of the Mercian state. It will furthermore seek to explore the ways in which the Mercian state supported such a network, how sites were chosen, constructed, maintained and garrisoned, and the impact these sites had both on the local population, in terms of patterns of settlement and material culture, and on the wider political scale.

This dissertation’s thesis is that the marital rhetoric and gendered imagery of late classical, Christian political discourse appear in narrative, conciliar, and legal texts produced in Visigothic Spain between 579 and 654 A.D. for the purpose of expressing conflict, rather than “unity.” This thesis opposes views of the Visigothic kingdom as a model of successful Christian unification by showing how the male-authored, Spanish sources - far from being silent on religio-political conflicts - use marriage, women, and wealth as metaphors in disputes over orthodoxy and status. These early medieval texts suggest a new paradigm of Christian “unity” in which Jews function as the “enemy,” and in so doing, establish a political model decidedly different from that of late antiquity. Examples of this political model appear in the Third and Fourth Councils of Toledo (589 and 633 A.D.), which are published here for the first time in Latin-English translation. Despite the historical significance of the Visigothic sources in the Spanish and broader contexts, little attention has been paid to late classical marital rhetoric and gendered imagery in them as evidence of conflicts. Understanding the purpose of these rhetorical strategies helps us to perceive how the paradigm of Christian “unity” masked deep conflicts over status, orthodoxy, and wealth - conflicts that persisted until a new invading force appeared to challenge Visigothic power in 711 A.D. / text

Since the nineteenth century, the provenances, functions, and defining characteristics of a group of Insular portable containers, commonly called house-, tomb-, or church-shaped shrines, have been of interest to a number of disciplines such as History of Art, Archaeology, and Museology. As nearly all Insular house-shaped shrines were found empty or in fragmentary states, their original contents are a continued point of scholarly debate. In response to these examinations and based in part on the seventh-century riddle on the Chrismal found in the Ænigmata of Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne, this thesis proposes questions such as: what type of container is best categorised as an Insular house-shaped shrine, what were their original contents and functions, and do their forms and materials communicate any specific cultural message(s)? By engaging with the two core concepts of functionality and materiality, which are further informed through direct object handlings of select Insular portable shrines, this thesis examines the forms and materials used in their construction. Taking these questions and the historical conversation into account, this thesis draws on the terminology employed to denote sacral containers in Old Irish and Latin works, which include hagiography and penitentials, discussions on the Temple of Jerusalem within early medieval exegesis, depictions of Insular house-shaped shrines and analogous forms in stonework and other mediums, and antiquarian, archaeological, and anthropological accounts of the discovery of Insular house-shaped shrines to more fully examine the functions of these enigmatic boxes. In doing so, the place of Insular house-shaped shrines within early medieval art, both Continental and Insular, will be more fully outlined. Additionally, a working definition of what can constitute an Insular house-shaped shrine is developed by examining their materiality, form, and prescribed functional terms, such as ‘reliquary’ and ‘chrismal’. Finally, this thesis shows that the functions of Insular house-shaped shrines are best understood in an overlapping and pluralistic sense, namely, that they were containers for a variety of forms of sacral matter and likely were understood as relics themselves only in later periods, which modern antiquarians later used as meaning-making devices in their writings on the spread of the early medieval ‘Celtic’ Church.

Yes / Objective: This research introduces ‘The Bioarchaeology of Disability’ (BoD), a population-scale approach which allows for a comprehensive understanding of disability in past communities through a combination of palaeopathological, funerary, and documentary analyses. Methods: The BoD consists of three phases: 1) Contextualisation includes period-specific literature review; 2) Data collection consists of palaeopathological re-analysis of individuals with physical impairment and collation of mortuary treatment data; and 3) Analysis incorporates qualitative and quantitative comparison of the funerary treatment of individuals with and without physical impairment to explore contemporary perceptions of disability. Materials: The BoD is demonstrated through a case study investigation of disability in later Anglo-Saxon England (c.8th-11th centuries AD) which included four burial populations (Ntotal=1,543; Nimpaired=28). Results: Individuals with disability could be buried with normative or non-normative treatment (e.g., stone/clay inclusions, non-normative body positioning), and in marginal, non-marginal, and central locations. Conclusions: The overall funerary variation for individuals with disability was relatively slight, which may suggest that political and religious factors were influencing normative funerary treatment of disabled individuals. The funerary variability that was observed in disabled individuals was probably influenced by individual and community-specific beliefs. Significance: This research describes a population-scale approach to archaeological disability studies that can be replicated in other archaeological contexts. Limitations: Individuals with non-skeletal physical impairment (e.g., soft tissue, mental) cannot be analysed osteologically and are not considered by the BoD. Suggestions for further research: The BoD should be applied to different archaeological communities around the world to better understand disability in the past. / This work was supported by the Society for Church Archaeology who awarded a Research Grant to the lead author which funded analysis of the Priory Orchard and St. Peter’s Church collections. Research trips were also funded by the University of Bradford, School of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences’ research funds for PhD students.

This thesis explores identity in early mediaeval Scotland (ca 800-1300AD) using biological and burial deposition data. During this period Scotland was developing as a unified kingdom. The Norse, Scots, and Anglo-Saxons battled for political power. The Saxon and Irish Churches were pressuring for superiority over each other and over local beliefs. Many research areas in bioarchaeology have moved away from the more simplistic processual approach after a renewed understanding of the complexities of human existence. However, this newer methodology has not been sufficiently applied to early mediaeval Scottish studies. Common doxa still permeates the discipline despite the lack of critical assessment. Doxa tends to separate the early mediaeval Scottish world into the circumscribed categories of Norse (or ‘Viking’) and native, Christian and pagan. These commonly accepted site designations regarding ethnicity and religion were used to assess three hundred and twenty-one individuals from 21 sites. These individuals were analysed macroscopically for age, sex, stature and limb ratios, craniometrics, joint degeneration and disease, musculo-skeletal stress markers, dental pathologies, and overall health and disease. This data was compared to the available documentation for the sites considering site location, body position, cemetery type, grave enclosures, and grave furnishings. Statistical and qualitative methods were used to compare the data. Results suggest that there are slight differences within the population that may suggest some legitimacy for common site designations; however, the overall conclusion implies caution in the use of oversimplified categorising and a generally egalitarian view of identity for the early mediaeval people in Scotland.

This thesis assesses the sixth-/early seventh-century socio-economic roots of the eighth-century transmarine system connecting England and the Continent through major coastal trading sites (emporia). Part 1 discusses socio-economic developments in the coastal areas of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and the Pas-de-Calais, through a close investigation of fifth- to early seventh-century archaeological evidence. The inclusion of later written sources has been fundamental to recognise that the two shores of the Channel were connected in a more complex network than previously assumed, beyond the major emporia. These areas are then considered comparatively: after challenging substantivist approaches that assume an overwhelming importance of gift-exchange in sixth-century England, Part 2 stresses the role of transmarine traffic and exploitation of natural resources in the socio-economic development of coastal areas. The examination of sixth-century written sources has also proved rewarding to reconsider the sixth-century political relationships between Franks and Anglo-Saxons. The role of kings, churches and laymen in the later transmarine network (seventh/eighth centuries) is then discussed by including the Thames Valley, the estuaries of the rivers Seine and Loire, and the Rhine Delta, examined through the written sources. One crucial question is the role of political actors in the development of a cross-Channel system of exchange. In this regard, scholars have mainly focused on the period when this system was already in place, pointing to a pivotal role of kings and political institutions for its establishment, or to the later appropriation by elites of a coastal area already integrated in the maritime network, but detached from political power. This thesis argues that a close link existed between elites and coastal areas before the emporia; thus, although kings were not the driving stimulus for the establishment of trading sites, the transmarine traffic fostered the socio-economic development of the coastal communities.

Résumé en français<p>Le sujet de notre thèse de doctorat consiste en l’analyse du corpus céramique issu des fouilles de Mazar, une zone située sur le Rempart Sud du site de Mahasthangarh au Bangladesh, qui se sont déroulées de 2001 à 2011. Toutefois le matériel étudié comprend la poterie découverte de 2006 à 2011. <p>Trois périodes chronologiques ont été individualisées sur base de datations au C14, de structures construites et de monnaies :les niveaux anciens de l’époque Maurya, les niveaux intermédiaires des époques Shunga, Kouchane et Gupta et les niveaux supérieurs de l’époque post-Gupta à la conquête musulmane au début du 13ème siècle, aussi appelée Early Medieval Period. <p>Les objectifs consistaient à établir une chrono-typologie pour chacune des trois périodes de manière à mettre en évidence les variations de productions et de formes d’une époque à l’autre et de comparer les résultats de Mahasthangarh avec ceux d’autres sites de la région du Bengale.<p>Pour atteindre le premier objectif, les critères retenus sont directement liés au principe de la chaîne opératoire qui consiste à identifier, au travers de l’analyse du tesson, les étapes qui ont conduit au résultat final (sélection et préparation de la matière, façonnage, finition et décoration, cuisson). <p>Les résultats de l’analyse relative aux niveaux anciens ont montré que le corpus céramique était composé de divers groupes de Red Wares dont les différences résident dans la finesse de la pâte et le traitement des surfaces, de céramiques grises et de Fine Black Slipped Ware identifiées par les anciens céramologues à de la Northern Black Polished Ware. Au sein de ce dernier groupe, certains tessons de fond et de panse arborent un décor ‘rouletté’. L’assemblage présente des productions et des formes similaires au reste du Bengale. Le matériel des niveaux intermédiaires est trop fragmentaire pour que l’on puisse en tirer des conclusions sur un assemblage typique. Nous retrouvons les mêmes productions que lors des niveaux précédents avec cependant une diminution de la céramique fine. <p>En revanche, les niveaux supérieurs témoignent de l’établissement progressif aux alentours des 6ème et 7ème siècles d’un nouveau faciès céramique composé de céramiques communes (Medium Red, Red-Buff, Grey Wares) dont le répertoire formel est presque identique, et de céramiques à pâte plus fine et avec un engobe de couleur rouge ou gris-brun. L’assemblage évolue très peu au cours de la période et c’est seulement au tournant des 12ème-13ème siècles que nous assistons à une augmentation de la production des céramiques fines engobées. Les niveaux supérieurs ont également livré des tessons de céramique à glaçure turquoise et de la céramique chinoise (céladon des ateliers de Longquan et porcelaine des ateliers de Jingzhen et Dehua) datés de la même période. La comparaison avec les autres sites du Bengale ont démontré que la céramique de l’Early Medieval Period présentait des caractéristiques communes au niveau des techniques de fabrication (assemblages d’éléments façonnés séparément) et de décoration (incision, application, estampage), tout comme pour le répertoire morphologique au sein duquel les mêmes catégories formelles ont été identifiées. Toutefois, certaines différences d’ordre stylistique entre les productions nous permettent d’affirmer que des faciès locaux existaient. /<p>Summary in English<p>The subject of my PhD comprises the analysis of the corpus of pottery discovered during the excavations in Mazar, an area on the southern Rampart Mahasthangarh site in Bangladesh, which took place from 2001 to 2011. However, the studied material includes pottery discovered from 2006 to 2011.<p>Three time periods were individualized based on C14 dates, on the built structures and on the coins: former levels of the Maurya period, the intermediate levels of Shunga, Kushan and Gupta periods and superior levels of the post-Gupta period to the Muslim conquest which took place in the early 13th century, a period also called Early Medieval Period.<p>The goals were to create a chrono-typology for each of three periods in order to highlight the variations of wares and forms from one period to another and to compare the results of Mahasthangarh with other sites in the Bengal region.<p>To achieve the first objective, the criteria are directly related to the principle of the operating chain of identifying, through the analysis of the shard, the steps that led to the final product (selection and preparation of the material, shaping, finishing and decoration, cooking).<p>The results of the analysis relating to former levels (Maurya period) showed that the ceramic corpus was composed of various groups of Red Wares whose differences lie in the fineness of the clay and surface treatment, of Grey Wares and of Fine Black Slipped Ware identified by some ceramologists in the Northern Black Polished Ware. Within this latter group some body-shards and bottom-shards wear a “chattered” decoration. The assemblage includes same kind of wares and shapes than the rest of Bengal. The material of intermediate levels is too fragmented so that we can draw conclusions on a typical assemblage. We find the same pottery as in previous levels but with a reduction in the fine ceramics.<p>On the other hand, superior levels testify to the gradual establishment of a new ceramic facies, around the 6th and 7th centuries, which is composed of common pottery (Medium Red Ware, Red-Buff Ware, Grey Ware) with almost same shapes, and pottery made with finer clay and a red or brown-grey slip. The assemblage changes very little during the period and it is only at the turn of the 12th to 13th centuries that we are seeing an increase in production of fine slipped wares. The higher levels have also delivered turquoise glazed ware and Chinese ceramic shards (celadon from the Longquan workshop and porcelain from Jingzhen and Dehua workshops) dated to the same period. Comparisons with other sites of Bengal have shown that the ceramic of Early Medieval Period had common characteristics in terms of manufacturing techniques (joining of several elements shaped separately) and decoration (incision, application, embossing), as for morphological répertoire in which the same formal categories were identified. However, some differences between the stylistic productions allow us to state that local facies existed. <p> / Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis examines the relationship between Western eschatological traditions and Bishop Burchard of Worms' extended exegesis on the subject of ‘speculative theology’ within Decretum, Liber Vicesimus (c. 1012-1025). Its purpose is to explore the influence of eschatological theology upon the composition of canon law and its relationship with the administration of pastoral care in the early eleventh century. This will be achieved by investigating the authorities Burchard employed, and the unique ways in which he structured his interpretation of the subject. Chapter one reviews the scholarship on early medieval eschatological exegesis, canon law, and penance, alongside that on Burchard of Worms. Chapter two provides an overview of the history of early medieval western eschatological exegesis (c. 33-1050) and the general conditions that contemporary ecclesiastics would have experienced in relation to the study and construction of eschatological texts. Chapter three considers the historical context for the composition of the Decretum and the manuscript traditions of the Liber Vicesimus. Chapters four, five, and six, extensively analyse the structures and contents of the Liber Vicesimus: Burchard and his team of compilers are shown to have drawn extensively and developed their interpretation of eschatology from Gregory the Greats’ exegetical works, as well as identifying other unique influences. Consequently the thesis demonstrates how Gregory’s exegetical works played a central role in building the textual foundations which shaped the theological parameters governing the eschatological thoughts, beliefs, and writings, of many ecclesiastics during this period. The thesis concludes that Gregory’s work provided churchmen with an authoritative moral framework and rhetoric for the discussion of eschatological phenomena that could be utilised in a variety of ways. It also suggests new ways in which historians should interpret the written traditions that shaped the structure and content of orthodox eschatological texts in this period.

This project presents a study of iron technology in Early Medieval (fifth to eleventh centuries AD) Britain through the examination of iron found in settlement contexts. This is a period characterized by significant cultural, political and social changes. The effect of these changes on iron technology has never been investigated on a large scale. Previous studies on iron focused either on individual sites or on single artefact types, and did not provide any clear multi-region interpretive framework. A longstanding problem has been in identifying the extent of usage of a key alloy: phosphoric iron. This research project examined iron assemblages from eight settlement sites of varying size, culture, economic and social status from across Britain. From each settlement a mixed assemblage of iron artefacts was sampled, including edged tools, items of personal adornment, construction materials, and craft tools. Analysis was by traditional archaeometallurgical techniques alongside SEM-EDS elemental analysis. Alloy usage, specifically relating to phosphoric iron, was examined and the manufacturing techniques assessed. It was shown that elemental analysis is the only reliable method to determine the presence of phosphorus in iron and demonstrated that the traditional phosphoric indicators as observed during optical microscopy are insufficient. Results were subjected to a series of comparisons based on settlement size, the inferred social status, and cultural affinities. The results demonstrate the high technological level of iron artefact production across the country. All areas had access to the full range of iron alloys and employed a highly developed range of smithing techniques. Phosphoric iron was a prevalent alloy in this period. Based on these results, a model of the Early Medieval iron industry is generated, suggesting a vibrant economy in which both local and traded irons were significant.

This thesis presents a series of case studies of early medieval narratives about the non-Roman, non-biblical distant past. After an introduction that briefly outlines the context of Christian traditions of historiography in the same period, in chapter two, I examine the Gothic histories of Jordanes and Isidore, and show how they present different methods of reconciling notions of Gothic independence with the heritage of Rome. Chapter three looks at the Trojan origin narratives of the Franks in the Fredegar chronicle and the 'Liber historiae Francorum', and argues that this origin story, based on the model of the Roman foundation myth, was a means of making the Franks separate from Rome, but nevertheless comparable in the distinction of their origins. Chapter four studies Paul the Deacon’s 'Historia Langobardorum', and argues that although Paul drew more on oral sources than did the other histories examined, his text is equally not a record of ancient oral tradition, but presents a synthesis of a Roman, Christian, and of non-Roman and pagan or Arian heritages, and shows that there was actually little differentiation between them. Chapter five is an examination of 'Waltharius', a Latin epic drawing on Christian verse traditions, but also on oral vernacular traditions about the distant past; I suggest that it is evidence of the interpenetration between secular, oral, vernacular culture and ecclesiastical, written and Latin learning. 'Beowulf', the subject of chapter six, is similar evidence for such intercourse, though in this case to some extent in the other direction: while in 'Waltharius' Christian morality appears to have little of a role to play, in 'Beowulf' the distant past is explicitly problematised because it was pagan. In the final chapter, I examine the further evidence for oral vernacular secular historical traditions in the ninth and tenth centuries, and argue that the reason so little survives is because, when the distant past had no immediate political function—as origin narratives might—it was normally seen as suspect by the Church, which largely controlled the medium of writing.