A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar as interações entre os reis e as elites anglo-saxãs dos reinos da Mércia e Wessex, entre os séculos VIII e IX, sob a perspectiva da governança. Para tanto, foram perscrutados os diplomas promulgados pelos reis em favor das elites em diferentes reinados entre 716, ano de ascensão do Etelbaldo da Mércia, e 899, ano de morte do rei Alfredo, o Grande. A partir da análise dos diplomas, foi possível perceber que os reis utilizaram desses documentos como meio para obter o consenso e a aquiescência das elites de maneira a viabilizar seus reinados. Foi concluído que uma maior promulgação de diplomas não se configura uma crise de governabilidade, pelo contrário, o número de diplomas concentrados em reinados considerados fortes foi justamente o que possibilitou aos reis evitar conflitos e dissenções em seus reinos. / The aims of this research was analyze the interactions among Anglo-Saxons kings and elites in the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex in the 8th-9th centuries, from the perspective of governance. For that, the royal diplomas promulgated in favor of elites on the different reings between the years of 716, year of ascension of king Ethelbald of Mércia, and 899, year of death of king Alfred the Great was scrutinized. Through the analysis of the diplomas, it was possible to observe that the kings used these documents to build up consensus and compliance of the elites to enable their reigns. It was concluded that greater enactment of diplomas does not constitute a crisis of governability; on the contrary, the number of diplomas concentrated in reigns considered strong is precisely what enabled the kings to avoid conflicts and dissentions in their kingdoms.

A presente pesquisa tem por objetivo analisar as interações entre os reis e as elites anglo-saxãs dos reinos da Mércia e Wessex, entre os séculos VIII e IX, sob a perspectiva da governança. Para tanto, foram perscrutados os diplomas promulgados pelos reis em favor das elites em diferentes reinados entre 716, ano de ascensão do Etelbaldo da Mércia, e 899, ano de morte do rei Alfredo, o Grande. A partir da análise dos diplomas, foi possível perceber que os reis utilizaram desses documentos como meio para obter o consenso e a aquiescência das elites de maneira a viabilizar seus reinados. Foi concluído que uma maior promulgação de diplomas não se configura uma crise de governabilidade, pelo contrário, o número de diplomas concentrados em reinados considerados fortes foi justamente o que possibilitou aos reis evitar conflitos e dissenções em seus reinos. / The aims of this research was analyze the interactions among Anglo-Saxons kings and elites in the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex in the 8th-9th centuries, from the perspective of governance. For that, the royal diplomas promulgated in favor of elites on the different reings between the years of 716, year of ascension of king Ethelbald of Mércia, and 899, year of death of king Alfred the Great was scrutinized. Through the analysis of the diplomas, it was possible to observe that the kings used these documents to build up consensus and compliance of the elites to enable their reigns. It was concluded that greater enactment of diplomas does not constitute a crisis of governability; on the contrary, the number of diplomas concentrated in reigns considered strong is precisely what enabled the kings to avoid conflicts and dissentions in their kingdoms.

Scholars including Christine Fell, Pauline Stafford and Catherine Cubitt have tried to explain the status of women in Late Anglo-Saxon England in a variety of ways. Some, such as Fell, have framed the earlier Anglo-Saxon period as a golden Age which saw greater freedoms; others, like Stafford, Cubitt and Patricia Halpin, have argued for a more complicated reading, one that acknowledges the impact of the tenth-century monastic reform and the changes in types of religious life open to women. Occasionally studies draw on the art of the period to demonstrate their claims, but none foreground the visual evidence in the exploration of women's status in Late Anglo-Saxon England. Art historical studies, such as Catherine Karkov's examinations of Junius 11 and the Old English Illustrated Hexateuch, which include discussion of the portrayal of women tend to examine the images in relation to various concepts ranging from the manuscript's audience to issues of female speech, as well as in isolation from the extant corpus of images of women known from Late Anglo-Saxon England. This study will focus on three distinct, yet related, case studies that typify the ways in which women are presented to different Late Anglo-Saxon audiences. These case studies emerge through a statistical analysis and survey of patterns of representation of over twenty illustrated manuscripts. The first focuses on the miniature of St Æthlthryth in the Benedictional of Æthelthryth, exploring how the image of Æthlthryth was utilised to communicate ideals, such as virginity, key to Æthelwold's view of reformed English monasticism. The second case study focuses on the Old English Illustrated Hexateuch and the ways in which women were utilised in demonstrating (un)righteous behaviours. The differences between the manuscripts while seeking to demonstrate how personifications, like the historical and biblical women of the first two case studies, can reveal the ways in which women were conceived in Late Anglo-Saxon society. Ultimately, this study will show that when women were portrayed in the art of the period, it is with specific ideals in mind that speak to acceptable behaviour, religious constructs, and the place and function of the woman in contemporary society.

“Hostages in Old English Literature” examines the various roles that hostages have played in Anglo-Saxon texts, specifically focusing on the characterization of Æscferth in The Battle of Maldon. Historical context is considered in order to contextualize behavioral expectations that a 10th century Anglo-Saxon audience might have held. Since the poem was composed during the reign of Æthelred the Unready, an examination of hostages and incidents recorded in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle during his rule helps ground a socio-cultural approach. Furthermore, since Æscferth is among only a handful of named hostages in Old English literature, these other hostages have been analyzed and compared with him in order to further contextualize the hostage character. These hostages have been identified based on a broadened concept of the term “hostage” to include the social expectations of a medieval stranger. Through a consideration of these other hostages, a continuum for changing hostage loyalty emerges and reflects the evolving warrior ethics at the end of the 10th century. Based on the presented evidence, this thesis concludes that Æscferth, as a hostage, best symbolizes The Battle of Maldon’s call for English unity at the end of the 10th century.

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Thesis advisor: Robin Fleming / This dissertation charts the movement of slaves from Western Europe, through Scandinavia, and into the frontiers of the Caliphate, a movement which took shape in the early 700s and flourished into the late 800s. The victims of this movement are well attested in texts from either end of their journey, and the movement of everyday things allows us to trace the itineraries they followed. Necklace beads—produced in the east, carried to the north, and worn in the west—serve as proxies for human traffic that traveled the same routes in opposite directions. Attention to this traffic overcomes four impasses—between regional particularism and interregional connectivity; between attention to exchange and focus on production; between privileging textual or material evidence; and between definitions of slavery that obscure practices of enslavement. The introduction outlines problems of studying medieval slavery with regard to transregional approaches to the Middle Ages, the transition to serfdom, and the use of material evidence. Chapter One gathers narrative texts previously dealt with anecdotally to establish patterns for the Viking-Age slave trade, with eastward traffic thriving by the late 800s. Chapter Two confirms these patterns by graphically comparing viking violence to reports of captive taking in the annals and archival documents of Ireland, Francia, and Anglo-Saxon England. Chapter Three investigates how viking captive taking impacted Western societies and the creation of written records in Carolingian Europe. Chapter Four turns to the material record, using beads to trace the intensity and flow of human traffic that fed from early viking violence. Chapter Five establishes a corresponding demand for slaves in the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate through Arabic archival, legal, historical, and geographic texts. The conclusion places this research in the context of global history. By spanning periods, regions, and disciplines, this dissertation brings to focus people who crossed boundaries unwillingly, but whose movements contributed to epochal change. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: History.

The rise of Anglo-Saxon kingship has many influences, yet current scholarly discussion tends to focus on a select few. This thesis aims to analyze an oft-ignored factor in the development of kingship in Anglo-Saxon England. By discussing the influences of domestic production, international trade, food-based tribute, and royal feasting on Anglo-Saxon kingship from the fifth to the eleventh centuries, the role of food consumption in the development of kingship can be articulated. This thesis begins with a discussion of the practices of Anglo-Saxon domestic food production. Systems of agriculture and animal husbandry are analyzed, along with the various methods used to procure domestic prestige foods. This chapter explores the links between conceptions of land ownership and the legitimacy of kingly rule. A discussion of international trade in prestige food follows, analyzing the ways in which the developing relationship between Anglo-Saxon England and the European Continent shaped internal and external conceptions of kingship. Following this chapter, a discussion of the variant chronological forms of Anglo-Saxon kingship is pursued. This discussion culminates in a case study of the collection of food-rents throughout the Anglo-Saxon occupation of England, revealing the connections among land ownership, status goods, and long-distance organization in the rise of kingship. An analysis of the development of Anglo-Saxon feasting follows, displaying the links between the use of prestige foods and relationships based on systems of obligations in solidifying Anglo-Saxon kingship. A general discussion follows, during which the combined influences of production, trade, tribute, and feasting on Anglo-Saxon kingship are made manifest. Finally, an overview of this thesis' findings is presented, along with suggestions for further study.

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No / This paper reviews the osteological evidence for execution in Anglo-Saxon England, which, in the cases of modern analysis, can reveal considerable detail about the methods of decapitation, in particular, and it also provides a critical appraisal of the considerably less reliable antiquarian reports. We suggest that secure evidence for execution, principally decapitation, can be identified through modern osteological analysis but it is limited, and we also argue that assertions made in antiquarian excavation reports about apparent examples of execution need to be treated with caution.