Sicily, 1093
Norman conquest of southern Italy
Spanned most of the eleventh century, involving many battles and many independent players conquering territories of their own.
Only later were these united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included not only the island of Sicily, but also the entire southern third of the Italian peninsula (save Benevento, which they did briefly hold on two occasions) as well as the archipelago of Malta and parts of North Africa.
Norman conquest of southern Italy
Immigrant Norman brigands acclimatised themselves to the mezzogiorno as mercenaries in the service of various Lombard and Byzantine factions, communicating news swiftly back home about the opportunities that lay in the Mediterranean.
These aggressive groups aggregated in various places, eventually establishing fiefdoms and states of their own; they succeeded in unifying themselves and raising their status to one of de facto independence within fifty years of their arrival.
Norman conquest of southern Italy
Unlike the Norman conquest of England (1066), which took place over the course of a few years after one decisive battle, the conquest of the south was the product of decades and many battles, few decisive.
Many independent players were involved and conquered territories of their own, which were only later unified into one state. Compared to the conquest of England, it was unplanned and unorganised, but just as permanent.
This is similar to what happened in Ireland.
AD 999
The earliest purported date for the arrival of Norman knights in southern Italy is 999.
In that year, according to several sources, Norman pilgrims (of which there were presumably many before and after that date) returning from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by way of Apulia stopped at Salerno, where they were enjoying the hospitality of Prince Guaimar III when the city and its environs were attacked by Saracens from Africa demanding the late payment of an annual tribute.
AD 999
While Guaimar began to collect the tribute, the Normans upbraided the Lombards for their lack of bravery and immediately assaulted their besiegers.
The Saracens fled, much booty was taken, and a thankful Guaimar pleaded with the Normans to stay. They refused, but promised to bring his rich gifts to their compatriots in Normandy and to tell them of the offer of reward in return for military service in Salerno.
Some sources even have Guaimar sending emissaries to Normandy to bring back knights.
Rebellion
On 9 May 1009, an insurrection erupted in Bari against the Catapanate of Italy, the regional Byzantine authority which was based at Bari.
Led by one Melus, a local Lombard of high standing, it quickly spread to other cities. Late that year or early the next (1010), the catapan, John Curcuas, was killed in battle. In March 1010, his successor, Basil Mesardonites, disembarked with reinforcements and immediately besieged the rebels in the city.
Rebellion
The Greek citizens of the city negotiated with Basil and forced the Lombard leaders, Melus and his brother-in-law Dattus, to flee. Basil entered the city on 11 June 1011 and reestablished Byzantine authority. He did not follow his victory up with any severe reactions. He simply sent the family of Melus, including his son Argyrus, to Constantinople. Basil died in 1016 after years of peace in southern Italy.
Leo
Leo Tornikios Kontoleon arrived as Basil's successor in May that year. On Basil's death, Melus had revolted again, but this time he employed a newly-arrived a band of Normans, which had either been sent to him by Pope Benedict or which he had met, with or withour Guaimar's assistance, at Monte Gargano.
Leo sent Leo Passianos with an army against the Lombard-Norman assemblage. Passianos and Melus met on the Fortore at Arenula. The battle was either indecisive (William of Apulia) or a victory for Melus (Leo of Ostia).
Leo
Tornikios then took command himself and led them into a second encounter near Civita. This second battle was a victory for Melus, though Lupus Protospatharius and the anonymous chronicler of Bari record a defeat.
A third battle, a decisive victory for Melus, occurred at Vaccaricia.
The entire region from the Fortore to Trani had fallen to Melus and in September, Tornikios was relieved of his duties in favour of Basil Boiannes, who arrived in December.
Leo
At Boiannes' request, a detachment of the elite Varangian Guard was sent to Italy to combat the Normans. The two forces met on the river Ofanto near Cannae.
The result was a decisive Greek victory. Boioannes protected his gains by immediately building a great fortress at the Apennine pass guarding the entrance to the Apulian plain. In 1019, Troia, as it was called, was garrisoned by Boioannes' own contingent of Norman troops, a sign of the true mercenary tendencies of the Normans.
Pope Benedict
Frightened by the shift in momentum in the south, Pope Benedict, who, as noted above, may have given the initially impetus to Norman involvement in the war, went north in 1020 to Bamberg to confer with the Holy Roman Emperor, then Henry II. The Emperor took no immediate action, but events of the next year convinced him to intervene. Boioannes had allied with Pandulf of Capua and marched on Dattus, who was then garrisoning a tower in territory of the Duchy of Gaeta with papal troops. He was captured, and, on 15 June 1021, was tied up in a sack with a monkey, a rooster, and a snake and thrown into the sea. In 1022, a large imperial army marched south in three detachments under Henry II, Pilgrim of Cologne, and Poppo of Aquileia, to attack Troia. While Troia did not fall, all the Lombard princes were brought over to the Empire and Pandulf was carted off to a German prison. The period of the Lombard revolt was closed.
Mercenary service, 1022–1046
In 1024, Norman mercenaries (perhaps under Ranulf Drengot) were in the pay of Guaimar III when he and Pandulf IV besieged Pandulf V in Capua. In 1026, after an 18-month siege, Capua surrendered and Pandulf IV was reinstated. In the following years, Ranulf would attach himself to Pandulf, but in 1029, he abandoned the prince and joined Sergius IV of Naples, whom Pandulf had expelled from Naples in 1027, probably with Ranulf's assistance.
In 1029, Ranulf and Sergius recaptured Naples. Early in 1030, Sergius gave Ranulf the County of Aversa as a fief, the first Norman principality in the region. Sergius also gave his sister in marriage to the new count. In 1034, however, Sergius' sister died and Ranulf returned to Pandulf. According to Amatus:
For the Normans never desired any of the Lombards to win a decisive victory, in case this should be to their disadvantage. But now supporting the one and then aiding the other, they prevented anyone being completely ruined
Mercenary service, 1022–1046
Norman reinforcements and local miscreants, who found a welcome in Ranulf's encampment with no questions asked, swelled the numbers at Ranulf's command. There, Norman language and Norman customs welded a disparate group into the semblance of a nation, as Amatus also observed.
In 1037, the Normans were further entrenched when the Emperor Conrad II deposed Pandulf and recognised Ranulf as "Count of Aversa" holding directly from the emperor. In 1038, Ranulf invaded Capua and expanded his polity into one of the largest in southern Italy.
Between 1038 and 1040, another band of Normans were sent along with a Lombard contingent by Guaimar IV of Salerno to fight in Sicily for the Byzantines against the Saracens. The first members of the Hauteville family won renown in Sicily fighting under George Maniaches. William of Hauteville won his nickname "Iron Arm" at the siege of Syracuse.
Mercenary service, 1022–1046
After the assassination of the Catapan Nicephorus Doukeianos at Ascoli in 1040, the Normans planned to elect a leader from amongst their own, but were instead bribed by Atenulf, Prince of Benevento, to elect him their leader. On 16 March 1041, near Venosa, on the Olivento, the Norman army tried to negotiate with the new catapan, Michael Doukeianos, but failed and battle was joined at Montemaggiore, near Cannae. Though the catapan had called up a large Varangian force from Bari, the battle was a rout and many of Michael's soldiers drowned in the Ofanto on retreat.
Mercenary service, 1022–1046
On 3 September 1041, the Normans, nominally under the Lombard leadership of Arduin and Atenulf, defeated the new Byzantine catepan, Exaugustus Boioannes, and took him captive to Benevento, significant of the remaining Lombard influence over the conquests. Also about that time, Guaimar IV of Salerno began to draw the Normans under his banner with various promises. In February 1042, probably feeling abandoned, and perhaps bribed by the Greeks, Atenulf negotiated the ransom of Exaugustus and then fled with the ransom money to Greek territory. He was replaced by Argyrus, who won some early victories but then too was bribed to defect to the Greeks.
Mercenary service, 1022–1046
In September 1042, the Normans finally elected a leader from among their own. The revolt, originally Lombard, had become Norman in character and leadership. William Iron Arm was elected with the title of "count." He and the other leaders petitioned Guaimar for recognition of their conquests. They received the lands around Melfi as a fief and proclaimed Guaimar "Duke of Apulia and Calabria." At Melfi in 1043, Guaimar divided the region (except for Melfi itself, which was to be ruled on a republican model) into twelve baronies for the benefit of the Norman leaders: William himself received Ascoli, Asclettin received Acerenza, Tristan received Montepeloso, Hugh Tubœuf received Monopoli, Peter received Trani, Drogo of Hauteville received Venosa, and Ranulf Drengot, now independent, received Monte Gargano. William in turn was married to Guida, daughter of Guy, Duke of Sorrento, and niece of Guaimar. The alliance between the Normans and Guaimar was strong.
Mercenary service, 1022–1046
During his reign, William and Guaimar began the conquest of Calabria in 1044 and built the great castle of Stridula, probably near Squillace. William was less successful in Apulia, where, in 1045, he was defeated near Taranto by Argyrus, though his brother, Drogo, conquered Bovino. With William's death, however, the period of Norman mercenary service would come completely to and end and witness the rise of two great Norman principalities, both owing nominal allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire: the County of Aversa, later the Principality of Capua, and the County of Apulia, later the Duchy of Apulia.
County of Melfi, 1046–1059
In 1046, Drogo entered Apulia and defeated the catepan, Eustathios Palatinos, near Taranto. His brother Humphrey meanwhile forced Bari to conclude a treaty with the Normans.
In 1047, Guaimar, who had auspiciously supported his succession and thus the establishment of a Norman dynasty in the south, gave Drogo his daughter Gaitelgrima in marriage. Then the Emperor Henry III came down and confirmed the county of Aversa in its fidelity to him and made Drogo his direct vassal too, granting him the title dux et magister Italiae comesque Normannorum totius Apuliae et Calabriae, the first legitimate title for the Normans of Melfi. Henry, whose wife Agnes had been mistreated by the Beneventans, then authorised Drogo to conquer Benevento and hold it from the imperial crown. The Normans did not capture it until 1053, however.
County of Melfi, 1046–1059
In 1048, Drogo commanded an expedition into Calabria via the valley of Crati, near Cosenza. He distributed the conquered territories in Calabria and granted his brother Robert Guiscard a castle at Scribla to guard the entrances.
In 1051, Drogo was assassinated in a Byzantine conspiracy. He was succeeded by Humphrey after a brief interregnum.
The rebelliousness of the Norman knights under Drogo had angered Pope Leo IX and its papal opposition with which Humphrey first had to deal.
County of Aversa, 1049–1098
In the 1050s and 1060s, there were two centres of Norman power in southern Italy: one at Melfi under the Hautevilles and another at Aversa under the Drengots.
Richard Drengot succeeded, probably through violence, to the County of Aversa in 1049 and immediately began a policy of territorial aggrandisement in competition with his Hauteville rivals.
Conquest of the Abruzzo, 1053–1105
In 1077, the last Lombard prince of Benevento died. The Pope appointed Robert Guiscard to succeed him in 1078.
In 1081, however, the Guiscard relinquished the principality, which by then comprised little more than Benevento itself and its neighbourhood, having been reduced by the Normans through conquest in the previous decades, especially after Civitate, and even after 1078. At Ceprano in June 1080, the Pope reinvested Robert in Benevento in an attempt to put a halt to Norman infractions on its territory and also on that which was technically tied to Benevento in the Abruzzi, which Robert' relatives were conquering for their own.
In the immediate aftermath of Civitate, the Normans began the conquest of the Adriatic littoral of the Benevenatan principality.
Conquest of Sicily, 1061–1091
Conquest of Sicily, 1061–1091
Sicily, mostly inhabited by Greek Christians, was under Arab control at the time of its conquest by the Normans. It had originally been under rule of the Aghlabids and then the Fatimids, but in 948 the Kalbids wrested control of the island from the Fatimids and held it until 1053. In the 1010s and 1020s a series of succession crises opened up the way for the interference of the Zirids of Ifriqiya.
Sicily fell into turmoil as petty fiefdoms battled each other for supremacy. Into this mess the Normans, under Robert Guiscard and his younger brother Roger Bosso, came with the intent to conquer, for back when the pope had invested Robert with the ducal title, he had also conferred on him the empty title of "Duke of Sicily", thus urging him to undertake a campaign to wrest Sicily from the Saracens.
Norman Castles in Sicily
This is a 9th century Arab palace in Palermo that was converted into a typical keep castle by the Normans.
Erice
Erice
1090s: Taking the Cross… The Crusades
First Crusade
1071 Byzantine army is destroyed by Turks
1071 – 1085 Mercenary Seljuk Turks conquer Syria and Palestine. The City of Jerusalem is taken from the more civilised Saracen caliphs
1085 – 1095 3000 Christian Pilgrims were massacred in Jerusalem and the Christian churches were destroyed or used as stables
1095 Emperor Alexius I sent an embassy to Pope Urban II regarding the atrocities in Jerusalem and the growing threat of the Turks to Constantinople and the whole of Europe
First Crusade
1095 Pope Urban II called a great council of the Church at Placentia, in Italy, to consider the appeal - decisions were deferred until later in the year
1095 November 27 Pope Urban II called a great council of clergy and nobles to meet at Clermont in France called the Council of Clermont. He called for a crusade against the Infidels
1095 - Spring 1096 Peter the Hermit took up the cry "God wills it!" and ordinary people join in the 'People's Crusade' - most were unarmed
First Crusade
Summer 1096 Armed forces gathered at Constantinople to embark on the First CrusadeAugust
1096 Emperor Alexius I shipped the Peoples Crusade over the Bosphorus
October 1096 The Peoples Crusade were annihilated by the Turks in Anatolia
May – June 1097 Siege of NicaceaJuly 1097Battle of Dorylaeum
Oct 1097 - June 1098 The Siege of Antioch
1098 June 1Stephen of Blois and numerous French crusaders flee the siege of Antioch with news of the arrival of Emir Kerboga of Mosul
1098 June 3 Bohemond I, elder son of Robert Guiscard, led the capture of Antioch
The First Crusade
1098 June 5 Emir Kerboga of Mosul and his army of 75,000 lays siege to the crusaders led by Bohemond
1099 Feb 14 – June The siege of Arqah, near Tripoli
1098 June 28 The Battle of Orontes. The First Crusade wins a victory forcing Emir Kerboga to lift the siege of Antioch
1099 June 13 Raymond of Toulouse leads the crusaders from Antioch and to Jerusalem
1099 July 15 The soldiers of the First Crusade successfully scale the walls of Jerusalem and take the Holy city
Supposed True Cross Reliquary
Urban II
Urban II's crusading movement took its first public shape at the Council of Piacenza, where, in March 1095, Urban II received an ambassador from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081–118) asking for help against the Muslims. A great council met, attended by numerous Italian, Burgundian, and French bishops in such vast numbers it had to be held in the open air outside the city. At the Council of Clermont held in November of the same year, Urban II's sermon proved incredibly effective, as he summoned the attending nobility and the people to wrestle the Holy Land from the hands of the Seljuk Turks:
Cruce signati
"Christians, hasten to help your brothers in the East, for they are being attacked. Arm for the rescue of Jerusalem under your captain Christ. Wear his cross as your badge. If you are killed your sins will be pardoned."
“God Wills It!”
Pope Urban II calls for Crusade to take back the Holy Land in 1095.
Cites atrocities committed by Muslims in Jerusalem
Motivated by Byzantine Emperor’s appeal to Pope for help against the Turks
Enthusiastically received by nobles
Reasons for “Taking the Cross”
The First Crusade: A Success
The Knights Templar
Saladin, King of the Egyptians and Syrians
The Third Crusade “All-Stars”
Motte and Bailey Castles (quick re-cap)
Introduction
Motte and Bailey castles were wooden castles that were introduced by the Normans in 1050.
One of their major benefits is that they were very quick to build (some took less than 10 days to build).
Motte: Etymology
“Motte” is an old French word for “clod of earth”.
This the hill where the wooden castle is built. There are steps and bridges leading from the bailey.
Bailey
Motte and Bailey castles were wooden castles that were introduced by the Normans in 1050. “Motte” is an old French word for “clod of earth” and “bailey” meant enclosure. They were very quick to build (some took less than 10 days to build).
How they were built.
To build a motte and bailey castle, you need to dig a ditch around a hill and some flat land (the bailey). Then, you had to fill water into the ditch. Finally, on top of the hill, you build a wooden castle and a fence around the area.
Why were motte & bailey castles built?
William ordered them to be built after he got the crown to stop people fighting with each other after the Battle of Hastings and the death of King Harold.
Advantages and disadvantages of motte and bailey castles
Advantages:
Quick to build – 4 to 7 days
Cheap to build
Only need a few soldiers to defend a castles
Disadvantages:
Easy to burn down because they were made of wood
The wood rotted quickly so they had to make them again every 10 years
Stone Castles
After a while it made more sense to build some stone castles because the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.
Porchester Roman Fort
Portchester Castle is an interesting site, comprising a Roman Fort, later adapted into a Norman Castle, which in turn became a medieval Royal palace.
Europe after the Romans
Europe after the Roman Empire
Collapse of Western Roman Empire 476 AD
Consequences??
Transitions and Continuities??
Rise of Barbarian Kingdoms??
The beginnings of a ‘Dark Age’?
Some details of the collapse: Theodosius
Constantine died in AD 337, and was replaced by Theodosius
Theodosius could not rule the empire and it was divided in two (again)
Western Roman Empire had it’s capital in Rome
Eastern Rome Empire had it’s capital in Constantinople
Rome invaded
Western Empire was unable to hold off German tribes on its borders (Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Saxons)
German tribes were migrating to warmer areas, enticed by Roman riches, but also to flee the Huns
Visigoths
Rome agreed to allow the Visigoths to live inside of Roman boundaries
But the Romans treated Visigoths badly
Visigoths rebelled and defeated the Romans and their leader, Alaric, captured Rome in AD 410
Vandals
The Vandals followed Visigoths in capturing Rome and spent 12 days stripping it of valuables (hence, vandalism)
Many more German invaders followed as Rome was seen as vulnerable.
Finally (in 476), a German general named Odoacer defeated the Western emperor Romulus Augustulus, who was sent to live in the Castellum Lucullanum in Campania.
This marks the end of Rome.
Europe after the Roman Empire
Eastern Roman Empire
Although the Western Empire fell in AD 476, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to prosper for 1,000 more years
It became known as the Byzantine Empire
Some argue it’s base then shifted to Moscow (in 1453)
Justinian Plague
The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capital Constantinople, in the years 541–542 AD.
The most commonly accepted cause of the pandemic is bubonic plague, which later became infamous for either causing or contributing to the Black Death of the 14th century.
Its social and cultural impact is comparable to that of the Black Death.
Justinian Plague
In the views of 6th century Western historians, it was nearly worldwide in scope, striking much of Asia, North Africa and Arabia, and as far as Denmark and Ireland.
The plague would return with each generation throughout the Mediterranean basin until about 750.
The plague would also have a major impact on the future course of European history. Modern historians named it after the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I, who was in power at the time and himself contracted the disease.
Justinian Plague
Some researchers have suggested that the Justinian plague had it’s origins in an event that was documented in the mid-530s.
The Byzantine historian Procopius recorded of 536, in his report on the wars with the Vandals, "during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness… and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear.”
Justinian Plague
The Irish Annals record the following:
"A failure of bread in the year 536 AD" (Annals of Ulster)
"A failure of bread from the years 536–539 AD“ (Annals of Inisfallen)
Justinian Plague
Contemporary sources to the Annals report:
Low temperatures, even snow during the summer (snow reportedly fell in August in China, which postponed the harvest there)
"A dense, dry fog" in the Mideast, China, and Europe
Drought in Peru, which affected the Moche culture
Justinian Plague
Tree ring analysis shows abnormally little growth in Irish oak in 536 and another sharp drop in 542, after a partial recovery.
Similar patterns are recorded in tree rings from Sweden and Finland, in California's Sierra Nevada and in rings from Chilean Fitzroya trees.
Ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica show evidence of substantial sulphate deposits around AD 533–534 ± 2 years, evidence of an extensive acidic dust veil.
Europe after the Roman Empire
The Aftermath
Justinian had expended huge amounts of money for wars against the Vandals in the Carthage region and the Ostrogoth Kingdom of Italy.
He had also dedicated significant funds to the construction of great churches like the Hagia Sophia.
Amidst these great expenditures, the plague's effects on tax revenue were disastrous.
The Aftermath
The plague weakened the Byzantine Empire at the critical point at which Justinian's armies had nearly wholly retaken Italy and could have credibly reformed the Western Roman Empire.
It also may have contributed to the success of the Arabs a few generations later in the Byzantine-Arab Wars.
Italy was decimated by war and fragmented for centuries as the Lombard tribes invaded the north.
Europe after the Roman Empire (and Charlemagne)
Charlemagne (742-814)
Charles the Bald
(823-877)
Louis The German (806-876)
Lothar I (755-895)
Europe after the Roman Empire
Collapse of Western Roman Empire 476 AD
Consequences??
Transitions and Continuities??
Rise of Barbarian Kingdoms??
The beginnings of a ‘Dark Age’?
Some details of the collapse: Theodosius
Constantine died in AD 337, and was replaced by Theodosius
Theodosius could not rule the empire and it was divided in two (again)
Western Roman Empire had it’s capital in Rome
Eastern Rome Empire had it’s capital in Constantinople
Rome invaded
Western Empire was unable to hold off German tribes on its borders (Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Saxons)
German tribes were migrating to warmer areas, enticed by Roman riches, but also to flee the Huns
Visigoths
Rome agreed to allow the Visigoths to live inside of Roman boundaries
But the Romans treated Visigoths badly
Visigoths rebelled and defeated the Romans and their leader, Alaric, captured Rome in AD 410
Vandals
The Vandals followed Visigoths in capturing Rome and spent 12 days stripping it of valuables (hence, vandalism)
Many more German invaders followed as Rome was seen as vulnerable.
Finally (in 476), a German general named Odoacer defeated the Western emperor Romulus Augustulus, who was sent to live in the Castellum Lucullanum in Campania.
This marks the end of Rome.
Europe after the Roman Empire
Eastern Roman Empire
Although the Western Empire fell in AD 476, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to prosper for 1,000 more years
It became known as the Byzantine Empire
Some argue it’s base then shifted to Moscow (in 1453)
Justinian Plague
The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capital Constantinople, in the years 541–542 AD.
The most commonly accepted cause of the pandemic is bubonic plague, which later became infamous for either causing or contributing to the Black Death of the 14th century.
Its social and cultural impact is comparable to that of the Black Death.
Justinian Plague
In the views of 6th century Western historians, it was nearly worldwide in scope, striking much of Asia, North Africa and Arabia, and as far as Denmark and Ireland.
The plague would return with each generation throughout the Mediterranean basin until about 750.
The plague would also have a major impact on the future course of European history. Modern historians named it after the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I, who was in power at the time and himself contracted the disease.
Justinian Plague
Some researchers have suggested that the Justinian plague had it’s origins in an event that was documented in the mid-530s.
The Byzantine historian Procopius recorded of 536, in his report on the wars with the Vandals, "during this year a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness… and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear.”
Justinian Plague
The Irish Annals record the following:
"A failure of bread in the year 536 AD" (Annals of Ulster)
"A failure of bread from the years 536–539 AD“ (Annals of Inisfallen)
Justinian Plague
Contemporary sources to the Annals report:
Low temperatures, even snow during the summer (snow reportedly fell in August in China, which postponed the harvest there)
"A dense, dry fog" in the Mideast, China, and Europe
Drought in Peru, which affected the Moche culture
Justinian Plague
Tree ring analysis shows abnormally little growth in Irish oak in 536 and another sharp drop in 542, after a partial recovery.
Similar patterns are recorded in tree rings from Sweden and Finland, in California's Sierra Nevada and in rings from Chilean Fitzroya trees.
Ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica show evidence of substantial sulphate deposits around AD 533–534 ± 2 years, evidence of an extensive acidic dust veil.
Europe after the Roman Empire
The Aftermath
Justinian had expended huge amounts of money for wars against the Vandals in the Carthage region and the Ostrogoth Kingdom of Italy.
He had also dedicated significant funds to the construction of great churches like the Hagia Sophia.
Amidst these great expenditures, the plague's effects on tax revenue were disastrous.
The Aftermath
The plague weakened the Byzantine Empire at the critical point at which Justinian's armies had nearly wholly retaken Italy and could have credibly reformed the Western Roman Empire.
It also may have contributed to the success of the Arabs a few generations later in the Byzantine-Arab Wars.
Italy was decimated by war and fragmented for centuries as the Lombard tribes invaded the north.
Europe after the Roman Empire (and Charlemagne)
Charlemagne (742-814)
Charles the Bald
(823-877)
Louis The German (806-876)
Lothar I (755-895)
Europe after the Roman Empire
Bronze Age Settlement and Ritual
Bronze Age Settlement
Kilmurry North, Co. Wicklow
Crannogs/Lake Settlements
Apalle, central Sweden (House 13)
Apalle, central Sweden (House 2)
Ballyarnet, Co. Derry
Killoran, Co. Tipperary
Ballyprior Beg, Co. Antrim
Landscape History
Can deforestation be plotted against the settlement record?
In Ireland, settlement evidence is generally in the form of houses sites found as single structures or in groups of varying sizes (often around 3 or 4).
Evidence of enclosure in most periods rather than in any single period.
Landscape History: Settlement
Frequencies are based on numbers of structures.
Stars indicated period with evidence of enclosure.
Landscape History: Settlement
But – does this mask shorter term demographic changes (e.g. 1200-1100 BC/1100-1000 BC/1000-900 BC)?
This diagram does not include the largest site, Corrstown (see next slide).
Problems settling down?
So much new material has come to light recently in Ireland, the overall picture provided by the settlement evidence is not yet clear.
This is Corrstown, Co. Antrim, which produced up to 60 structures dating to 1600-1350 BC (excavated by Malachy Conway and Audrey Gahan for ACS Ltd).
Corrstown, Co. Derry
Nucleated Settlement
One measure is the ratio of built to unbuilt space.
It is around 1:5.3 at the two Early Bronze Age phases of Zurich-Mozartstrasse (as shown here)
Padnal, Switzerland (reconstruction)
Nucleated Settlement
Early Bronze Age phase at an enclosed Slovakian site, Nitriansky Hrádock
Here the built to unbuilt ratio appears to be 1:5.8
Nucleated settlement
At other Early Bronze Age Slovakian sites like Barca (right) and Nižná Myšl’a, the ratio is 1:1
Nucleated Settlement
Some sites are much more highly dispersed, although multiple structures are present.
This is St Oedenrode (North Brabant, Netherlands)
Nucleated Settlement
(Late Bronze Age) Zedau in Sachsen-Anhalt the density of structures suggests a built to unbuilt ratio of 1:6.63
Nucleated settlements
Late Bronze Age lake settlements, such as Bad Buchau
Hard to interpret – opinion has shifted over time.
Now the apparent densities fall at around 1:6.
Nucleated Settlement
High densities for sites in Iberia
Peñalosa, southern Spain (above)
Puntal dells Llops, Valencia (below)
Nucleated Settlement
Elsewhere, houses are quite large (these are Scandinavian and north German examples)
Does this represent the residences of dense populations as well?
Nucleated settlement
Lintshie Gutter, Scotland
Built to unbuilt ratio is greater than 1:50
Nucleated settlement
Grimspound, Yorkshire
Built to unbuilt ratio is greater than 1:16 (and up to 1:42)
Ritual, Procession and the Cosmos:
Irish Stone Circles and Alignments
Nebra, Germany
Callanish, Isle of Lewis
Callanish
Carnac, Brittany
Callanish, Isle of Lewis
Holme-next-the-sea (Seahenge)
Bargeroosteveld, Drenthe, Netherlands
Ballynahatty, Co. Down
Holme-next-the-sea (Seahenge)
Loughbrickland, Co. Down
Bargeroosteveld, Drenthe, Netherlands
Copney, Co. Tyrone
Circle A
Site D
Site B
Along alignment towards B
Site E
Sites F and G
Drumskinny, Co. Fermanagh
Athgreaney, Co. Wicklow
Piperstown, Site K, Co. Dublin
Timoney, Co. Tipperary
Oughtihery/Keel Cross, Co. Cork
Drombeg, Co. Cork
Bohonagh, Co. Cork
Bohonagh: Portal Stones
Bohonagh: Boulder Burial
Kealkil, Co. Cork
Maughanasilly, Co. Cork: Stone Row
Recumbent Stone Circles in Scotland
Easter Aquorthies (Scotland) – Recumbent Stone Circle
Loanhead (Scotland)
Drombeg, Co. Cork
Kilmurry North, Co. Wicklow
Crannogs/Lake Settlements
Apalle, central Sweden (House 13)
Apalle, central Sweden (House 2)
Ballyarnet, Co. Derry
Killoran, Co. Tipperary
Ballyprior Beg, Co. Antrim
Landscape History
Can deforestation be plotted against the settlement record?
In Ireland, settlement evidence is generally in the form of houses sites found as single structures or in groups of varying sizes (often around 3 or 4).
Evidence of enclosure in most periods rather than in any single period.
Landscape History: Settlement
Frequencies are based on numbers of structures.
Stars indicated period with evidence of enclosure.
Landscape History: Settlement
But – does this mask shorter term demographic changes (e.g. 1200-1100 BC/1100-1000 BC/1000-900 BC)?
This diagram does not include the largest site, Corrstown (see next slide).
Problems settling down?
So much new material has come to light recently in Ireland, the overall picture provided by the settlement evidence is not yet clear.
This is Corrstown, Co. Antrim, which produced up to 60 structures dating to 1600-1350 BC (excavated by Malachy Conway and Audrey Gahan for ACS Ltd).
Corrstown, Co. Derry
Nucleated Settlement
One measure is the ratio of built to unbuilt space.
It is around 1:5.3 at the two Early Bronze Age phases of Zurich-Mozartstrasse (as shown here)
Padnal, Switzerland (reconstruction)
Nucleated Settlement
Early Bronze Age phase at an enclosed Slovakian site, Nitriansky Hrádock
Here the built to unbuilt ratio appears to be 1:5.8
Nucleated settlement
At other Early Bronze Age Slovakian sites like Barca (right) and Nižná Myšl’a, the ratio is 1:1
Nucleated Settlement
Some sites are much more highly dispersed, although multiple structures are present.
This is St Oedenrode (North Brabant, Netherlands)
Nucleated Settlement
(Late Bronze Age) Zedau in Sachsen-Anhalt the density of structures suggests a built to unbuilt ratio of 1:6.63
Nucleated settlements
Late Bronze Age lake settlements, such as Bad Buchau
Hard to interpret – opinion has shifted over time.
Now the apparent densities fall at around 1:6.
Nucleated Settlement
High densities for sites in Iberia
Peñalosa, southern Spain (above)
Puntal dells Llops, Valencia (below)
Nucleated Settlement
Elsewhere, houses are quite large (these are Scandinavian and north German examples)
Does this represent the residences of dense populations as well?
Nucleated settlement
Lintshie Gutter, Scotland
Built to unbuilt ratio is greater than 1:50
Nucleated settlement
Grimspound, Yorkshire
Built to unbuilt ratio is greater than 1:16 (and up to 1:42)
Ritual, Procession and the Cosmos:
Irish Stone Circles and Alignments
Nebra, Germany
Callanish, Isle of Lewis
Callanish
Carnac, Brittany
Callanish, Isle of Lewis
Holme-next-the-sea (Seahenge)
Bargeroosteveld, Drenthe, Netherlands
Ballynahatty, Co. Down
Holme-next-the-sea (Seahenge)
Loughbrickland, Co. Down
Bargeroosteveld, Drenthe, Netherlands
Copney, Co. Tyrone
Circle A
Site D
Site B
Along alignment towards B
Site E
Sites F and G
Drumskinny, Co. Fermanagh
Athgreaney, Co. Wicklow
Piperstown, Site K, Co. Dublin
Timoney, Co. Tipperary
Oughtihery/Keel Cross, Co. Cork
Drombeg, Co. Cork
Bohonagh, Co. Cork
Bohonagh: Portal Stones
Bohonagh: Boulder Burial
Kealkil, Co. Cork
Maughanasilly, Co. Cork: Stone Row
Recumbent Stone Circles in Scotland
Easter Aquorthies (Scotland) – Recumbent Stone Circle
Loanhead (Scotland)
Drombeg, Co. Cork
Rise and Fall of Rome
The Rise and Fall of Empires
This course plots Ireland’s long term relationship with Europe and the Atlantic World from AD 800 onwards.
In reality, it explores Ireland’s engagement with the world of the Viking, then the Normans and finally the English.
The Rise and Fall of Empires
In many we will chart the rise and fall of the power centres associated with these groups.
The Rise and Fall of Empires
But ...
As a morality lesson, it is worth considering the real backdrop to these stories, and the first lesson ...
Why did the Roman Empire collapse?
An essay in ten parts...
For years, the well-disciplined Roman army held the barbarians of Germany in check.
However, when the Roman soldiers were withdrawn from the Rhine-Danube frontier in the third century A.D. to fight in civil wars in Italy, the Roman border was left open to attack.
Gradually Germanic hunters and herders from northern and central Europe began to raid and take over Roman lands in Greece and Gaul.
Barbarian Invasions
In A.D. 476 the Germanic general Odovacar overthrew the last of the Roman emperors and made himself ruler of all Italy.
From then on, the western part of the Empire was ruled by Germanic tribal chiefs.
Roads and bridges were left in disrepair and many fields were left untilled.
Pirates and bandits made travel unsafe. Cities declined and trade and business began to disappear.
Decline in Morals and Values
The final years of the Empire were marked by a decline in morals and values, and some historians believe that this contributed to the decline of the Empire.
Crimes of violence made the streets of the Empire's larger cities very unsafe.
According to Roman historians there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome during the reign of Trajan.
Emperors like Nero and Caligula became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties, where guests ate and drank until they became ill.
Decline in Morals and Values
Most important, however, was the growth of the Roman passion for cruelty. The most popular amusement was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum. These were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience. One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground of the arena become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand, and the revolting performances went on.
Environmental and Public Health Problems
Some historians believe that the fall of the Roman Empire was due in part to environmental and public health problems.
They claim the leaders of Rome were killed off by consuming excessive amounts of lead.
Environmental and Public Health Problems
They argue that since only the wealthy could afford to have lead pipes bring water into their homes and to cook with lead utensils, their death rate was increased considerably.
This theory, however, is challenged by those who point out the fact that the eastern part of the Empire survived long after the decline of the Western portion.
Rise in Christianity
Some historians believe that Christianity produced dramatic changes in Roman society at the very time when pressure from the barbarians was increasing.
They argue that Christianity made its followers into pacifists (those who oppose war), thus making it more difficult to defend Roman lands from barbarian attacks.
Rise in Christianity
They also suggest that the Church attracted many qualified leaders whose talents were needed to deal with the problems of the Empire.
Finally, these historians theorize that money that would have been used to maintain the Empire, instead, was used to build churches and monasteries.
Unemployment
During the latter years of the Empire farming was done on large estates that were owned by wealthy men who used slave labor.
A farmer who had to pay workmen could not produce goods as cheaply as a slave-owner could. Therefore, slave-owners could sell their crops for lower prices.
As a result, many fanners could not compete with these low prices and lost or sold their farms.
Unemployment
Thousands of these men filled the cities of the Empire, where there were not enough jobs to accommodate them.
At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more than 100,000 unemployed people in Rome alone.
Some historians believe that this contributed to the collapse of the Empire.
Urban Decay
Wealthy Romans lived in a domus, or house, with marble walls, floors with intricate colored tiles, and windows made of small panes of glass.
Most Romans, however, were not rich.
They lived in small, smelly rooms in apartment houses with six or more stories called an island (insula).
Each insula covered an entire urban block.
At one time there were 44,000 insulae within the city walls of Rome.
Urban Decay
First-floor apartments were not occupied by the poor
since the rent was too dear (ten times the top floor).
The higher a family had to climb, the cheaper the rent became, the upper apartments that the poor rented were hot, dirty, crowded, and dangerous.
Anyone who could not pay the rent was forced to move out and live on the crime-infested streets.
Because of this, cities began to decay.
Excessive Military Spending
Maintaining an army to defend the borders of the Empire from barbarian attacks was a constant drain on the government.
Military spending left few resources for other vital activities, such as providing public housing and maintaining the quality of public roads.
In the latter years of the Empire, frustrated Romans lost their desire to defend the Empire.
Excessive Military Spending
Thus, the government found it necessary to rely increasingly on hired soldiers recruited from the unemployed city mobs or foreign countries.
Such an army was not only unreliable, but very expensive.
Thus, the emperors were forced to raise taxes frequently-the majority of which were paid by businessmen and farmers, which hurt the economy.
Inferior Technology
During the last 400 years of the Empire, the scientific achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and the organization of public services.
They built marvelous roads, bridges and aqueducts.
They established the first system of medicine for the benefit of the poor.
Inferior Technology
But since the Romans relied so much on human and animal labor, they failed to invent many new machines or find new technology to produce goods more efficiently.
As a result of inferior production techniques, the Romans were unable to provide important goods for their growing population.
Inflation
The Roman economy suffered from inflation beginning after the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Once the Romans stopped conquering new lands, the flow of gold into the Roman economy decreased.
Yet much gold was being spent by the Romans to pay
for luxury items.
This meant that there was less gold to use in coins. As the amount of gold used in coins decreased, the coins became less valuable.
Inflation
To make up for this loss in value, merchants raised the prices on the goods they sold.
Many people stopped using coins and began to barter (trading goods for goods, rather than using money) to get what they needed.
Eventually, salaries had to be paid in food and clothing, and taxes were collected in fruits and vegetables.
Political Corruption
One of Rome's most serious problems was the difficulty of choosing new emperors as the Romans never created an effective system to determine how new emperors would be selected.
For this reason, the choice of a new emperor was always open to debate between the Senate, the Praetorian Guard (the emperor's private army), and the army.
Gradually the Praetorian Guard gained complete authority to choose the new emperor.
Political Corruption
In return, the new emperor handsomely rewarded the Guard for its support. This system worked fairly well for a time.
Beginning in A.D. 186, however, when the army strangled the new emperor, the practice began of selling the throne to the highest bidder.
During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 different emperors - 25 of whom were removed from office by assassination.
This course plots Ireland’s long term relationship with Europe and the Atlantic World from AD 800 onwards.
In reality, it explores Ireland’s engagement with the world of the Viking, then the Normans and finally the English.
The Rise and Fall of Empires
In many we will chart the rise and fall of the power centres associated with these groups.
The Rise and Fall of Empires
But ...
As a morality lesson, it is worth considering the real backdrop to these stories, and the first lesson ...
Why did the Roman Empire collapse?
An essay in ten parts...
For years, the well-disciplined Roman army held the barbarians of Germany in check.
However, when the Roman soldiers were withdrawn from the Rhine-Danube frontier in the third century A.D. to fight in civil wars in Italy, the Roman border was left open to attack.
Gradually Germanic hunters and herders from northern and central Europe began to raid and take over Roman lands in Greece and Gaul.
Barbarian Invasions
In A.D. 476 the Germanic general Odovacar overthrew the last of the Roman emperors and made himself ruler of all Italy.
From then on, the western part of the Empire was ruled by Germanic tribal chiefs.
Roads and bridges were left in disrepair and many fields were left untilled.
Pirates and bandits made travel unsafe. Cities declined and trade and business began to disappear.
Decline in Morals and Values
The final years of the Empire were marked by a decline in morals and values, and some historians believe that this contributed to the decline of the Empire.
Crimes of violence made the streets of the Empire's larger cities very unsafe.
According to Roman historians there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome during the reign of Trajan.
Emperors like Nero and Caligula became infamous for wasting money on lavish parties, where guests ate and drank until they became ill.
Decline in Morals and Values
Most important, however, was the growth of the Roman passion for cruelty. The most popular amusement was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum. These were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the audience. One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Should the ground of the arena become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with a fresh layer of sand, and the revolting performances went on.
Environmental and Public Health Problems
Some historians believe that the fall of the Roman Empire was due in part to environmental and public health problems.
They claim the leaders of Rome were killed off by consuming excessive amounts of lead.
Environmental and Public Health Problems
They argue that since only the wealthy could afford to have lead pipes bring water into their homes and to cook with lead utensils, their death rate was increased considerably.
This theory, however, is challenged by those who point out the fact that the eastern part of the Empire survived long after the decline of the Western portion.
Rise in Christianity
Some historians believe that Christianity produced dramatic changes in Roman society at the very time when pressure from the barbarians was increasing.
They argue that Christianity made its followers into pacifists (those who oppose war), thus making it more difficult to defend Roman lands from barbarian attacks.
Rise in Christianity
They also suggest that the Church attracted many qualified leaders whose talents were needed to deal with the problems of the Empire.
Finally, these historians theorize that money that would have been used to maintain the Empire, instead, was used to build churches and monasteries.
Unemployment
During the latter years of the Empire farming was done on large estates that were owned by wealthy men who used slave labor.
A farmer who had to pay workmen could not produce goods as cheaply as a slave-owner could. Therefore, slave-owners could sell their crops for lower prices.
As a result, many fanners could not compete with these low prices and lost or sold their farms.
Unemployment
Thousands of these men filled the cities of the Empire, where there were not enough jobs to accommodate them.
At one time, the emperor was importing grain to feed more than 100,000 unemployed people in Rome alone.
Some historians believe that this contributed to the collapse of the Empire.
Urban Decay
Wealthy Romans lived in a domus, or house, with marble walls, floors with intricate colored tiles, and windows made of small panes of glass.
Most Romans, however, were not rich.
They lived in small, smelly rooms in apartment houses with six or more stories called an island (insula).
Each insula covered an entire urban block.
At one time there were 44,000 insulae within the city walls of Rome.
Urban Decay
First-floor apartments were not occupied by the poor
since the rent was too dear (ten times the top floor).
The higher a family had to climb, the cheaper the rent became, the upper apartments that the poor rented were hot, dirty, crowded, and dangerous.
Anyone who could not pay the rent was forced to move out and live on the crime-infested streets.
Because of this, cities began to decay.
Excessive Military Spending
Maintaining an army to defend the borders of the Empire from barbarian attacks was a constant drain on the government.
Military spending left few resources for other vital activities, such as providing public housing and maintaining the quality of public roads.
In the latter years of the Empire, frustrated Romans lost their desire to defend the Empire.
Excessive Military Spending
Thus, the government found it necessary to rely increasingly on hired soldiers recruited from the unemployed city mobs or foreign countries.
Such an army was not only unreliable, but very expensive.
Thus, the emperors were forced to raise taxes frequently-the majority of which were paid by businessmen and farmers, which hurt the economy.
Inferior Technology
During the last 400 years of the Empire, the scientific achievements of the Romans were limited almost entirely to engineering and the organization of public services.
They built marvelous roads, bridges and aqueducts.
They established the first system of medicine for the benefit of the poor.
Inferior Technology
But since the Romans relied so much on human and animal labor, they failed to invent many new machines or find new technology to produce goods more efficiently.
As a result of inferior production techniques, the Romans were unable to provide important goods for their growing population.
Inflation
The Roman economy suffered from inflation beginning after the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Once the Romans stopped conquering new lands, the flow of gold into the Roman economy decreased.
Yet much gold was being spent by the Romans to pay
for luxury items.
This meant that there was less gold to use in coins. As the amount of gold used in coins decreased, the coins became less valuable.
Inflation
To make up for this loss in value, merchants raised the prices on the goods they sold.
Many people stopped using coins and began to barter (trading goods for goods, rather than using money) to get what they needed.
Eventually, salaries had to be paid in food and clothing, and taxes were collected in fruits and vegetables.
Political Corruption
One of Rome's most serious problems was the difficulty of choosing new emperors as the Romans never created an effective system to determine how new emperors would be selected.
For this reason, the choice of a new emperor was always open to debate between the Senate, the Praetorian Guard (the emperor's private army), and the army.
Gradually the Praetorian Guard gained complete authority to choose the new emperor.
Political Corruption
In return, the new emperor handsomely rewarded the Guard for its support. This system worked fairly well for a time.
Beginning in A.D. 186, however, when the army strangled the new emperor, the practice began of selling the throne to the highest bidder.
During the next 100 years, Rome had 37 different emperors - 25 of whom were removed from office by assassination.
Angles, Saxons, Normans ...
Angles, Saxons, Normans …
Angles and Saxons: Britain from Rome to the Normans
Just prior to Visigoth sack of Rome in 410, Roman troops were withdrawn from England (408)
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade British Isles
Age of many kings, but no king of England
Sometimes a given king would have great power over other kingdoms—such as Aethelberht, King of Kent.
Seven major Kingdoms emerge (often referred to as the Heptarchy)
Saxons, Angles, and Jutes
Non-Roman Barbarians – Saxons, Angles, and Jutes – depicted invading Britain by sea in the fifth century in the Passion of St Edmund
Gildas, De Excidio Britanniae
Monk writing in the 6th century, describing the collapse of Roman power and the arrival of mercenaries in the 5th century
Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica
A history of 8th-century Anglo-Saxon kingdoms:
‘Those who came over were of three of the more powerful peoples of Germany: the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes’
Jutes, Angles, Saxons and Frisians arrive in the fifth century
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms emerge in the seventh century
Undley Bracteate
5th century
From Undley Common, Suffolk
Earliest known inscription in Anglo-Frisian ‘Futhorc’ (as opposed to ‘Futhark’)
‘g͡æg͡og͡æ – mægæ medu’
Image is Contantine the Great with Romulus and Remus suckled by the wolf.
Runes
Anglo-Saxon runes (left) and Germanic ‘Elder’ runes (above) and ‘Younger’ runes (below).
These were generally replaced on Christianisation.
Angles, Saxons, Jutes etc...
Angles came from Angeln (according to Bede their whole tribe came)
Saxons from Niedersachsen
Jutes from Jutland
Also smaller groups of:
Frisians (Fresham, Freston, Friston)
Flemings (Flemby, Flempton)
Swabians (Swaffham)
Franks (Frankton, Frankley)
Angles, Saxons, Jutes etc...
These groups may be coeval with the Ingvaeones, as described in Tacitus's Germania, (AD98), a West Germanic cultural group living in the Jutland, Holstein, Frisia and the Danish islands.
The postulated common group of closely related dialects of the Ingvaeones is called Ingvaeonic or North Sea Germanic.
Major issues
Origins of ‘the English’: debate and discussion – several theories tend to dominate.
Was there massive invasion & migration?
Or, a takeover by small powerful groups?
Or, a slow transformation as people abandon ‘Roman’ ways, and adopt Anglo-Saxon customs?
The building shown below is a typical Anglo-Saxon ‘grubenhaus’
Contact and Migration
Finds of silver sceattas of the porcupine-standard series attributed to mints in Frisia
The sceats here are 7th century (right and below) and 8th century (below right)
Continuity ...
But, also much archaeological evidence for continuity of British ways such as building styles
Cowdery’s Down, Hants
Highdown, Sussex
Highdown in use as a cemetery by [pagan] Saxons, including a mixture of inhumations and cremations placed in urns
At the same time a Romano-British villa at nearby Northbrook, less than a mile away, was still in use by native Christians.
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Earliest surviving architecture is 7th century.
In the north of England, churches are narrow with square ended chancels.
In the south, churches had apsidal ends separated from the nave by a triple arch opening, for example at Reculver.
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Apsidal church from Brixworth (Northamptonshire)
Arch similar to Reculver at entrance to the apsidal end
Anglo-Saxon architecture
The most complete example of the northern type of church is at Escomb (Durham).
Old Minster, Winchester
Constructed in 648 for King Cenwalh of Wessex and Saint Birinus, diocesan cathedral by 660.
Saint Swithun buried outside it in 862.
New Minster built next to it (901), Saint Æthelwold of Winchester followed by his successor, Saint Alphege, almost completely rebuilt the minster on a vast scale during their monastic reforms of the 970s.
Old Minster demolished in 1093.
ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY
Major kingdoms:
Northumbria
Mercia
East Anglia
Essex
Kent
Wessex
Sussex
Minor kingdoms:
Hwicce
Magonsaete
Kingdom of Lindsey
Middle Anglia
ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY
Major kingdoms:
Northumbria
Mercia
East Anglia
Essex
Kent
Wessex
Sussex
Minor kingdoms:
Hwicce
Magonsaete
Kingdom of Lindsey
Middle Anglia
Laws of Aethelberht
Laws of Aethelberht
Sutton Hoo
Two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries of the 6th century and early 7th century, one of which contained an undisturbed ship burial.
Use of the site culminated at a time when the ruler (Raedwald) of East Anglia held senior power among the English people, and played a dynamic (if ambiguous) part in the establishment of Christian rulership in England.
The ship-burial probably dates from the early 7th century and was excavated in 1939.
Sutton Hoo
Anglo-Saxon Art: Fuller Brooch
Late 9th century brooch, found in Normandy.
11.4 cm disc of hammered sheet silver inlaid with black niello.
The centre is decorated with the five senses.
In the middle is Sight
Taste (top left)
Smell (top right)
Touch (bottom right)
Hearing (bottom left)
The outer border consists of humans, bird, animal and plant motifs.
Unusually it does not represent divinity.
Anglo-Saxon Art: Manuscripts
Illuminated Anglo-Saxon manuscripts survive, such as the Benedictional of St. Æthelwold and Leofric Missal drawing on Hiberno-Saxon art, and, Carolingian and Byzantine art for style and iconography.
Combines northern ornamental traditions with Mediterranean figural traditions.
Anglo-Saxon Art: Manuscripts
Dates between 963 and 984. Contains a Latin inscription which describes how it was made:
A bishop, the great Æthelwold, whom the Lord had made patron of Winchester, ordered a certain monk subject to him to write the present book . . . He commanded also to be made in this book many frames well adorned and filled with various figures decorated with many beautiful colours and with gold. This book the Boanerges aforesaid caused to be indicted for himself . . . Let all who look upon this book pray always that after the term of the flesh I may abide in heaven Û Godeman the scribe, as a suppliant, earnestly asks this…
West Stow
Hamlet of West Stow, Suffolk
Occupied during the 5th–7th centuries
5 acres excavated – 1960s & 1970s
7 larger house = family halls? c.12m long; hearth; S. side door
60 Sunken-featured buildings (grubenhauser)
West Stow: finds
Yeavering, Northumbria
Anglo-Saxon villa and royal palace – earliest known (Bede: Ad Gefrin)
Identified 1949 aerial photography
Excavated 1950s & 1960s by Brian Hope Taylor
Great enclosure: circular entrance works – a corral for animals?
Archaeological evidence for fire – all buildings burnt to the ground (in AD633: King Edwin killed; massacres in Northumbria).
Yeavering, Northumbria
Bronze Age burial mound with large upright pole: Focus for pagan Anglo-Saxon burials? Building aid?
The Great Hall: 7th century. Massive timbers, communal centre: Feasting, music, singing, royal ceremonies
Area ruled but not peopled by Anglo-Saxons?
Theatre: cuneus
Unique in A-S England
Triangular stepped structure w/ stage
Performance, assembly?
Alfred the Great (871-899)
King of Wessex who wielded power over all of so-called ‘Heptarchy’ (see language map)
Defeats newest arrivals (Danes)
Issued a Code of Laws for all the realm
Began the English Navy
Commissioned the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (often taken as a measure of the stability of his reign)
From Alfred to William, 899-1066
Alfred’s successors were not great rulers—Ethelred the Redeless (stupid), for example—and the Vikings under King Cnut actually assumed control of the realm.
Cnut’s successor had no heirs and created a question of who would become king
3 candidates: Harold Hardrada, Harold Godwinson of Wessex, William, Duke of Normandy
William wins Battle of Hastings, October 1066
Feudalism
Social contract between ‘lords’ and ‘vassals’
Theoretically it is reciprocal (see diagram)
In practise in had centralising tendencies
Became the dominant political system in Europe
Becomes synonymous with the Normans
What did it replace??
Viking Towns
York, Birka, Hedeby, Dublin
Based on trade
Chattels not real estate
Dublin
1000 AD
Dublin, 1170
William I—King of England (1066-1087)
Introduced Norman Feudalism into England—emphasized power of King (Salisbury Oath)
Domesday Survey
Much central authority compared to earlier governmental arrangements in England
Great Council created out of Witan
Curia Regis established
But who were these ‘Normans’??
Bayeux Tapestry, c. 1073-1088
Willliam and Harold
Battle
William’s Feast
Normans?
Normandy is approximately the same region as the old church province of Rouen
Was sometimes called Brittania Nova and western Flanders.
No natural frontiers and was previously merely an administrative unit.
Viking settlers begun arriving in the 880s, divided between a small colony in Upper (or eastern) Normandy and a larger one in Lower (or western) Normandy.
Rollo
In 911 AD Charles III of France gave Normandy to the Viking leader Rollo who became a Christian. Vikings helped adopt the French language and organized a strong state in Normandy.
Rollo’s grave, Rouen
Rollo
Passed title to his son in 927 before his death.
Normandy
From the 10th century the Norse settled and adopted the language and culture of the French majority.
After a generation or two, the Normans were generally indistinguishable from their French neighbours.
In Normandy, they adopted the growing feudal doctrines of the rest of northern France.
The old French aristocracy could trace their families back to Carolingian times.
The Normans knights rended to remain poor and land-hungry.
By 1066, Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation.
Prior to 1066 and then crusades knighthood before the time of the Crusades held little social status.
Mottes
Illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry
Mottes
Illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry
Mottes
Illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry
Mottes
Bayeux Tapestry showing the motte at Hastings being built.
Architecture and the early Normans
There was a resurgence in the development of distinct architectural styles under Charlemagne.
Palace Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, 792-805
Monasteries
Designs for the monasteries had already been drawn up under order of Charlemagne
Developed a role as cultural/learning centers
St. Gall
Abbey at Cluny, begun 910
French monastery, Benedictine monks
Largest, most powerful monastery, 10th-12th c.
Early Christian vs. Romanesque
This is the difference in effect of a barrel vault (on the right) and the pre-existing style of roof.
Cluny
Three main phases from 910 onwards (coinciding with the emerging Norman state).
The greatest monastic Romanesque church, Cluny III (1088-1121), did not survive the French Revolution but has been reconstructed in drawings
Double-aisled church almost 137 m long, with 15 small chapels in transepts and ambulatory
Its design influenced Romanesque and Gothic churches in Burgundy and beyond, often coinciding with the spread of liturgical practices under Norman influence
Cluny III
3rd Abbey Church at Cluny
Largest church in the Christian world
Vertical emphasis
3rd Abbey Church at Cluny, 1049
Largest church in the Christian world
Like Roman basilica but more elaborate
Established ‘Romanesque’ style.
3rd Abbey Church at Cluny, 1049
Vertical emphasis was possible as the churches had very thick walls
The vault was constructed as a series of arches with the wight carried by the large pillars.
St. Sernin, c. 1080
France led the way in the development of Romanesque.
Typical Romanesque Church Plans
St. Etienne, c. 1067-1135
Romanesque
The term “Romanesque” itself was first used in the 19th century. The word Romanesque originally meant "in the Roman manner.“
Use of the Roman round arch, adoption of the major forms of antique Roman vaulting (contained, strong, weighty and somber style)
Most Romanesque churches retained the basic plan of the Early Christian basilica: a long, three-aisled nave intercepted by a transept and terminating in a semicircular apse crowned by a conch, or half-dome
European movement in architecture (10-12th centuries), especially in Italy, France, England and Germany
St. Etienne, Romanesque Facade
Plain
Divided into three sections
Squat
Massive
Tower of London, c. 1078-1097
Most famous Romanesque building in Britain?
Tower of London, c. 1078-1097
The interior features all shown Romanesque influence:
Round-headed windows
Round thick pillars
Barrel-vault
St. Etienne, Romanesque Facade
Plain
Divided into three sections
Squat
Massive
Tower of London, c. 1078-1097
Sculpture as Church Decoration
La Madeleine, Vezelay, France
c. 1120-1132
Tympanum
Narthex
Manuscript paintings as inspiration for sculpture
La Madeleine, capitals
Romanesque Painting-Illuminated Manuscripts
Angles and Saxons: Britain from Rome to the Normans
Just prior to Visigoth sack of Rome in 410, Roman troops were withdrawn from England (408)
Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade British Isles
Age of many kings, but no king of England
Sometimes a given king would have great power over other kingdoms—such as Aethelberht, King of Kent.
Seven major Kingdoms emerge (often referred to as the Heptarchy)
Saxons, Angles, and Jutes
Non-Roman Barbarians – Saxons, Angles, and Jutes – depicted invading Britain by sea in the fifth century in the Passion of St Edmund
Gildas, De Excidio Britanniae
Monk writing in the 6th century, describing the collapse of Roman power and the arrival of mercenaries in the 5th century
Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica
A history of 8th-century Anglo-Saxon kingdoms:
‘Those who came over were of three of the more powerful peoples of Germany: the Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes’
Jutes, Angles, Saxons and Frisians arrive in the fifth century
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms emerge in the seventh century
Undley Bracteate
5th century
From Undley Common, Suffolk
Earliest known inscription in Anglo-Frisian ‘Futhorc’ (as opposed to ‘Futhark’)
‘g͡æg͡og͡æ – mægæ medu’
Image is Contantine the Great with Romulus and Remus suckled by the wolf.
Runes
Anglo-Saxon runes (left) and Germanic ‘Elder’ runes (above) and ‘Younger’ runes (below).
These were generally replaced on Christianisation.
Angles, Saxons, Jutes etc...
Angles came from Angeln (according to Bede their whole tribe came)
Saxons from Niedersachsen
Jutes from Jutland
Also smaller groups of:
Frisians (Fresham, Freston, Friston)
Flemings (Flemby, Flempton)
Swabians (Swaffham)
Franks (Frankton, Frankley)
Angles, Saxons, Jutes etc...
These groups may be coeval with the Ingvaeones, as described in Tacitus's Germania, (AD98), a West Germanic cultural group living in the Jutland, Holstein, Frisia and the Danish islands.
The postulated common group of closely related dialects of the Ingvaeones is called Ingvaeonic or North Sea Germanic.
Major issues
Origins of ‘the English’: debate and discussion – several theories tend to dominate.
Was there massive invasion & migration?
Or, a takeover by small powerful groups?
Or, a slow transformation as people abandon ‘Roman’ ways, and adopt Anglo-Saxon customs?
The building shown below is a typical Anglo-Saxon ‘grubenhaus’
Contact and Migration
Finds of silver sceattas of the porcupine-standard series attributed to mints in Frisia
The sceats here are 7th century (right and below) and 8th century (below right)
Continuity ...
But, also much archaeological evidence for continuity of British ways such as building styles
Cowdery’s Down, Hants
Highdown, Sussex
Highdown in use as a cemetery by [pagan] Saxons, including a mixture of inhumations and cremations placed in urns
At the same time a Romano-British villa at nearby Northbrook, less than a mile away, was still in use by native Christians.
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Earliest surviving architecture is 7th century.
In the north of England, churches are narrow with square ended chancels.
In the south, churches had apsidal ends separated from the nave by a triple arch opening, for example at Reculver.
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Apsidal church from Brixworth (Northamptonshire)
Arch similar to Reculver at entrance to the apsidal end
Anglo-Saxon architecture
The most complete example of the northern type of church is at Escomb (Durham).
Old Minster, Winchester
Constructed in 648 for King Cenwalh of Wessex and Saint Birinus, diocesan cathedral by 660.
Saint Swithun buried outside it in 862.
New Minster built next to it (901), Saint Æthelwold of Winchester followed by his successor, Saint Alphege, almost completely rebuilt the minster on a vast scale during their monastic reforms of the 970s.
Old Minster demolished in 1093.
ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY
Major kingdoms:
Northumbria
Mercia
East Anglia
Essex
Kent
Wessex
Sussex
Minor kingdoms:
Hwicce
Magonsaete
Kingdom of Lindsey
Middle Anglia
ANGLO-SAXON HEPTARCHY
Major kingdoms:
Northumbria
Mercia
East Anglia
Essex
Kent
Wessex
Sussex
Minor kingdoms:
Hwicce
Magonsaete
Kingdom of Lindsey
Middle Anglia
Laws of Aethelberht
Laws of Aethelberht
Sutton Hoo
Two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries of the 6th century and early 7th century, one of which contained an undisturbed ship burial.
Use of the site culminated at a time when the ruler (Raedwald) of East Anglia held senior power among the English people, and played a dynamic (if ambiguous) part in the establishment of Christian rulership in England.
The ship-burial probably dates from the early 7th century and was excavated in 1939.
Sutton Hoo
Anglo-Saxon Art: Fuller Brooch
Late 9th century brooch, found in Normandy.
11.4 cm disc of hammered sheet silver inlaid with black niello.
The centre is decorated with the five senses.
In the middle is Sight
Taste (top left)
Smell (top right)
Touch (bottom right)
Hearing (bottom left)
The outer border consists of humans, bird, animal and plant motifs.
Unusually it does not represent divinity.
Anglo-Saxon Art: Manuscripts
Illuminated Anglo-Saxon manuscripts survive, such as the Benedictional of St. Æthelwold and Leofric Missal drawing on Hiberno-Saxon art, and, Carolingian and Byzantine art for style and iconography.
Combines northern ornamental traditions with Mediterranean figural traditions.
Anglo-Saxon Art: Manuscripts
Dates between 963 and 984. Contains a Latin inscription which describes how it was made:
A bishop, the great Æthelwold, whom the Lord had made patron of Winchester, ordered a certain monk subject to him to write the present book . . . He commanded also to be made in this book many frames well adorned and filled with various figures decorated with many beautiful colours and with gold. This book the Boanerges aforesaid caused to be indicted for himself . . . Let all who look upon this book pray always that after the term of the flesh I may abide in heaven Û Godeman the scribe, as a suppliant, earnestly asks this…
West Stow
Hamlet of West Stow, Suffolk
Occupied during the 5th–7th centuries
5 acres excavated – 1960s & 1970s
7 larger house = family halls? c.12m long; hearth; S. side door
60 Sunken-featured buildings (grubenhauser)
West Stow: finds
Yeavering, Northumbria
Anglo-Saxon villa and royal palace – earliest known (Bede: Ad Gefrin)
Identified 1949 aerial photography
Excavated 1950s & 1960s by Brian Hope Taylor
Great enclosure: circular entrance works – a corral for animals?
Archaeological evidence for fire – all buildings burnt to the ground (in AD633: King Edwin killed; massacres in Northumbria).
Yeavering, Northumbria
Bronze Age burial mound with large upright pole: Focus for pagan Anglo-Saxon burials? Building aid?
The Great Hall: 7th century. Massive timbers, communal centre: Feasting, music, singing, royal ceremonies
Area ruled but not peopled by Anglo-Saxons?
Theatre: cuneus
Unique in A-S England
Triangular stepped structure w/ stage
Performance, assembly?
Alfred the Great (871-899)
King of Wessex who wielded power over all of so-called ‘Heptarchy’ (see language map)
Defeats newest arrivals (Danes)
Issued a Code of Laws for all the realm
Began the English Navy
Commissioned the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (often taken as a measure of the stability of his reign)
From Alfred to William, 899-1066
Alfred’s successors were not great rulers—Ethelred the Redeless (stupid), for example—and the Vikings under King Cnut actually assumed control of the realm.
Cnut’s successor had no heirs and created a question of who would become king
3 candidates: Harold Hardrada, Harold Godwinson of Wessex, William, Duke of Normandy
William wins Battle of Hastings, October 1066
Feudalism
Social contract between ‘lords’ and ‘vassals’
Theoretically it is reciprocal (see diagram)
In practise in had centralising tendencies
Became the dominant political system in Europe
Becomes synonymous with the Normans
What did it replace??
Viking Towns
York, Birka, Hedeby, Dublin
Based on trade
Chattels not real estate
Dublin
1000 AD
Dublin, 1170
William I—King of England (1066-1087)
Introduced Norman Feudalism into England—emphasized power of King (Salisbury Oath)
Domesday Survey
Much central authority compared to earlier governmental arrangements in England
Great Council created out of Witan
Curia Regis established
But who were these ‘Normans’??
Bayeux Tapestry, c. 1073-1088
Willliam and Harold
Battle
William’s Feast
Normans?
Normandy is approximately the same region as the old church province of Rouen
Was sometimes called Brittania Nova and western Flanders.
No natural frontiers and was previously merely an administrative unit.
Viking settlers begun arriving in the 880s, divided between a small colony in Upper (or eastern) Normandy and a larger one in Lower (or western) Normandy.
Rollo
In 911 AD Charles III of France gave Normandy to the Viking leader Rollo who became a Christian. Vikings helped adopt the French language and organized a strong state in Normandy.
Rollo’s grave, Rouen
Rollo
Passed title to his son in 927 before his death.
Normandy
From the 10th century the Norse settled and adopted the language and culture of the French majority.
After a generation or two, the Normans were generally indistinguishable from their French neighbours.
In Normandy, they adopted the growing feudal doctrines of the rest of northern France.
The old French aristocracy could trace their families back to Carolingian times.
The Normans knights rended to remain poor and land-hungry.
By 1066, Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation.
Prior to 1066 and then crusades knighthood before the time of the Crusades held little social status.
Mottes
Illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry
Mottes
Illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry
Mottes
Illustrated on the Bayeux Tapestry
Mottes
Bayeux Tapestry showing the motte at Hastings being built.
Architecture and the early Normans
There was a resurgence in the development of distinct architectural styles under Charlemagne.
Palace Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, 792-805
Monasteries
Designs for the monasteries had already been drawn up under order of Charlemagne
Developed a role as cultural/learning centers
St. Gall
Abbey at Cluny, begun 910
French monastery, Benedictine monks
Largest, most powerful monastery, 10th-12th c.
Early Christian vs. Romanesque
This is the difference in effect of a barrel vault (on the right) and the pre-existing style of roof.
Cluny
Three main phases from 910 onwards (coinciding with the emerging Norman state).
The greatest monastic Romanesque church, Cluny III (1088-1121), did not survive the French Revolution but has been reconstructed in drawings
Double-aisled church almost 137 m long, with 15 small chapels in transepts and ambulatory
Its design influenced Romanesque and Gothic churches in Burgundy and beyond, often coinciding with the spread of liturgical practices under Norman influence
Cluny III
3rd Abbey Church at Cluny
Largest church in the Christian world
Vertical emphasis
3rd Abbey Church at Cluny, 1049
Largest church in the Christian world
Like Roman basilica but more elaborate
Established ‘Romanesque’ style.
3rd Abbey Church at Cluny, 1049
Vertical emphasis was possible as the churches had very thick walls
The vault was constructed as a series of arches with the wight carried by the large pillars.
St. Sernin, c. 1080
France led the way in the development of Romanesque.
Typical Romanesque Church Plans
St. Etienne, c. 1067-1135
Romanesque
The term “Romanesque” itself was first used in the 19th century. The word Romanesque originally meant "in the Roman manner.“
Use of the Roman round arch, adoption of the major forms of antique Roman vaulting (contained, strong, weighty and somber style)
Most Romanesque churches retained the basic plan of the Early Christian basilica: a long, three-aisled nave intercepted by a transept and terminating in a semicircular apse crowned by a conch, or half-dome
European movement in architecture (10-12th centuries), especially in Italy, France, England and Germany
St. Etienne, Romanesque Facade
Plain
Divided into three sections
Squat
Massive
Tower of London, c. 1078-1097
Most famous Romanesque building in Britain?
Tower of London, c. 1078-1097
The interior features all shown Romanesque influence:
Round-headed windows
Round thick pillars
Barrel-vault
St. Etienne, Romanesque Facade
Plain
Divided into three sections
Squat
Massive
Tower of London, c. 1078-1097
Sculpture as Church Decoration
La Madeleine, Vezelay, France
c. 1120-1132
Tympanum
Narthex
Manuscript paintings as inspiration for sculpture
La Madeleine, capitals
Romanesque Painting-Illuminated Manuscripts
Life, Death and Linguistics in the Iron Age
Life, Death etc ...
Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Iron Age Daily Life: Agriculture
Quern, sickles, ploughshare (right middle)
Evidence from carbonised grain, and, pollen
Emmer wheat
Spelt
Bread Wheat
Barley
Millet
Beans
Peas
Lentils
Grain storage
Grain processed in various stages:
Heating
Beating
Winnowing Storage pits, usually 1-2 m deep (and up to 3 m), holding1.5 tonnes (Tacitus and Pliny) Grain at the seal germinates and stops germination.
Iron Age Daily Life: Blacksmith
Wooden bowls and vessels
Iron Age Daily Life; Pottery
Lifestock
Iron Age Daily Life: Changes?
Iron Age Daily Life: Textiles
Pre-Iron Age and Iron Age
Broadly similar, culturally and in terms of technology (with the addition of iron).
Many tools are the same.
Social organisation may have not been significantly different.
Should we rely on the classical authors to provide further illustration of the lifestyles of Iron Age peoples?
Are they relevant to Ireland??
Can linguistics help us here?
Language
There are various arguments about the development of Celtic languages.
It is now recognised that the difficulty with plotting the evolution of any language is that they rarely follow strict rules.
In Ireland, after the 5th century AD, it is possible to spot how new words enter the language and see what was introduced, culturally.
These loanwords represent the aspects of the archaeological evidence that are easiest to interpret.
Latin loan-words
As found in Old Irish, Scots Gaelic, Manx and English
Celtic languages
Branch of the Indo-European group of languages.
Usually divided into four sub-groups.
Celtic languages
The division occured (depending on your favourite sources) at 4700-1700 BC or 1200-800 BC.
Celtic languages
Gaulish and related languages Lepontic, Noric, and Galatian. These were once spoken in a wide arc from France to Turkey and from Belgium to northern Italy.
Celtic languages
Celtiberian, anciently spoken in the Iberian peninsula in the areas of modern Northern Portugal, and Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Aragón, and León in Spain. Lusitanian may also have been a Celtic language.
Celtic languages
Goidelic, including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. At one time there were Irish on the coast of southwest England and on the coast of north and south Wales.
Celtic languages
Brythonic (also called British or Brittonic), including Welsh, Breton, Cornish, Cumbric, the hypothetical ‘Ivernic’, and possibly also Pictish. There may have been a Brythonic language in the Isle of Man before 9th century AD. However, Pictish may not be Indo-European and ‘Ivernic’ may actually be ‘Goidelic’.
Celtic languages
In several characteristics they resemble some non-Indo-European languages. These include:
absence of a present participle (e.g. talking) and the use instead of a verbal noun (found also in Egyptian and Berber)
the frequent expression of agency by means of an impersonal passive construction (e.g. it is said) instead of by a verbal subject in the nominative case (as in Egyptian, Berber, Basque, and some Caucasian and Eskimo languages)
positioning of the verb at the beginning of a sentence (typical of Egyptian and Berber)
Substrate analysis in North-Alpine Europe
Non-Indo-European features in Indo-European languages can be explained by substrate features, e.g., if we take the vocabulary of Celtic languages they are Indo-European, but the syntax, the way sentences are formed and the technical aspects of the languages are non-Indo-European.
Some people suggest that there were only two language families in Europe before Indo-European expansion; some features can be traced because there are direct descendants of these proto-languages.
Before the spread of Indo-European languages across Western Europe
Non-Indo-European languages present in Western Europe 2000 years ago (or before) are supposed to have preceded the spread of Indo-European languages (except Phoenician settlements): Basque, Iberian, Ligurian, Tartessian, ...
There is only indirect evidence for these, because first evidence of the presence of Basque is relatively recent (2000 years ago).
Non-Indo-European languages in Europe after last Ice-Age (after Venneman 2003)
Vasconic (VH)
Semitidic
Pictish: Inscriptions and placenames (e.g. Pit -, as in Pittodrie)
Aboyne (Ogham inscription)
‘nehhtvrobbaccennevv maqqotalluorrh’
Nechtan (nehht)
son of Talorc (maqqotalluorrh)
Maqqo (mac in Irish)…talluorrh (Talorc)
What does ‘vrobbaccennevv’ mean?
Pictish: Inscriptions and placenames (e.g. Pit -, as in Pittodrie)
Bressay: ‘crroscc:nahhtvvddadds:dattr:ann bennises:meqqddrroann’ (meggddrroan is taken to be ‘... son of Drostan’)
Lunnasting: ‘ettecuhetts:ahehhttannn:hccvvevv:nehhtons’ also contains ‘nehht’ (Nechtan)
Despite being able to read some parts, most of the text is indecipherable.
The VH and genetic studies showing post-glacial colonisation of Europe (Torroni et al 1998, 2001)
Vasconic expansion would have followed the repopulation of Europe by Vasconic people leaving the Aquitanian-Iberian refugium after the last ice-age (i.e. where the Basque language survived)
(from Venneman 2003)
DNA mapping (haplogroup R1b)
Linguistic arguments for the VH (Vasconic)
Visegimal counting in some Romance, Celtic and Germanic languages, i.e. four score for 80, quatre-vingts in French (four 20s), daichead in Irish (two 20s).
First syllable accent innovation in Germanic, Celtic and Italic languages.
River-names of North-Alpine Europe with Vasconic roots (is-, ur-, aran-, -alde) and morphems (-a); + agglutinative morphology.
Etymologies of non-IE words found in IE languages.
Venneman
Venneman’s work is not univerally accepted, particularly his reconstructed Vasconic and Semitidic groups (and that Pictish was Semitic).
However, the substrate of the Celtic languages is real.
If there is a pre-Indo-European substrate which appears to have its closest relatives in North Africa, should we look there for our best parallels for the cultures to illustrate prehistory including the Iron Age?
Late Examples?
What other influences are present in this late art style?
The carpet page on the right is from the Abbasid Qu’ran which is 9th century in date.
The Book of Durrow is 7th century.
Late Examples
The cross depicted on a carpet page on the right is from the Harklean Gospel Book, a 10th century copy of a 7th century version of the Syriac Gospels.
This is the same date as the Books of Durrow and Kells.
Beyond the Celts
These two spirals are from Newgrange and Tassili in Algeria.
North African Influence?
The cross on the left is a Coptic (North African) leather cross.
The cross on the right is from Fahan Mura in County Donegal.
It is assumed that this is Coptic influence on Irish Christianity.
Are these actually LATE examples.
Atlantean (Bob Quinn)
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=uI-LFQeKkUg
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=Npx-oVgnOGs
Typical Farm
Villages: Biskupin, Poland (700-400 BC)
Biskupin
Fürstensitze: ‘Royal Sites’
There are a handful of significant sites which are associated with princely burials or exotic goods:
Hochdorf
Heuneburg
Glauberg
Vix
Magdalenenberg
This has influenced interpretation in Ireland (Tara, Navan Fort etc).
Hallstatt, Austria
Glauberg
Sandstone statue, or stele, fully preserved except for its feet (the type of sandstone is available within a few kilometres of Glauberg).
Much detail is clearly visible: his trousers, composite armour tunic, wooden shield and a typical La Tène sword hanging from his right side.
Glauberg
He wears a torc with three pendants, remarkably similar to the one from the chamber in mound 1, several rings on both arms and one on the right hand.
Glauberg
On his head, he wears a La Tene helmet crowned by two protrusions, resembling the shape of a mistletoe leaf. Such headdresses are also known from a handful of contemporary sculptures.
If mistletoe held a magical or religious significance, it could indicate that the warrior depicted also played the role of a priest.
Fragments of three similar statues were also discovered in the area. It is suggested that all four statues once stood in the rectangular enclosure.
The Chamber
1879 Plan (Kleinaspergle)
Hochdorf
Excavation of a barrow revealed a chamber containing a man of 40 years old who had been laid out on a bronze couch.
He had been buried with a gold-plated torc on his neck, a bracelet on his right arm, and most notably, thin embossed gold plaques were on his now-disintigrated shoes.
At the foot of the couch was a large cauldron decorated with three lions around the brim.
The east side of the tomb contained a four-wheeled wagon holding a set of bronze dishes for nine people.
At 6 ft 2 in (187 cm) he was quite tall.
Some functional objects were present
Hochdorf
Arrangement of the burial
Heuneburg Danube 300x150 m plateau several phases beginning unorganised
Heuneburg: Later ‘planned’ layout
Murus Gallicus Western La Tene Zone
Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Iron Age Daily Life: Agriculture
Quern, sickles, ploughshare (right middle)
Evidence from carbonised grain, and, pollen
Emmer wheat
Spelt
Bread Wheat
Barley
Millet
Beans
Peas
Lentils
Grain storage
Grain processed in various stages:
Heating
Beating
Winnowing Storage pits, usually 1-2 m deep (and up to 3 m), holding1.5 tonnes (Tacitus and Pliny) Grain at the seal germinates and stops germination.
Iron Age Daily Life: Blacksmith
Wooden bowls and vessels
Iron Age Daily Life; Pottery
Lifestock
Iron Age Daily Life: Changes?
Iron Age Daily Life: Textiles
Pre-Iron Age and Iron Age
Broadly similar, culturally and in terms of technology (with the addition of iron).
Many tools are the same.
Social organisation may have not been significantly different.
Should we rely on the classical authors to provide further illustration of the lifestyles of Iron Age peoples?
Are they relevant to Ireland??
Can linguistics help us here?
Language
There are various arguments about the development of Celtic languages.
It is now recognised that the difficulty with plotting the evolution of any language is that they rarely follow strict rules.
In Ireland, after the 5th century AD, it is possible to spot how new words enter the language and see what was introduced, culturally.
These loanwords represent the aspects of the archaeological evidence that are easiest to interpret.
Latin loan-words
As found in Old Irish, Scots Gaelic, Manx and English
Celtic languages
Branch of the Indo-European group of languages.
Usually divided into four sub-groups.
Celtic languages
The division occured (depending on your favourite sources) at 4700-1700 BC or 1200-800 BC.
Celtic languages
Gaulish and related languages Lepontic, Noric, and Galatian. These were once spoken in a wide arc from France to Turkey and from Belgium to northern Italy.
Celtic languages
Celtiberian, anciently spoken in the Iberian peninsula in the areas of modern Northern Portugal, and Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Aragón, and León in Spain. Lusitanian may also have been a Celtic language.
Celtic languages
Goidelic, including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. At one time there were Irish on the coast of southwest England and on the coast of north and south Wales.
Celtic languages
Brythonic (also called British or Brittonic), including Welsh, Breton, Cornish, Cumbric, the hypothetical ‘Ivernic’, and possibly also Pictish. There may have been a Brythonic language in the Isle of Man before 9th century AD. However, Pictish may not be Indo-European and ‘Ivernic’ may actually be ‘Goidelic’.
Celtic languages
In several characteristics they resemble some non-Indo-European languages. These include:
absence of a present participle (e.g. talking) and the use instead of a verbal noun (found also in Egyptian and Berber)
the frequent expression of agency by means of an impersonal passive construction (e.g. it is said) instead of by a verbal subject in the nominative case (as in Egyptian, Berber, Basque, and some Caucasian and Eskimo languages)
positioning of the verb at the beginning of a sentence (typical of Egyptian and Berber)
Substrate analysis in North-Alpine Europe
Non-Indo-European features in Indo-European languages can be explained by substrate features, e.g., if we take the vocabulary of Celtic languages they are Indo-European, but the syntax, the way sentences are formed and the technical aspects of the languages are non-Indo-European.
Some people suggest that there were only two language families in Europe before Indo-European expansion; some features can be traced because there are direct descendants of these proto-languages.
Before the spread of Indo-European languages across Western Europe
Non-Indo-European languages present in Western Europe 2000 years ago (or before) are supposed to have preceded the spread of Indo-European languages (except Phoenician settlements): Basque, Iberian, Ligurian, Tartessian, ...
There is only indirect evidence for these, because first evidence of the presence of Basque is relatively recent (2000 years ago).
Non-Indo-European languages in Europe after last Ice-Age (after Venneman 2003)
Vasconic (VH)
Semitidic
Pictish: Inscriptions and placenames (e.g. Pit -, as in Pittodrie)
Aboyne (Ogham inscription)
‘nehhtvrobbaccennevv maqqotalluorrh’
Nechtan (nehht)
son of Talorc (maqqotalluorrh)
Maqqo (mac in Irish)…talluorrh (Talorc)
What does ‘vrobbaccennevv’ mean?
Pictish: Inscriptions and placenames (e.g. Pit -, as in Pittodrie)
Bressay: ‘crroscc:nahhtvvddadds:dattr:ann bennises:meqqddrroann’ (meggddrroan is taken to be ‘... son of Drostan’)
Lunnasting: ‘ettecuhetts:ahehhttannn:hccvvevv:nehhtons’ also contains ‘nehht’ (Nechtan)
Despite being able to read some parts, most of the text is indecipherable.
The VH and genetic studies showing post-glacial colonisation of Europe (Torroni et al 1998, 2001)
Vasconic expansion would have followed the repopulation of Europe by Vasconic people leaving the Aquitanian-Iberian refugium after the last ice-age (i.e. where the Basque language survived)
(from Venneman 2003)
DNA mapping (haplogroup R1b)
Linguistic arguments for the VH (Vasconic)
Visegimal counting in some Romance, Celtic and Germanic languages, i.e. four score for 80, quatre-vingts in French (four 20s), daichead in Irish (two 20s).
First syllable accent innovation in Germanic, Celtic and Italic languages.
River-names of North-Alpine Europe with Vasconic roots (is-, ur-, aran-, -alde) and morphems (-a); + agglutinative morphology.
Etymologies of non-IE words found in IE languages.
Venneman
Venneman’s work is not univerally accepted, particularly his reconstructed Vasconic and Semitidic groups (and that Pictish was Semitic).
However, the substrate of the Celtic languages is real.
If there is a pre-Indo-European substrate which appears to have its closest relatives in North Africa, should we look there for our best parallels for the cultures to illustrate prehistory including the Iron Age?
Late Examples?
What other influences are present in this late art style?
The carpet page on the right is from the Abbasid Qu’ran which is 9th century in date.
The Book of Durrow is 7th century.
Late Examples
The cross depicted on a carpet page on the right is from the Harklean Gospel Book, a 10th century copy of a 7th century version of the Syriac Gospels.
This is the same date as the Books of Durrow and Kells.
Beyond the Celts
These two spirals are from Newgrange and Tassili in Algeria.
North African Influence?
The cross on the left is a Coptic (North African) leather cross.
The cross on the right is from Fahan Mura in County Donegal.
It is assumed that this is Coptic influence on Irish Christianity.
Are these actually LATE examples.
Atlantean (Bob Quinn)
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=uI-LFQeKkUg
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=Npx-oVgnOGs
Typical Farm
Villages: Biskupin, Poland (700-400 BC)
Biskupin
Fürstensitze: ‘Royal Sites’
There are a handful of significant sites which are associated with princely burials or exotic goods:
Hochdorf
Heuneburg
Glauberg
Vix
Magdalenenberg
This has influenced interpretation in Ireland (Tara, Navan Fort etc).
Hallstatt, Austria
Glauberg
Sandstone statue, or stele, fully preserved except for its feet (the type of sandstone is available within a few kilometres of Glauberg).
Much detail is clearly visible: his trousers, composite armour tunic, wooden shield and a typical La Tène sword hanging from his right side.
Glauberg
He wears a torc with three pendants, remarkably similar to the one from the chamber in mound 1, several rings on both arms and one on the right hand.
Glauberg
On his head, he wears a La Tene helmet crowned by two protrusions, resembling the shape of a mistletoe leaf. Such headdresses are also known from a handful of contemporary sculptures.
If mistletoe held a magical or religious significance, it could indicate that the warrior depicted also played the role of a priest.
Fragments of three similar statues were also discovered in the area. It is suggested that all four statues once stood in the rectangular enclosure.
The Chamber
1879 Plan (Kleinaspergle)
Hochdorf
Excavation of a barrow revealed a chamber containing a man of 40 years old who had been laid out on a bronze couch.
He had been buried with a gold-plated torc on his neck, a bracelet on his right arm, and most notably, thin embossed gold plaques were on his now-disintigrated shoes.
At the foot of the couch was a large cauldron decorated with three lions around the brim.
The east side of the tomb contained a four-wheeled wagon holding a set of bronze dishes for nine people.
At 6 ft 2 in (187 cm) he was quite tall.
Some functional objects were present
Hochdorf
Arrangement of the burial
Heuneburg Danube 300x150 m plateau several phases beginning unorganised
Heuneburg: Later ‘planned’ layout
Murus Gallicus Western La Tene Zone
Ritual, Religion and 'Celts'
Natio est omnis Gallorum admodum dedita religionibus
The people of Gaul think a lot of ritual activities
Julius Caesar
Classic sources:
Three-fold learned order in Gaul:
Druids, Vates, Bards
Have varying degrees of prophetic, magical and religious powers
Gundestrup Cauldron, Denmark
La Tène, Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Strabo gives the following account:
“… they have a barbarous and absurd custom, common however with many nations of the north, of suspending the heads of their enemies from their horses’ necks on their return from battle, and when they have arrived nailing them as a spectacle to their gates.”
Roquepertuse was a sanctuary where the only permanent residents were priests.
It was destroyed by the Romans in 124 BC and was re-discovered in 1860.
Main phases date to the 3rd century BC, but may have begun in the 5th or 6th century BC.
Evidence of dual-faced sculptures
Columns with cavities for human skulls
Bog bodies of North-Western Europe:
Violent death
Clothes but rarely any objects
In bog-pools, held down
Physically good condition, but often malformation
Oldcroghan Man, Co. Offaly
Oldcroghan Man, Co. Offaly
Clonycavan Man, Co. Meath
Clonycavan Man, Co. Meath
Kelly, E.P. 2006. Secrets of the Bog Bodies: the enigma of the Iron Age explained. Archaeology Ireland 20(1), 26-30.
The people of Gaul think a lot of ritual activities
Julius Caesar
Classic sources:
Three-fold learned order in Gaul:
Druids, Vates, Bards
Have varying degrees of prophetic, magical and religious powers
Gundestrup Cauldron, Denmark
La Tène, Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Strabo gives the following account:
“… they have a barbarous and absurd custom, common however with many nations of the north, of suspending the heads of their enemies from their horses’ necks on their return from battle, and when they have arrived nailing them as a spectacle to their gates.”
Roquepertuse was a sanctuary where the only permanent residents were priests.
It was destroyed by the Romans in 124 BC and was re-discovered in 1860.
Main phases date to the 3rd century BC, but may have begun in the 5th or 6th century BC.
Evidence of dual-faced sculptures
Columns with cavities for human skulls
Bog bodies of North-Western Europe:
Violent death
Clothes but rarely any objects
In bog-pools, held down
Physically good condition, but often malformation
Oldcroghan Man, Co. Offaly
Oldcroghan Man, Co. Offaly
Clonycavan Man, Co. Meath
Clonycavan Man, Co. Meath
Kelly, E.P. 2006. Secrets of the Bog Bodies: the enigma of the Iron Age explained. Archaeology Ireland 20(1), 26-30.
Who were the Celts?
Vercingetorix
Cruel
„The wives are interrogated like slaves. If found guilty they are put to death after every sort of cruel torment…“
„At properly conducted funerals the slaves and clients who have been dear to him were burnt along with him“ J. Caesar
Clonycavan Man, Co. Meath
What is the Iron Age?
Period of the Celts
Age of Iron
The period between the Bronze Age and the Medieval period
The period between 800 BC and 1st c BC/AD
Prehistory divided up into chronological phases, associated with increasingly advanced technology i.e. evolution in skill, complexity of process and quality/durability of product
(Danish archaeologists, Thomsen and Worsaee: 3 Age system).
Iron Age – Defining characteristics:
New material Iron
Coincides with:
Change in society structures
Religious beliefs
Social organisation
Material culture:
New artefact types
New artstyle
New materials
The new material Iron
Hallstatt, Austria
La Tène, Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Why do we call these people “the Celts”?
Greek periplus (from peripleo – I sail) 6thc BC
fragments survived in poem of the 4th century, where the Celts are mentioned as to be present in a country “which they have taken from the Ligurians ” i.e. Northern Italy or Southern France
Herodotus (450BC): “the first historian”:
“The Istros (the Danube) which comes from the Celts and the City of Pyrene, flows through Europe “
Sources of Danube are in the Western Hallstatt area, i.e. Eastern France,
Southwest Germany and Northern Switzerland. Pyrene might be Heuneburg or Hohenasperg.
How do they know?
Increased contact contact between Greek, Romans and Celts in the 4th c BC
Celtic mercenaries described from 4th c BC in hellenic forces
Reports of mass movements and raids into Po Valley from North of the Alps. 390 BC: Sennones with Brennos to Clusium over Appenin; Celtic settlement in Northern Italy (gallia cisalpina)
Raids into Balkan, Greece and Asia Minor
387/86 Battle at the Allia
279BC Raid on Delphi
Cruel
„The wives are interrogated like slaves. If found guilty they are put to death after every sort of cruel torment…“
„At properly conducted funerals the slaves and clients who have been dear to him were burnt along with him“ J. Caesar
Clonycavan Man, Co. Meath
What is the Iron Age?
Period of the Celts
Age of Iron
The period between the Bronze Age and the Medieval period
The period between 800 BC and 1st c BC/AD
Prehistory divided up into chronological phases, associated with increasingly advanced technology i.e. evolution in skill, complexity of process and quality/durability of product
(Danish archaeologists, Thomsen and Worsaee: 3 Age system).
Iron Age – Defining characteristics:
New material Iron
Coincides with:
Change in society structures
Religious beliefs
Social organisation
Material culture:
New artefact types
New artstyle
New materials
The new material Iron
Hallstatt, Austria
La Tène, Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Why do we call these people “the Celts”?
Greek periplus (from peripleo – I sail) 6thc BC
fragments survived in poem of the 4th century, where the Celts are mentioned as to be present in a country “which they have taken from the Ligurians ” i.e. Northern Italy or Southern France
Herodotus (450BC): “the first historian”:
“The Istros (the Danube) which comes from the Celts and the City of Pyrene, flows through Europe “
Sources of Danube are in the Western Hallstatt area, i.e. Eastern France,
Southwest Germany and Northern Switzerland. Pyrene might be Heuneburg or Hohenasperg.
How do they know?
Increased contact contact between Greek, Romans and Celts in the 4th c BC
Celtic mercenaries described from 4th c BC in hellenic forces
Reports of mass movements and raids into Po Valley from North of the Alps. 390 BC: Sennones with Brennos to Clusium over Appenin; Celtic settlement in Northern Italy (gallia cisalpina)
Raids into Balkan, Greece and Asia Minor
387/86 Battle at the Allia
279BC Raid on Delphi
La Tene Art and Deposition in Ireland
Early Style/ Orientalising Style – La Tène A
Weisskirchen, Germany
Auvers-sur-Oise, France
Orientalising: Lyre or griffin?
La Tene in Ireland
Iron Age find contexts
Little contextual information about many Irish La Tene finds.
Typical single finds – Beehive Querns
Clonad bog-butter keg, Clonad Bog, Co. Offaly (NMI 2000:58)
Rosberry bog-butter keg, Co. Kildare (NMI 1970:32)
Wooden vessel from Pallasboy Townland, Toar Bog, Co. Westmeath c. 100BC Triple ply twisted wooden withy Pegged in place Repaired with wedges when being made and later with a wooden panel sewn to the side with a fine withy
Some major finds
Information is often poor!
Lisncrogher, Co. Antrim
Original contents of Lisnacrogher assemblage included wooden objects.
Broighter
Found in 1896 in boggy ground. Descriptions suggest that it was buried in some sort of container – possibly a bag – that had mostly rotted.
Its find circumstances have been described as curious due to a protacted court case over ownership of the find.
Broighter
Tom Nicholl, who discovered the Broighter hoard.
It was wrapped in a container sometimes described as like an umbrella.
This has led to confusion over the origin of the hoard and whether it was genuine.
The court case revolved around the possibility of whether the hoard was deposited on land which was inundated or had been hidden (i.e. was treasure trove).
Broighter
Seahorses?
Boats?
Sea-offering?
Loughnashade, Co. Armagh
Pooler horn (the surviving horn)
Browne horn – illustrated in 1802 then stolen.
No provenance (Ireland: NMI), possibly the horn owned by Hall and Corry.
Plunkett watercolours (donated to RIA in January 1847)
Ardbrin horn
Nice horn
Wooden horns: 1. Killyfaddy (Tyrone) 2. Killeshandra (Cavan)
Weisskirchen, Germany
Auvers-sur-Oise, France
Orientalising: Lyre or griffin?
La Tene in Ireland
Iron Age find contexts
Little contextual information about many Irish La Tene finds.
Typical single finds – Beehive Querns
Clonad bog-butter keg, Clonad Bog, Co. Offaly (NMI 2000:58)
Rosberry bog-butter keg, Co. Kildare (NMI 1970:32)
Wooden vessel from Pallasboy Townland, Toar Bog, Co. Westmeath c. 100BC Triple ply twisted wooden withy Pegged in place Repaired with wedges when being made and later with a wooden panel sewn to the side with a fine withy
Some major finds
Information is often poor!
Lisncrogher, Co. Antrim
Original contents of Lisnacrogher assemblage included wooden objects.
Broighter
Found in 1896 in boggy ground. Descriptions suggest that it was buried in some sort of container – possibly a bag – that had mostly rotted.
Its find circumstances have been described as curious due to a protacted court case over ownership of the find.
Broighter
Tom Nicholl, who discovered the Broighter hoard.
It was wrapped in a container sometimes described as like an umbrella.
This has led to confusion over the origin of the hoard and whether it was genuine.
The court case revolved around the possibility of whether the hoard was deposited on land which was inundated or had been hidden (i.e. was treasure trove).
Broighter
Seahorses?
Boats?
Sea-offering?
Loughnashade, Co. Armagh
Pooler horn (the surviving horn)
Browne horn – illustrated in 1802 then stolen.
No provenance (Ireland: NMI), possibly the horn owned by Hall and Corry.
Plunkett watercolours (donated to RIA in January 1847)
Ardbrin horn
Nice horn
Wooden horns: 1. Killyfaddy (Tyrone) 2. Killeshandra (Cavan)
Charlemagne and the Vikings
Charlemagne and the Viking World
Dr John O’Neill
Charlemagne
King of the Franks, ruled from 768 to 800, then was crown Holy Roman Emperor in 800, died in 814
Central figure in the ‘Carolingian Renaissance’
Developed a strong partnership with the Papacy (to their mutual advantage)
Though his achievements are short lived, they traditionally mark an end to the ‘Dark Ages’
Background: Frankish Gaul
Frankish King Clovis I (reigned from 481-511) was from the Merovingian Dynasty
Convert to Christianity
Merovingian dynasty survived until 751
Eventually replaced by Carolingian Dynasty (partly due to the close relationship between Carolingian kings and papacy)
Monasticism
As towns, and more importantly, literate commerce, fell into disrepair, small, often remote, monastic communities preserved what they valued of the classical world, including literacy and some technology.
The chief strength of the Church was that it preserved learning in the West. Rulers eventually realised they needed the skills that only the clergy possessed.
Monastic Learning
This is a carpet page from the Book of Durrow (also 7th century).
Insular script and illumination was a significant influence on Carolingian styles through the Irish role at continental monasteries like Bobbio.
Writing
Cathach of St Columba (7th century)
Ireland had maintained a literate Christian tradition through the ‘Dark Ages’
The writing style was classical.
Insular Script
Texts were written in Insular script (a variant of half uncial)
This is characterised by the large first letter and descending sizes
Wedge-shaped finials on ascenders (‘b’, ‘d’, ‘l’ etc)
Lack of punctuation
As the texts were almost all in Latin, scribes used accented letters and, following existing tradition, only upper case (i.e. uncial) letters and no punctuation or word separation.
Is this difficult to learn to read (never mind translate)???
withnospacescommasfullstopsorcapitalsthisisnoteasytoreadthisisparticularlythecasewhenitisspreadoutoveranumberoflines
With no spaces, commas, full-stops or capitals this is not easy to read. This is particularly the case when it is spread out over a number of lines!
Carolingian Minuscule: Writing Revolution
Began with the same problems, but made changes:
Uniformity in how letters are formed
Clear printing
More punctuation
Spaces between words
Letters always separated from each other
Carolingian Minuscule is the basis for our scripts today
Renewal in Education
New miniscule was easier to learn which encouraged the copying of manuscripts (both Christian and Roman) and a renewal in scholarship
Led to renewed interest in education (for boys and girls) which was mainly centred in the monastic communities.
Introduction of the seven Liberal arts:
Trivium:
grammar,
logic,
rhetoric
Quadrivium:
astronomy,
geometry,
arithmetic,
music
Renewal in the Church
The impetus the church gave through education and it’s links with Charlemagne improved it’s status.
Significant new foundations: 22 cathedrals, hundreds of monasteries
Ensured Roman liturgy followed in all churches in his Empire (and began the process of suppressing opposing Christian doctrines)
Carolingian Texts
The Carolingian Renaissance
Early Medieval Illumination
Early Medieval Illumination
Clonmore
The Clonmore shrine is believed to be the oldest known example of Irish Christian metalwork.
It was found in pieces between 1990 and 2001 in spoil dredged from the River Blackwater around 1970.
The shrine, which held relics of the saints, consisted originally of nine copper-alloy plates and is just 8cm long, 8cm high and 3cm deep.
Clonmore
The outer surfaces are tinned and decorated with spirals, crescents and trumpet curves reserved against a background of hatching.
The decoration is hand-cut, though in part compass-drawn, and the golden colour of the recessed surfaces contrasts with the silvery patterns in relief.
Such ornament has Iron Age roots, but compares with that of the 7th century Book of Durrow.
Clonmore
The shrine must be approximately contemporary and is a major, if miniature, work of art.
Clonmore is only 15km from Armagh and the shrine might have housed some of the imported, apostolic relics which Armagh promoted in the 7th century in support of its primatial claims.
Clonmore
Fragments of an Irish shrine closely resembling that from Clonmore are preserved in Bobbio in the north of Italy, the famous foundation of the Bangor monk Columbanus, who died there in 615.
The two shrines are related in shape and decoration and had identical hinges and locks.
Tomb-shrine reliquaries
Casket of Teudericus
"Casket of Teudericus" reliquary from the second half of the 7th c.(Canton Valais: Saint Maurice Abbey treasury). This reliquary is a product of the monastic workshop of St. Maurice d'Agaune. Signed by the artist and dedicated by the Priest Teudericus to the monastery.
Emly Shrine
Dates to the late 7th–early 8th century: measures 9.2 x 4.1 x 10.5 cm. Champlevé enamel on bronze over yew wood; gilt bronze moldings, inlay of lead-tin alloyNamed for its nineteenth century owner, Lord Emly of Limerick.
Monymusk Reliquary
This shrine is believed to be linked to St Columba and was made around the 8th century AD. Some believe that the shrine is the famed Breccbennach, carried before Robert the Bruce’s army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Reliquary of Bishop Attheus
Figures are Saints Mary and John. Silver gilt on wood. Late 8th-century Frankish. (Sion, Valais: Cath. Treas.) 17.5 cm high. The style is transitional, moving from a traditional Sub-Roman linear figure style toward Carolingian naturalism.
Bursa Reliquary (North Italy)
Dates to the early 900s. Made of bone, copper-gilt, wood (19.7 x 18.6 x 8.3 cm). Displays a masterful treatment of ivory wherein the surface is modeled by incision and relief carving while the background is pierced through (ajouré).
Reliquary of Pepin
Dates from about the year 1000. However, pieces of an earlier crucifixion scene were found inside, which may date to Pepin's time (817-38). One side of the reliquary depicts a Crucifixion scene in gold, while the other has two doves. In the Abbey Church of St. Foy, Conques in the South of France.
The Carolingian Renaissance
New emphasis on religious works in metal and crystal to adorn abbeys and palaces.
Renewed use of decorative techniques and materials.
The Carolingian RenaissanceReliquaries
The Carolingian Renaissance
The Carolingian Renaissance
Few mosaics survive, but they were important and likely reflect links to the Byzantine Empire
Carolingian Art
Ottonian Art: A New Holy Roman Empire
German princes in the 10th century try and restore another Holy Roman Empire
Otto II (late 10th century) married a Byzantine princess, strengthening ties between East and West and bringing Byzantine artists into his Holy Roman Empire.
Ottonian Art
Around 870 AD, Carolingian master craftsmen created an opulent image of the crucifixion on the cover of the Lindau Gospels.
No attempt was made to present the scene realistically.
Ottonian art
This may be a crucifixion, but the figure on the cross is very much alive.
He does not suffer in the least.
Ottonian Art
Only a century later there is an entirely new depiction of the same scene.
Christ’s agonized portrayal in the Gero Crucifix, though not wholly realistic, is an entirely compassionate portrayal.
It also marks the reappearance of monumental sculpture
Ottonian Art
The Gero image pulls on the heart-strings of the observer.
Muscles strain.
The body is contorted.
Christ suffers – and, he suffers for man.
Carolingian Disintegration
Charlemagne’s Empire passed intact to his son Louis the Pious (r. 814-840)
Louis divided his Empire amongst his 4 legitimate sons (as was Frankish custom at the time)
Civil war, ended by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, partitioned Empire
Charlemagne’s predecessors failed to reconstruct the Holy Roman Empire (the title was adopted by the Ottonians).
End of the Carolingians
Outside Threats …
Dr John O’Neill
Charlemagne
King of the Franks, ruled from 768 to 800, then was crown Holy Roman Emperor in 800, died in 814
Central figure in the ‘Carolingian Renaissance’
Developed a strong partnership with the Papacy (to their mutual advantage)
Though his achievements are short lived, they traditionally mark an end to the ‘Dark Ages’
Background: Frankish Gaul
Frankish King Clovis I (reigned from 481-511) was from the Merovingian Dynasty
Convert to Christianity
Merovingian dynasty survived until 751
Eventually replaced by Carolingian Dynasty (partly due to the close relationship between Carolingian kings and papacy)
Monasticism
As towns, and more importantly, literate commerce, fell into disrepair, small, often remote, monastic communities preserved what they valued of the classical world, including literacy and some technology.
The chief strength of the Church was that it preserved learning in the West. Rulers eventually realised they needed the skills that only the clergy possessed.
Monastic Learning
This is a carpet page from the Book of Durrow (also 7th century).
Insular script and illumination was a significant influence on Carolingian styles through the Irish role at continental monasteries like Bobbio.
Writing
Cathach of St Columba (7th century)
Ireland had maintained a literate Christian tradition through the ‘Dark Ages’
The writing style was classical.
Insular Script
Texts were written in Insular script (a variant of half uncial)
This is characterised by the large first letter and descending sizes
Wedge-shaped finials on ascenders (‘b’, ‘d’, ‘l’ etc)
Lack of punctuation
As the texts were almost all in Latin, scribes used accented letters and, following existing tradition, only upper case (i.e. uncial) letters and no punctuation or word separation.
Is this difficult to learn to read (never mind translate)???
withnospacescommasfullstopsorcapitalsthisisnoteasytoreadthisisparticularlythecasewhenitisspreadoutoveranumberoflines
With no spaces, commas, full-stops or capitals this is not easy to read. This is particularly the case when it is spread out over a number of lines!
Carolingian Minuscule: Writing Revolution
Began with the same problems, but made changes:
Uniformity in how letters are formed
Clear printing
More punctuation
Spaces between words
Letters always separated from each other
Carolingian Minuscule is the basis for our scripts today
Renewal in Education
New miniscule was easier to learn which encouraged the copying of manuscripts (both Christian and Roman) and a renewal in scholarship
Led to renewed interest in education (for boys and girls) which was mainly centred in the monastic communities.
Introduction of the seven Liberal arts:
Trivium:
grammar,
logic,
rhetoric
Quadrivium:
astronomy,
geometry,
arithmetic,
music
Renewal in the Church
The impetus the church gave through education and it’s links with Charlemagne improved it’s status.
Significant new foundations: 22 cathedrals, hundreds of monasteries
Ensured Roman liturgy followed in all churches in his Empire (and began the process of suppressing opposing Christian doctrines)
Carolingian Texts
The Carolingian Renaissance
Early Medieval Illumination
Early Medieval Illumination
Clonmore
The Clonmore shrine is believed to be the oldest known example of Irish Christian metalwork.
It was found in pieces between 1990 and 2001 in spoil dredged from the River Blackwater around 1970.
The shrine, which held relics of the saints, consisted originally of nine copper-alloy plates and is just 8cm long, 8cm high and 3cm deep.
Clonmore
The outer surfaces are tinned and decorated with spirals, crescents and trumpet curves reserved against a background of hatching.
The decoration is hand-cut, though in part compass-drawn, and the golden colour of the recessed surfaces contrasts with the silvery patterns in relief.
Such ornament has Iron Age roots, but compares with that of the 7th century Book of Durrow.
Clonmore
The shrine must be approximately contemporary and is a major, if miniature, work of art.
Clonmore is only 15km from Armagh and the shrine might have housed some of the imported, apostolic relics which Armagh promoted in the 7th century in support of its primatial claims.
Clonmore
Fragments of an Irish shrine closely resembling that from Clonmore are preserved in Bobbio in the north of Italy, the famous foundation of the Bangor monk Columbanus, who died there in 615.
The two shrines are related in shape and decoration and had identical hinges and locks.
Tomb-shrine reliquaries
Casket of Teudericus
"Casket of Teudericus" reliquary from the second half of the 7th c.(Canton Valais: Saint Maurice Abbey treasury). This reliquary is a product of the monastic workshop of St. Maurice d'Agaune. Signed by the artist and dedicated by the Priest Teudericus to the monastery.
Emly Shrine
Dates to the late 7th–early 8th century: measures 9.2 x 4.1 x 10.5 cm. Champlevé enamel on bronze over yew wood; gilt bronze moldings, inlay of lead-tin alloyNamed for its nineteenth century owner, Lord Emly of Limerick.
Monymusk Reliquary
This shrine is believed to be linked to St Columba and was made around the 8th century AD. Some believe that the shrine is the famed Breccbennach, carried before Robert the Bruce’s army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
Reliquary of Bishop Attheus
Figures are Saints Mary and John. Silver gilt on wood. Late 8th-century Frankish. (Sion, Valais: Cath. Treas.) 17.5 cm high. The style is transitional, moving from a traditional Sub-Roman linear figure style toward Carolingian naturalism.
Bursa Reliquary (North Italy)
Dates to the early 900s. Made of bone, copper-gilt, wood (19.7 x 18.6 x 8.3 cm). Displays a masterful treatment of ivory wherein the surface is modeled by incision and relief carving while the background is pierced through (ajouré).
Reliquary of Pepin
Dates from about the year 1000. However, pieces of an earlier crucifixion scene were found inside, which may date to Pepin's time (817-38). One side of the reliquary depicts a Crucifixion scene in gold, while the other has two doves. In the Abbey Church of St. Foy, Conques in the South of France.
The Carolingian Renaissance
New emphasis on religious works in metal and crystal to adorn abbeys and palaces.
Renewed use of decorative techniques and materials.
The Carolingian RenaissanceReliquaries
The Carolingian Renaissance
The Carolingian Renaissance
Few mosaics survive, but they were important and likely reflect links to the Byzantine Empire
Carolingian Art
Ottonian Art: A New Holy Roman Empire
German princes in the 10th century try and restore another Holy Roman Empire
Otto II (late 10th century) married a Byzantine princess, strengthening ties between East and West and bringing Byzantine artists into his Holy Roman Empire.
Ottonian Art
Around 870 AD, Carolingian master craftsmen created an opulent image of the crucifixion on the cover of the Lindau Gospels.
No attempt was made to present the scene realistically.
Ottonian art
This may be a crucifixion, but the figure on the cross is very much alive.
He does not suffer in the least.
Ottonian Art
Only a century later there is an entirely new depiction of the same scene.
Christ’s agonized portrayal in the Gero Crucifix, though not wholly realistic, is an entirely compassionate portrayal.
It also marks the reappearance of monumental sculpture
Ottonian Art
The Gero image pulls on the heart-strings of the observer.
Muscles strain.
The body is contorted.
Christ suffers – and, he suffers for man.
Carolingian Disintegration
Charlemagne’s Empire passed intact to his son Louis the Pious (r. 814-840)
Louis divided his Empire amongst his 4 legitimate sons (as was Frankish custom at the time)
Civil war, ended by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, partitioned Empire
Charlemagne’s predecessors failed to reconstruct the Holy Roman Empire (the title was adopted by the Ottonians).
End of the Carolingians
Outside Threats …
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