Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests in Northern Britain AD 550-850

508 Pages·2003·69.59 MB·English

by  Leslie Alcock

INGS
~AR I QR
GRAFTSMEN PRIESTS
&
IN NORTHERN BRITAIN AD 550-850
LESLIE ALCOCK

Kings and warriors, craftsmen and priests
Leslie Alcock
Dedicated
to the treasured memory of
ELIZABETH A ALCOCK (nee Blair)
1923-1998
Companion, Collaborator, Critic
without whom this work could never have been
conceived or completed
KINGS AND WARRIORS,
CRAFTSMEN AND PRIESTS
in Northern Britain AD 550-850
LESLIE ALCOCK
illustration
Sylvia Stevenson
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND
MONOGRAPH SERIES
EDINBURGH 2003
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND
MONOGRAPH SERIES
Editor ALEXANDRA SHEPHERD
The Society gratefully acknowledges generous grant-aid towards
the publication of this volume from:
HISTORIC-SCOTLAND
The Hunter Archaeological Trust
The Russell Trust
&
The Strathmartine Trust
Text © Leslie Alcock
Cover illustration:
Front: king, from the Dupplin Cross (Historic Scotland); warriors, from the Aberlemno
Churchyard stone (Historic Scotland); craftsmen, Matthew as scribe from the Lindisfarne
Gospels (British Library); and priests, from the Fowlis Wester cross-slab.
Back: the Hunterston brooch (National Museums of Scotland).
Cover design by Kevin Hicks CFA Archaeology Ltd.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 0 903903 24 5
Typeset and originated by XL Publishing Services, Tiverton
Printed by Polestar AUP Ltd
CONTENTS
Dedication ii
Preface and acknowledgements xiii
Abbreviations xvi
List of illustrations xvii
List of tables xxii
Notes to the volume xxiii
Prologue: a scene from sporting life xxv
Part 1: INTRODUCTORY 1
1: Defining the themes 3
1.1 Defining northern Britain 3
1.2 The chronological scope: cAD 550-850 4
1.3 Kings, warriors, craftsmen and priests of 'An Heroic Age' 6
2: The witnesses 7
2.1 Introduction: written and material evidence 7
2.2 Classes of written evidence 8
.1 Narratives 8
.2 Annals, king-lists and related writings 10
.3 Poetry 11
2 .3 Chronological evidence 12
.1 Written sources 12
.2 Material evidence 13
.3 Scientific dating methods 14
2.4 Some general considerations; survivals, developments and inertia 15
3: The setting 17
3.1 The shape of the land 17
.1 The underlying structure 17
.2 The natural vegetation 18
3.2 The products and resources of the land 19
.1 The capacity for food production 19
.2 Stone, metals and other resources 21
3.3 A hostile environment? 22
.1 Climate and weather 22
.2 Plagues and afflictions 25
.3 Legend and faerie: confronting the supernatural 27
vi Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests
Part 2: STRUCTURES OF SOCIETY: POLITICS,
RELIGION, ECONOMY 29
4: Politics 1: kings & kingdoms 31
4.1 The behaviour of kings 32
.1 Violent kings 32
.2 Good kings 35
4.2 Kingdoms 37
.1 Introduction: definitions of kingdoms 37
.2 Kingdoms of the 7th and 8th centuries 38
.3 Origins of kingdoms & dynasties 40
.4 The end of a separate Pictish identity 46
5: Politics 2: resources of kingship 48
5.1 Material resources 48
.1 Land grants 48
.2 Food renders 49
.3 Military service 50
.4 King's works 51
5.2 Personnel: the king's supporters 52
.1 Female roles 52
.2 Male supporters: ranks and titles 53
.3 The Royal bodyguard 56
.4 Royal officials and advisors 57
6: Religion: from paganism to Christianity 59
6.1 Approaches 59
6. 2 Paganism 60
.1 Pagan beliefs 60
.2 Pagan burial practices 61
6.3 Christianity: early missions and conversions 63
.1 Fourth-and 5th-century conversions: the legacy of Rome
andNinian 63
.2 The 6th century - Columba 64
.3 The nature and legacy of the Columban mission 65
.4 The meaning of conversion 66
.5 Christian discipline and rites 67
6.4 Conversion from Rome 69
.1 The Augustinian mission 69
.2 Conversion in Northumbria -establishment of the Ninian
church 70
6.5 Missionary activity in north-west Europe 72
7: Christianity and society 73
7.1 The laity and the preaching of the Gospel 73
.1 Preachers and their methods 73
.2 Preaching aids 75
.3 Christian iconography -the role of the cross-slabs 75
7.2 The Church in society 78
.1 Relations of rulers and churchmen 78
.2 Iona's influence on secular affairs 79
Contents vii
.3 Christian attitude to warfare 80
.4 Christian attitude to marriage 81
8: The economy 83
801 Imports, exchange and currency 83
o1 Imported pottery and cargoes 84
02 Glass imports 87
03 Exports and trade 89
.4 Coinage 92
802 Crafts, industry and technology 93
01 Metalworking and metal products 93
02 Iron products 95
o3 Organic materials 101
.4 New technologies: mills and mortar-mixers 107
8.3 The basic rural economy 109
01 Fields, settlements and soils 109
02 Vegetation history 110
o3 Animals, domestic and wild 112
.4 The bottom line 114
Part 3: WARFARE 117
9: Occasions, motivations and limitations of war 119
9 01 Occasions of war: hastings 119
902 Motivations for war 121
01 Plunder, prisoners and hostages 121
02 Vengeance and blood-feuds 122
03 Territorial expansion 123
9.3 War by laying waste 123
9.4 Recruitment, voluntary and enforced 124
905 Limitations on war 126
ol Christian attitudes to war 126
02 Treaties and negotiations 127
9o6 Naval activity 128
10: Some significant campaigns & battles 131
1001 Ecgfrith's Pictish expedition, AD 685 131
01 Ecgfrith's early campaigns 131
02 Defeat at 'Nechtansmere' 133
o3 Aftermath 136
1002 Cadwallon's ravaging ofNorthumbria, AD 633-634 136
01 Background to confrontation with Edwin 136
02 The scale and extent of Cadwallon's ravaging 137
o3 Cadwallon's death at Heavenfield 138
10.31Ethelfrith's expedition to Chester 139
10.4 Aedan's hosting to Bernicia 139
10 05 The Northern British hosting to Catraeth/ Catterick 140
01 The sources 140
02 Route and location 142
03 Nature of the Catterick settlement 142
viii Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests
10.6 Two significant attacks on fortified places: Aft Glut and Dunadd 144
10.7 One warrior's experience of battle: Bede's account oflmma 145
11: Armies: composition and size 148
11.1 Composition of armies: horse and foot 149
.1 Evidence for the Pictish army 149
.2 The Dill Riatan army 150
.3 The army of the Britons 150
.4 The Anglian army 151
11.2 Size of armies 154
.1 The size of the Dill Riatan army 154
.2 Calculating the size of the armies of the Britons, Picts
and Angles 155
11.3 Military organisation 157
11.4 War-bands: the voluntary element 157
12: Weapons and weapon-play 160
12.1 Weapons and armour 160
.1 Occurrence and depiction 160
.2 Swords 161
.3 Spears 163
.4 Axes, daggers and bows 166
.5 Shields and body armour 169
.2 Weapon-play: pictorial and other evidence 171
.1 Evidence from the Franks casket 171
.2 Weapon-play on the Aberlemno Churchyard stone 172
.3 Military depictions on Sueno's Stone 176
.4 The evidence for wounds 177
13: Hillforts: defended & enclosed places 179
13.1 Introduction: defining terms and chronology 179
13.2 Classification of enclosed places 180
.1 Structural character of the enclosing work 180
.2 Main categories of plan and situation 183
13.3 Burghead: a case-study 192
.1 The ramparts 193
.2 The well 196
.3 The bull stones 197
13 .4 Forts in action 198
.1 Bamburgh 198
.2 Alt Glut 199
.3 Strategic roles 199
13.5 Crannogs and island sites 200
Tail-piece 201
Part 4: THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES OF SOCIETY 203
14: Centres of power & administration 205
14.1 Peaceful roles of forts 205