Archaeology of the Medieval English Monarchy

227 Pages·1999·6.75 MB·English

by  John Steane

The
ARCHAEOLOGY
of the
MEDIEVAL
ENGLISH
MONARCHY
JOHN STEANE
Routledge
London and New York
First published 1993
by B.T. Batsford Ltd
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
First published in paperback 1999
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 100001
© John Steane 1993
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-16522-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-25962-9 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-19788-0 (Print Edition)
Contents
List of illustrations 6
Foreword by HRH Prince Richard of Gloucester 8
Preface 10
Acknowledgements 12
1 Symbols of power 13
2 Burials of the medieval royal family 41
3 Royal accommodation 71
4 Palace and castle gardens 117
5 The peaceful activities of court life 123
6 Formalized violence: hunting, hawking and
jousting 146
7 The monarchy, religion and education 163
References 208
Index 219
Illustrations
1 A royal sword 14 32 Tomb of Henry VII and Elizabeth of
2 Effigies of the children of Edward III in York, Westminster Abbey 68
Westminster Abbey 16 33 Ground-plan of the palace of
3 A seated king on the west front of Wells Westminster 74
Cathedral 19 34 Westminster Hall 76
4 The image screen on the west front of 35 Westminster Hall, roof truss and
Exeter Cathedral 20 principal timbers 77
5 Survey of the image screen on the west 36 Distribution map of the king’s houses
front of Exeter Cathedral 21 1154–1216 80
6 Screen of kings on the west front of 37 Remains of a royal hunting lodge in
Lincoln Cathedral 22 Sherwood Forest 81
7 Seal of Edward I 23 38 Distribution map of the king’s houses
8 Seal press from Canterbury Cathedral 24 and castles 1216–72 82
9 Second Great Seal of Richard I 25 39 Clarendon Palace 85
10 Second Great Seal of Edward III 26 40 Site of Woodstock Palace 85
11 Seal of Henry II 27 41 King’s Langley Palace 86
12 Tile from the Chapter House, 42 Royal hunting lodge, Writtle 87
Westminster Abbey 28 43 Plan of Eltham Palace 89
13 First Great Seal of Edward III 29 44 Bridge at Eltham Palace 89
14 Second Great Seal of Henry IV 30 45 Eltham Palace, the royal apartments 90
15 A crown from the court of Richard II 34 46 A reconstruction of the plan of Bridewell
16 First stage of the coronation chair, Palace 91
Westminster Abbey 38 47 The excavation of Bridewell Palace 92
17 Decoration on the coronation chair, 48 Nonsuch Palace 93
Westminster Abbey 39 49 Pickering Castle 94
18 Details of the coronation chair, 50 The remains of the royal palace at
Westminster Abbey 39 Cheddar 95
19 The shrine of St Edward the Confessor, 51 Corfe Castle, The Gloriette 96
Westminster Abbey 45 52 Eltham Palace, the great hall 96
20 Reconstruction of the shrine of 53 St Mary’s Guildhall, Lincoln 97
St Edward the Confessor 46 54 Winchester Palace defences 98
21 Tomb of Henry III, Westminster Abbey 47 55 Winchester, the south wall of the
22 Distribution map of Eleanor Crosses 49 Great Hall 99
23 Eleanor Cross, Hardingstone 50 56 Hampton Court, Great Hall 100
24 Fragments of an Eleanor Cross from 57 Artificial lighting 101
Cheapside, London 51 58 Hampton Court, the great kitchen 103
25 Eleanor Cross, Geddington 51 59 Cellar at Hampton Court 105
26 Tomb of Eleanor of Castile, 60 King’s Langley Palace 105
Westminster Abbey 52 61 The wine cellar, King’s Langley 106
27 The effigy of Eleanor of Castile, 62 Clarendon Palace 107
Westminster Abbey 54 63 Windsor Castle and Eton College 108
28 The tomb of Edward II, Gloucester 64 Windsor Castle, undercroft 109
Cathedral 56 65–66 Windsor Castle, Upper Ward and
29 Tomb of Edward III, Westminster New College, Oxford 111
Abbey 57 67 Windsor Castle 112
30 Tomb of Richard II and Anne of 68 Tower of London 114
Bohemia, Westminster Abbey 59 69 Wakefield Tower, Tower of London 114
31 Details of the effigy of Richard II, 70 Conwy Castle, Inner Ward 115
Westminster Abbey 60 71 Nonsuch Palace, Banqueting House 119
ILLUSTRATIONS
72 Kenilworth Castle 121 98 The Black Prince’s gauntlets,
73 Kenilworth Castle, the Pleasance 122 Canterbury Cathedral 161
74 a Muniment chest; b travelling chest; 99 Earthenware stove-tile 162
c coffer; d coffer 127 100 Badge with royal crown 165
75 Silver-gilt casket with heraldic 101 Westminster Abbey, portions built by
decoration 128 Henry III 166
76 A badge in the form of the letter ‘R’ 129 102 The shrine of St Edward the Confessor,
77 Baynard’s Castle 130 Westminster Abbey 170
78 Badge in the form of a lion 131 103 Steelyard weight 171
79 Royalist sun badge 132 104 Chapter House pavement, Westminster
80 Silver collar of ‘SS’ 132 Abbey 173
81 Hart badge 133 105 Portrait tiles from the Chapter House,
82 Royalist livery badge—the star in Westminster Abbey 175
crescent 133 106 Hunting scenes on tiles from the
83 The Dunstable swan brooch 133 Chapter House, Westminster
84 Badge of a chained swan 133 Abbey 175
85 Fragments of a table from Westminster 107 Chapel of St Mary, Palace of
Hall 135 Westminster 179
86 Copper alloy jug dating from the reign 108 St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle 182
of Richard II 136 109 Openwork pilgrim badge from
87 ‘King Arthur’s Round Table’ 138 Walsingham 187
88 Detail of tomb of Henry III, 110 Pilgrim badge commemorating the
Westminster Abbey 144 Sacred Heart, Bromholm 190
89 Mural from St Stephen’s chapel, 111 Tiles from the abbey church at Hailes 191
Westminster Abbey 145 112 Hailes Abbey 192
90 The Savernake horn 147 113 Pilgrim badge from Hailes Abbey 193
91 Tollard Royal 149 114 Pilgrim badge of Edward II 193
92 Memorial brass from Higham Ferrers 151 115 Magdalen College, Oxford, remains
93 a Badge of an eagle; b badge of of hospital 195
Edward III 152 116 Maison Dieu, Ospringe 197
94 a A hawk’s hood; b hawking glove 154 117 Reconstruction of buildings at Maison
95 The Black Prince’s helm and crest, Dieu, Ospringe 198
Canterbury Cathedral 160 118 Plan of Eton College 201
96 Ostrich feather badge 161 119 Eton College 203
97 The Black Prince’s shield, Canterbury 120 King’s College chapel, Cambridge 204
Cathedral 161 121 West end of King’s College chapel 206
Title page:
The seal of Edward I. See Fig. 7.
7
Foreword
By HRH Prince Richard of Gloucester
T
he advance of modern technology has excavating a deserted medieval village at
enabled archaeologists to deduce a
Lyveden on my farm in Northamptonshire.
great deal more information from the
Here he found and published his excavation
artifacts that they unearth than could
their predecessors. It is not only the speed with of an industrial site which extended our un-
which computers can supply information, but derstanding about the technology of the me-
also the immensely powerful microscopes that dieval pottery industry. His sixth formers were
can identify where things have originated and
involved in the excavations and a number
further processes that can date objects so much
went on to become professional archaeolo-
more accurately.
gists. He enlarged his interests to include the
The use of these techniques to identify ob-
whole man-made environment when he wrote
jects with certainty, removes much of the
The Northamptonshire Landscape (Hodder
speculation about the distant past and pro-
and Stoughton 1974). At this point he
vides a firm framework, from which histo-
switched careers and joined the Oxfordshire
rians can make the more interesting specu-
Museum Service as its second County Ar-
lations as to why historical personalities may
have behaved the way they did. chaeological Officer. He continued to foster
This country has always been rich in his- the study of archaeology in schools as a mem-
torical documents, much studied and re- ber of the Council for British Archaeology’s
ported on in the vast bibliography that can Schools Committee. But his developing inter-
be extracted from libraries. However, the ests brought him increasingly in contact with
work of archaeologists provides further ref- the medieval English monarchy. He had writ-
erence points to enable us to seek to answer ten on the royal fishponds of Northampton-
the questions that interest us today, rather shire as early as 1970 and subsequently made
than only those that the chroniclers chose forays into the subjects of parks, forests and
to write about at the time. hunting. His interests in royal government
It is the archaeologist’s skill to deduce a were given expression in Chapter One of The
great deal from very little—like Sherlock Archaeology of Medieval England and Wales
Holmes—it comes from knowing what to (Croom Helm, London 1984). He surveyed
look for and how to compare it with previ- royal fishponds across the country in an arti-
ous discoveries. They are then able to dem- cle of 1988.
onstrate to the public how to read the evi- The present book attempts what I think
dence—very often the very landscape we see no one has tried to do before. Traditionally
in front of us—as proof of occupation by the subject has been the preserve of histori-
particular groups of people at a certain pe- ans who have used the incomparable wealth
riod. of documents and chronicles at their disposal.
I first met John Steane, the author of this Here a survey is made of the material evi-
book, when he was Headmaster of Kettering dence for the activities and life-style of the
Grammar School. He spent six summers medieval monarchy. The new facts coming
8
FOREWORD
from excavations are combined with a me- other abilities and the economic fortunes of
ticulous study of the buildings which remain his times. Much of what was achieved was
above ground. The few artifacts which have done by bluff, for the monarch’s resources
undeniable royal associations are also scruti- were only marginally greater than many of
nised. The result is a vivid and at times unu- his more powerful subjects.
sual reconstruction of the lives of perhaps the Shakespeare’s histories speculate on the
most prominent element in medieval society. ambitions of these characters and the fates
The eye of an excavating archaeologist has which brought them success or failure, but
joined with the historical researcher to an- it is the archaeologist who can make the
swer exactly those questions that we would clearest distinction between the similarities
most like to know about the medieval mon- and the differences between then and today.
archy, but which the contemporary chroni- The ruins of castles, abbeys and palaces
clers could not or dared not tell us. found in all corners of the country mark the
A medieval King had not the complicated passing of this age, they also provide a sense
machinery of a modern state to help him of the significance of the past, not as just an
share the responsibility for the future of his inevitability, but monuments to exceptional
people. His success as a King depended on individuals, who rose to prominence and in-
his ability as a general, as well as an admin- fluenced their communities for good or evil.
istrator and a moral leader. How much time I hope this book will provide many insights
he could afford to devote to his own inter- and bring a greater sense of understanding
ests of, maybe, hunting, music and architec- of the past and the way our present came to
ture, or raising an heir capable of succeed- be created as a consequence of people and
ing to his responsibilities, depended on his the conflicts of their ideas and beliefs.
9