Kingship and Consent in Anglo-Saxon England, 871–978: Assemblies and the State in the Early Middle Ages

320 Pages·2013·3.064 MB·English

by  Levi Roach

KINGSHIP AND CONSENT IN ANGLO-SAXON
ENGLAND, 871–978
This engaging new study focuses on the role of assemblies in later
Anglo-Saxon politics, challenging and nuancing existing models of the
late Anglo-Saxon state. Its ten chapters investigate both traditional con-
stitutional aspects of assemblies – who attended these events, where and
when they met, and what business they conducted – and the symbolic and
representational nature of these gatherings. Levi Roach takes into account
important recent work on continental rulership, and argues that assem-
blies were not a check on kingship in these years, but rather an essential
feature of it. In particular, the author highlights the role of symbolic com-
munication at assemblies, arguing that ritual and demonstration were as
important in English politics as they were elsewhere in Europe. Far from
being exceptional, the methods of rulership employed by English kings
look very much like those witnessed elsewhere on the continent, where
assemblies and ritual formed an essential part of the political order.
LEVI ROACH is a lecturer in Medieval History at the University of
Exeter.
Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and T hought
Fourth Series
General Editor:
rosamond mckitterick
Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Sidney Sussex College
Advisory Editors:
christine carpenter
Professor of Medieval English History, University of Cambridge
jonathan shepard
The series Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought was inaugurated by
G. G. Coulton in 1921; Professor Rosamond McKitterick now acts as General
Editor of the Fourth Series, with Professor Christine Carpenter and Dr Jonathan
Shepard as Advisory Editors. The series brings together outstanding work by
medieval scholars over a wide range of human endeavour extending from polit-
ical economy to the history of ideas.
This is book 92 in the series, and a full list of titles in the series can be found at:
www.cambridge.org/medievallifeandthought
KINGSHIP AND CONSENT
IN ANGLO-SAXON
ENGLAND, 871–9 78
Assemblies and the State in the Early Middle Ages
LEVI ROACH
University of Exeter
University Printing House, Cambridge CB 2 8B S , United Kingdom
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.
It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107036536
© Levi Roach 2013
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2013
Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Roach, Levi, 1985–
Kingship and consent in Anglo-Saxon England, 871–978 : assemblies and the state
in the early Middle Ages / Levi Roach, University of Exeter.
pages cm. – (Cambridge studies in Medieval life and thought, Fourth series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-107-03653-6 (hardback)
1. England. Witenagemot. 2. Anglo Saxons–Politics and government. I. Title.
jn513.r63 2013
320.942′09021–dc23
2013018452
isbn 978-1-107-03653-6 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of
URL s for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
CONTENTS
List of maps page v ii
List of tables v iii
Acknowledgements i x
List of abbreviations xi
1 I ntroduction: assembling consent in
late ninth- and tenth-century England 1
Absent assemblies: the historiography of the Anglo-Saxon
‘national assembly’ 1
Assembly politics and the formation of the ‘kingdom of
the English’, 871–978 6
Kingship, assemblies and the ‘late Anglo-Saxon state’ 1 1
Assemblies and rituals: continental contributions and
anthropological approaches 1 4
Dei ning assemblies: outline and scope of the study 2 0
2 A ssembly attendance 2 7
Assembly attendance in the ‘kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons’,
871–909 × 925 2 9
Assembly attendance in the ‘kingdom of the English’, c . 925–978 3 2
Conclusions 4 3
3 M eeting places and times of assemblies 4 5
Locating meaning: the meeting places of the w itan , 871–978 4 5
‘Diplomatic’ meetings 4 8
‘Legislative’ meetings 5 3
‘Dispositive’ meetings 5 4
‘Diplomatic’, ‘legislative’ and ‘dispositive’ assemblies: the relationship
revisited 6 4
Preliminary conclusions 6 7
Meeting times, duration and frequency of assemblies 71
v
Contents
4 Royal charters and assemblies 77
Diploma production and assemblies 7 8
Diplomas and assembly politics 8 9
Conclusions 1 01
5 Legislation and consent: law-making
and assembly politics 104
The witan and the law 107
Law-codes and royal administration 1 13
The witan and the law: preliminary conclusions 1 21
6 The W ITAN and the settlement of disputes 122
Dispute settlement in Anglo-Saxon charters 124
Dispute settlement in house chronicles 1 37
Law-codes, dispute settlement and the witan : conclusions 1 43
7 The ‘further business’ of the W ITAN 147
Consensus, assemblies and the administration of the realm 1 48
Conclusions 1 59
8 Symbols in context: ritual and demonstration
at assemblies 161
Rites and rituals at assemblies 1 62
Ritual and ceremony at and beyond assemblies 1 73
Emotional displays 1 74
Symbolizing community and hierarchy 1 76
Rituals of petition and intercession 1 84
Rites de passage and the distribution of gifts and oi ces 1 90
Ritual and demonstration at assemblies: preliminary conclusions 1 94
9 Ritual and reality: the problem of the sources 195
Ritual and symbolism beyond narrative sources 1 96
The sources of ritual 2 02
Conclusions 2 08
10 The role of the W ITAN : celebration and
persuasion 2 12
Kingship and consent: the witan and the late Anglo-Saxon state 2 13
Rituals and assemblies in England and on the continent 2 27
Assemblies and kingship in England, 871–978: i nal observations 2 35
Appendix: Meetings of the w itan , 871–978 2 39
Locatable meetings of the w itan 2 39
Dated meetings of the witan 243
Bibliography 2 44
Index 2 92
vi
MAPS
1 ‘Diplomatic’ assemblies, 871–978 page 50
2 ‘Legislative’ assemblies, 871–978 5 5
3 ‘Dispositive’ assemblies, 871–924 58
4 ‘Dispositive’ assemblies, 924–39 6 1
5 ‘Dispositive’ assemblies, 939–78 65
vii
TABLES
1 Locatable meetings of the w itan : meetings recorded in
narrative sources, 871–978 p age 239
2 Locatable meetings of the w itan : assemblies recorded in
law-codes, 871–978 240
3 Locatable meetings of the w itan : assemblies recorded in
charters, 871–978 241
4 Dated meetings of the w itan , 891–978 243
viii