The role of Anglo Saxon great hall complexes in kingdom formation (original) (raw)
Related papers
2020
The aim of this thesis is to explain why the early Anglo-Saxon great hall complexes were built, why and how they developed over time and why they were abandoned. This is accomplished through two complementary studies. First, Part I of the thesis (Chapters 2-3) presents a broad comparative study of all known great hall complexes, exploring their characteristics, functions and development over time. Then, Part II (Chapters 4-8) explores the regional context of great hall complexes in the Upper Thames Valley, analysing the development of socio-economic power in the burials and settlements of the Upper Thames Valley and exploring the role of great hall complexes in this development. Chapters 8-9 bring together the conclusions from Part I and II of the thesis, building a comprehensive chronological narrative of the emergence, development and obsolescence of great hall complexes. In the course of these two studies, this thesis finds substantial and wide-ranging evidence for a chronologica...
Medieval Archaeology, 2018
THE GREAT HALL complex represents one of the most distinctive and evocative expressions of the Anglo-Saxon settlement record, and is widely cited as a metaphor for the emergence of kingship in early medieval England. Yet interpretation of these sites remains underdeveloped and heavily weighted towards the excavated findings from the well-known site of Yeavering in Northumberland. Inspired by the results of recent excavations at Lyminge, Kent, this paper undertakes a detailed comparative interrogation of three great hall complexes in Kent, and exploits this new regional perspective to advance our understanding of the agency and embodied meanings of these settlements as 'theatres of power'. Explored through the thematic prisms of place, social memory and monumental hybridity, this examination leads to a new appreciation of the involvement of great hall sites in the genealogical strategies of 7th-century royal dynasties and a fresh perspective on how this remarkable, yet short-lived, monumental idiom was adapted to harness the symbolic capital of Romanitas.
2017
This thesis presents the first detailed and systematic examination of Anglo-Saxon ‘great hall complexes’. Characterised by their architectural grandeur and spatial formality, these rare and impressive sites represent a distinct class of high-status settlement that were primarily occupied during the later sixth and seventh centuries AD. Though their existence has been known to archaeologists since the mid-twentieth century, a series of recent and high-profile excavations has reignited the debate about these sites and necessitated the provision of a comprehensive study. Following an introductory account, the thesis begins with an archaeological review. This considers sixteen great hall complexes that are known from across the Anglo-Saxon realm. From this, a definition and broader characterisation of the great hall phenomenon is advanced. A series of four regional case studies represent the analytical core of the thesis. Focused on specific great hall complexes, and underpinned by comprehensive regional gazetteers, these investigations utilise a wide-ranging and multiscalar programme of spatial and chronological analysis in order to model the data. Particular emphasis is placed on the landscape context of sites, as is their interaction with wider hinterlands. The results are contextualised within a broader archaeo-historical framework, with original interpretations offered for each of the great hall complexes under consideration. It is concluded that great hall complexes likely operated as administrative centres and nodes of governance within broader socio-economic and politico-religious networks. It is also maintained that they fulfilled a range of social and symbolic functions – as emblematic displays of political authority that were emplaced within landscapes of power designed to legitimise and institutionalise emergent political hegemonies. Ultimately, it is argued, great hall complexes are to be understood as archaeological manifestations of the more overtly hierarchical society that was emerging in the sixth century.
An archaeological evaluation at the site of an Anglo-Saxon great hall complex at Sutton Courtenay/Drayton (NGR 448733, 193671), previously known primarily from aerial photographs and metal-detector finds, included the partial excavation of two large timber buildings. One of these proved to be the largest Anglo-Saxon great hall yet identified and had been cut into a prehistoric mound or bank. The smaller building overlay an earlier sunken-featured building of probable sixth-century date. The geophysical survey and excavation provide significant new information regarding the site, which is probably that of an undocumented royal centre associated with the earliest rulers of the West Saxons.
Early Medieval Great Hall Complexes in England: Temporality and Site Biographies
Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History 22, 2020
This paper offers a critical reconsideration of the social, spatial and temporal dynamics of sixth- to eighth-century great hall complexes in England. The major interpretative issues and constraints imposed by the data are considered, and the sites are then subject to comparative analysis across long-term and short-term temporal scales. The former highlights persistence of antecedent activity and centrality, the latter the ways in which the built environment was perceived in the past, structured social action, and was a medium for the construction and consolidation of elite identity and authority. Within the broad similarity that defines the site-type there is evidence for considerable diversity and complexity of site history and afterlife.
Yeavering and Early Anglo-Saxon Kingship: Settlement, Architecture and Power
North West Universities Medieval History Seminar Group, 2013
This is the approximate spoken text, around which I extemporised, of a paper given to the North West Universities Medieval History Seminar Group (the M6 Seminar), at the University of Manchester, on Wednesday 3 June 2013. All references to the discussed sites and academic works are provided in the subsequent PhD chapter into which this article evolved. My thinking developed considerably in this area during the course of my PhD, and archaeological work also continues apace in this area, not least that associated with the excavation of Lyminge in Kent. This paper is reflective of my preliminary thoughts on the relationship between ‘elite’ settlement and old English kingship, albeit that it was more of a vehicle for asking questions than answering them. I am uploading it here in the event that it might also provide ‘something to think with’ for others.
The Evidence for Royal Sites in Middle Anglo-Saxon London
2005
Reviews the evidence for royal sites or `palaces' in London between AD 650 and 850, with particular reference to recent reappraisals of archaeological investigations in the Cripplegate area of the City and at the Treasury, Whitehall.