The Anglo-Saxons: End of an Age

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Normans, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

In our last session on the Anglo-Saxon period in England, we looked at how the period came to an end.

This video provides a handy short synopsis of the Viking invasion of England

These six short video clips from BBC Teach investigate the claimants to the throne in 1066, the battles at Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings, and then the aftermath as William secures his grip on the English throne.

In this documentary Tony Robinson reveals the real story behind the last great Anglo-Saxon king. Far from being just the loser at the Battle of Hastings, Harold was a charismatic leader.

If you would like to do further reading, the following webpages may be of interest to you:

• How was the kingdom of England formed? (British Library)
• History of Anglo-Saxon England (Wikipedia)
• Legacy of the Vikings (BBC)
• Danelaw (Encylopedia Britannica)
• Danelaw (Wikipedia)
• The Danish and Norman Conquests of England (British Library)
• The Battle of Hastings: Fact and Fiction (British Library)
• Norman conquest of England (Wikipedia)

Don’t forget that if you wish to look back over the resources available in this blog, just select Saxon in the tag cloud on the left to filter the entries to just those with relevant material. If you wish to see what happened next, select Normans to pull up resources relating to the Norman world.

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The Anglo-Saxons: Leechbooks

Tags

archaeology, education, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

In our last session we looked at health and medicine in the Anglo-Saxon period. There is already some information about Anglo-Saxon Health and Medicine in a previous entry of this blog.

Anglo-Saxons called their medical texts ‘leechbooks’. One of the most famous of these is Bald’s Leechbook which is now held at the British Library.

Another text on the subject is called the Lacnunga, miscellaneous charms from which are available online. The digitised manuscript can be seen at the British Library website.

The short video clip below is a translated reading of the Nine Herbs Charm:

This short video clip presents a reading in Old English of the Wïð Fǣrstiċe charm:

The Anglo-Saxons: The Staffordshire Hoard

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

In yesterday’s session, we also mentioned the Staffordshire Hoard. If you wish to see this for yourself, it is on display in a permanent exhibition at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery.

The following videos also provide more information:

The Anglo-Saxons: Trade

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

In yesterday’s session, we discussed Anglo-Saxon buildings and burhs, and their role in both a military and economic capacity. If you wish to find out more about trade in Anglo-Saxon England, the following websites may be of interest:

– Trade in Anglo-Saxon England (Regia Anglorum)
– Anglo-Saxon Crafts and Trade (Dorling Kindersley)
– Anglo-Saxon Trade (Ashmolean)
– The Anglo-Saxon View of the Outside World (The History of England Blog)
– Little Carlton, Lincolnshire (Mail Online)

The Anglo-Saxons: Funerary Customs

Tags

archaeology, education, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

In our last session on the Anglo-Saxons, we looked at their funerary customs. This episode from season 18 of ‘Time Team’ looked at an Anglo-Saxon cemetery at East Langton, Leicestershire. This includes a reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon cremation.

One of the most famous Anglo-Saxon burials is, of course, the ship burial from Sutton Hoo. This video takes a closer look at this famous site:

The Sutton Hoo helmet has become an icon and featured as one of the Masterpieces of the British Museum:

The Anglo-Saxons: Old English

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

There are already some resources available in this blog for those who wish to find out more about Old English and Beowulf, however, this is a short video clip which illustrates the evolution of the English language from Old English to the present day by assuming you had a time machine and went back in time, stopping off at various stages to see how English was spoken then:

This short TED-Ed video also discusses the evolution of the English language:

 

The Anglo-Saxons: Paganism and Christianity

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

In our last session, we discussion Anglo-Saxon paganism and the conversion to Christianity. If you wish to find out more about this topic, the following websites may be of interest to you:

• Anglo-Saxon Paganism (Wikipedia)
• What did the Anglo-Saxons believe? (BBC Bitesize)
• Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England (Wikipedia)
• Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England (Dickinson College)
• The Venerable Bede (Durham World Heritage Site)
• The Venerable Bede (British Library)
• The Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Internet History Sourcebooks)

The Anglo-Saxons: Society and Social Structure

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

In yesterday’s session, we discussed the society and social structure of Anglo-Saxon England. If you’re interested in finding out more about this subject, you may find the following webpages useful:

• Anglo-Saxon society pre-1066 (BBC Bitesize)
• Anglo-Saxon Social Organisation (Regia Anglorum)
• Anglo-Saxons (Wikipedia)
• Who were the Anglo Saxons? (British Library)

The Anglo-Saxons: Place Names

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon

In the last session we looked at place names of Anglo-Saxon origin. If you are interested in finding out more about English place names, the Institute for Name Studies at the University of Nottingham has a website which allows you to search for names by source language, including Old English.

The webpages below may also be interest to you:

– The Origins of English Place Names
– Anglo-Saxon Place Names (Wilcuma)
– Anglo-Saxon Place Names (Yorkshire Dialect Society)

The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England

Tags

archaeology, education, England, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Saxon, WEA

There are already a number of resources on this blog which may be of interest to those of you on the Anglo-Saxons course. Just click on the word Saxon in the left hand menu and you will bring up all those entries that have been tagged as being related to the Anglo-Saxons. These include several video clips which you may wish to watch, as well as links to additional information on topics we cover during the course.