Anglo-Saxon England and the Book
The Anglo-Saxons entered the historical scene in the fifth century CE as pagan Germanic pirates and mercenaries, accompanied by their camp-followers. This was part of a much wider movement of 'barbarian' peoples (those living beyond the frontiers of Roman territory) who forced their way into the empire, stimulated by a variety of motives. By the time of the Norman conquest in 1066, Anglo-Saxon England was one of the most sophisticated states of the medieval West, renowned for its cultural and ecclesiastical achievements and possessing complex administrative, legal and financial structures, many aspects of which were preserved by the new Norman élite.
Command of the written word, in addition to a well-developed oral tradition, was of tremendous importance in this transformation.  | | The British Library | Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica.
820s-30s?; Kent (or Mercia)?
The opening of Book I of Bede's History of the English Church and People, composed at Jarrow and completed in 731. (BL Shelfmark Cotton MS Tiberius C.II, f5v.) |
The Anglo-Saxons were introduced to a full system of literacy as part of the process of conversion to Christianity, an enterprise launched by both the Celtic and Roman churches, with some Gaulish participation, in the late sixth century. Within a century they and their Celtic neighbours had transformed the book into a rich vehicle for their distinctive art and culture, which was to exert an influence throughout the Middle Ages and beyond.
The four phases of Anglo-Saxon history
The Anglo-Saxon period may perhaps usefully be viewed as a series of phases: first, the sub-Roman and migration period (early fifth to late sixth century); second, the insular period (later sixth to mid-ninth century); third, the Alfredian renewal (late ninth century); fourth, the later Anglo-Saxon period (tenth and eleventh centuries, to 1066).
Each phase brought new developments to the history of the book. The sub-Roman period witnessed a certain level of continuity of the literacy of antiquity, through the agency of the church. In the face of the pagan Germanic onslaught, the indigenous British church largely retreated into the 'highland zone' (modern 'Celtdom'). It participated actively in the conversion of Ireland where a distinctive Christian culture emerged, noted for its learning and influenced by its Celtic and British legacies and those of the eastern Mediterranean, Gaul and Spain. Episcopal and monastic organisations were adopted, Latin was learnt systematically as a new language, and a system of scripts was developed, free from the vulgarisation often experienced in areas of the old empire (of which Ireland never formed a part). The earliest surviving books from these islands (such as Codex Usserianus and the Springmount Bog Tablets) were produced in Ireland, probably during the early seventh century.
In England the resistance to the Germanic advance, associated with Ambrosius Aurelianus and the historically elusive figure of Arthur, had collapsed by the second half of the sixth century (as lamented by the British monk Gildas), and by c.600 a myriad of small Anglo-Saxon political units had been established, out of which several larger kingdoms emerged. Of these Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Northumbria (Deira and Bernicia) and Mercia assumed prominence. Pockets of indigenous British settlement and some kingdoms (notably Strathclyde, Rheged and Elmet) survived, but the bulk of the population was forced into Wales, Cornwall and southern Scotland, whilst many migrated to Brittany.
he Anglo-Saxons was undertaken on two fronts: by the Celtic church, established in the Irish kingdom of Dal Riada in Argyll (notably at Iona) and extending its missionary activity throughout Scotland and into England; and by the Roman church, through the mission of St Augustine to Kent in 597. Despite certain differences in religious observation, which were discussed at the famous Synod of Whitby in 664 and settled in favour of the Roman mainstream, members of both groups worked together on the process of conversion within England, the Germanic homelands and elsewhere on the continent. So akin were the cultures of Britain and Ireland at this stage that the term 'insular' is often applied, indicating a level of shared cultural identity throughout the islands, although each area retained its own distinctive character.
The Christian culture of insular England
During the seventh century, the Christian culture of Anglo-Saxon England took shape, given substance by the formalisation of an ecclesiastical structure throughout England by Archbishop Theodore, a Greek-speaking monk from Tarsus in Asia Minor, who was appointed to Canterbury in his sixties and was in office from 669 to 690. Theodore and his colleague from Africa--Hadrian, Abbot of St Augustine's--established a remarkable school at Canterbury which revolutionised learning in England, bringing Mediterranean influence to bear upon a curriculum which focused upon metre (poetic composition), computus (the study of chronology) and astronomy, as well as the study of Scripture.
Such a curriculum was also adopted in the romanising foundations of Northumbria, notably the twin monasteries of Monkwearmouth (674) and Jarrow (682). The brightest star in this scholarly firmament was Bede (673-735), who entered Jarrow as a child and remained there, with very rare sorties, for the remainder of a remarkable working life.
The works of Anglo-Saxon scholars such as Aldhelm and Bede were immediate 'best-sellers'. Correspondence of the period contains numerous requests for copies of these, and liturgical books, especially via the continent. Both Irish and English religious personnel had carried their faith to the continent from the seventh century, founding monasteries such as Luxeuil, St Gall and Bobbio (Columbanus), Echternach (Willibrord) and Fulda (Boniface). These centres continued to receive recruits from their homelands and made a positive contribution to continental learning, culminating in the Carolingian 'renaissance' of the late eighth to ninth centuries, in which Charlemagne was assisted by one of the most learned churchmen of his day, Alcuin of York (c.735-804). Alcuin tells us that the York library was among the finest of the age, but, alas, no surviving books of the period may be convincingly attributed to it, indicating how much has been lost.
The ascendancy enjoyed by Northumbria during much of the seventh century gave way to that of Mercia under kings Aethelbald (reigned 716-57), Offa (757-96) and Coenwulf (796-821), who extended their authority throughout much of an often unwilling Southumbria. The manuscripts and other works of art produced south of the  | | The British Library |  The Athelstan Psalter.
English additions of the tenth century (pre 939), to a ninth century book from the Liège area.
King Athelstan (r.924-39) collected and commissioned a number of books. This manuscript was obtained from the Continent and 'modernized' in accordance with English taste. The additions included this miniature of Christ in Majesty. (BL Shelfmark Cotton MS Galba A.XVIII, f2v.) |
River Humber during this time exhibit Mediterranean and Oriental influences, and there is evidence of complex relations with the Carolingian empire. The latter trend was cultivated by the southern English ecclesiastics, notably the formidable Archbishop of Canterbury, Wulfred (805-32), partly as an aid to combating secular control of the monasteries.
The Vikings and Alfred the Great
A Mercia weakened by dissent had yielded its supremacy to Wessex, under King Egbert (reigned 802-39), by 830. The middle years of the ninth century witnessed continuing Carolingian relations, but increasingly attention was focused upon a new threat--the Vikings. Lindisfarne fell prey to the first Scandinavian attack in 793, sending shockwaves throughout the West. In 865 the first great Viking army arrived, and by 870 only Wessex effectively continued to resist.
The reign of Alfred the Great (871-99) witnessed progressive Viking invasion and settlement, which he eventually managed to check, symbolised by his treaty with Guthrum, leader of the Danes in East Anglia, drawn up between 886 and 890. This partitioned England into the Danelaw (Northumbria, East Anglia and the 'Five Boroughs', incorporating much of Mercia) and 'English' England, the latter preserving Wessex and the territory south of the Thames, and the south-western part of Mercia. The other issue which most preoccupied Alfred was the religious and cultural degeneracy of England, to which its woes were attributed. He recruited a scholarly team composed of Mercians (Wreath, Plegmund, Werwulf and Aethelstan), a Welshman (Asser) and two continental scholars (Grimbald of St Bertin and John the Old Saxon). The programme for the revival of book-learning (and thereby spiritual renewal) included a policy of translation into Old English of works of particular relevance to the situation.
A turning-point had been reached in English literacy: a degree of preservation of older, insular culture was established, continental influence became even more of a feature of Anglo-Saxon culture, and new trends in vernacular literacy were developed. Likewise, on the political front the scene was set for the next phase of English history, dominated by the reconquest of the Danelaw and a new sense of national unity. By the end of his reign Athelstan (925-39) had begun to assert the rule of a single monarchy throughout England and into southern Scotland and Wales, this new-found stability permitting him to engage in a series of diplomatic relations with the continent and to indulge his love of art and learning, with the acquisition of works, relics and influences from varied sources.
The second half of the tenth century saw the introduction of a major campaign for monastic reform, along continental lines, favouring (theoretically) the wholesale observance of the Rule of St Benedict (prior to this, those in charge of individual religious establishments could generally determine their own observance). Under the patronage of King Edgar (959-75) three great reforming prelates operated: Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury (960-88), Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester (963-84) and Oswald, Bishop of Worcester (961-92; also Archbishop of York, 971-92).  | | The British Library | The New Minster Charter.
c. 966, Winchester, New Minster.
This frontispiece to King Edgar's charter to the New Minster, commemorating its adoption of Benedictinism, is the earliest example of the fully painted 'Winchester' style. Edgar is shown, between the Virgin and St Peter, presenting the charter to Christ. (BL Shelfmark Cotton MS Vespasian A.VIII, f2v.) | This period of collaboration between Church and State witnessed a spectacular flowering of the arts, Dunstan and Aethelwold themselves being accomplished craftsmen, with no shortage of patronage.
The fall of the Anglo-Saxons
The late tenth and early eleventh centuries witnessed renewed disruption, with succession crises, conflict between pro- and anti-reform parties, alliance with Normandy and weak government under Ethelred II 'Unrĉd', the 'ill-advised' (978-1016). Scandinavian intervention recommenced, this time associated with the ambitions of a centralised Danish monarchy, resulting in the accession of Cnut (1016-35). England became part of a northern, Scandinavian empire: peace was assured (formalised by Cnut's social contract with the English, of 1019-20, in which protection was pledged in return for allegiance) and the arts once again flourished, patronised by the king and his wives.
Succession conflicts followed Cnut's death, culminating in the accession of Edward 'the Confessor' (1042-66), another patron of the arts. However, instability had permitted the English earls to grow overmighty. Upon Edward's death his brother-in-law, Harold Godwine, Earl of Wessex, seized the throne (despite the claims of Edward's ally, William of Normandy). His reign lasted less than a year, during which the threads of international relations woven during the preceding years took substance in the events narrated by the Bayeux Tapestry. With the Norman conquest of 1066, the political reality of Anglo-Saxon England came to an end. Fortunately its cultural identity did not.
The testimony of Domesday Book, a phenomenal property survey drawn up towards the end of the reign of William I (1066-87), charts the fall of the Anglo-Saxons. Only two major English landholders are recorded, and by 1087 there was only one English bishop and two significant abbots. Nevertheless, this should not lead to an under-estimation of the continuing Anglo-Saxon contribution. The arts, including those of the book, continued to reflect and build upon English influence, even if new texts were introduced, sometimes supplanting their precursors (especially in the field of ecclesiastical-service books). Many aspects (some of which are with us still) of the imposing administrative structure with which the Normans and their Angevin successors ruled their extensive empires were firmly rooted in the Anglo-Saxon world. Anglo-Saxon influence was far from ended, and it certainly played an important role in moulding the literacy, art, culture and administration of the medieval, and thereby the modern world. |
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