Early Medieval History

Marauding Barbarians, Extravagant Byzantines, Eccentric Ascetics, Pillaging Anglo-Saxons: what more could you want?

[mediumaevum]

Finger ring with a cross, 5th century

This ring, with its elegant pattern of filigree and granulation on the band and its striking use of garnet and mother-of-pearl on the bezel, is exceptional in both decoration and material and demonstrates the sophistication of Frankish metalwork from an early date.

[historiated]

Front and side views of the Alfred Jewel, Anglo-Saxon, c. 871-99. Made with gold and cloisonne enamel. Images taken from ARTstor. Click here to read more about the piece.

[tumbleweedok]

[mediumaevum]

The Varangian Guard was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army in 10th to the 14th centuries, whose members served as personal bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperors.

The Varangians or Varyags was the name given by Greeks and East Slavs to Vikings who between the 9th and the 11th centuries ruled the medieval state of Rus’.

[thisismythirdblog-deactivated20]

A comparative of The Lord’s Prayer, written in three different periods of the English Language’s development: Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English. 

[historiated]

Polylobed arches of the maqsura (maksoureh) screens (and part of the mihrab entrance on the left) from the Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain, c. 965. Source.

“The maqsura… [is] the area directly in front of the prayer niche [mihrab] reserved for the caliph and his royal entourage. The maqsura includes three domed bays covered, like the dome of the mihrab, with precious mosaics of gold and lapis lazuli, and decorated with abstract geometric patterns, vegetal forms, and sacred inscriptions from the Qur’an.” (Snyder, Art of the Middle Ages, 237)

[eadfrith]

This book quite literally stared the Viking raiders of Lindisfarne in the face….. and survived.

Folios 210v and 211r of the Lindisfarne Gospels showing the carpet page and decorated Initial introducing the Gospel of John.  Made on Lindisfarne around 698AD

[earlymedievalhistory]

Then the Creator's maiden, with her braided locks, took a sharp sword, a hard weapon in the storms of battle, and drew it from the sheath with her right hand. She began to call the Guardian of heaven by name, the Saviour of all the inhabitants of earth, and said these words: "God of creation, Spirit of comfort, Son of the Almighty, I want to beseech you for your mercy on me in my time of need, glorious Trinity. My heart is intensely inflamed within me now, and my mind is troubled, greatly afflicted with sorrows. Give me, Lord of heaven, victory and true belief so I might cut down this bestower of torment with this sword. Grant me my salvation, mighty Lord of men: I have never had more need of your mercy than now. Avenge now, mighty Lord, eminent Bestower of glory, that which is so grievous in my mind, so fervent in my heart." Then the highest Judge inspired her immediately with great zeal, as he does to each of the dwellers on earth who seek help from him with reason and with true faith. Then she felt relief in her mind, hope was renewed for the holy woman. She seized the heathen man securely by his hair, pulled him shamefully towards her with her hands, and skilfully placed the wicked and loathsome man so that she could most easily manage the miserable one well. Then, the woman with braided locks struck the enemy, that hostile one, with the shining sword, so that she cut through half of his neck, such that he lay unconscious, drunk and wounded. He was not dead yet, not entirely lifeless. The courageous woman struck the heathen hound energetically another time so that his head rolled forwards on the floor. The foul body lay behind, dead; the spirit departed elsewhere under the deep earth and was oppressed there and fettered in torment forever after, wound round with serpents, bound with punishments, cruelly imprisoned in hell-fire after his departure. Enveloped in darkness, he had no need at all to hope that he should get out from that serpent-hall, but there he must remain always and forever, henceforth without end, in that dark home deprived of the joy of hope. Judith had won illustrious glory in the battle as God, the Lord of heaven, granted it so when he gave her her victory.

Judith, Anglo-Saxon poetric translation of the Book of Judith, found in the Nowell Codex, 10th century (trans. Elaine Treharne)

[earlymedievalhistory]

The Hestia Tapestry is a Byzantine tapestry woven from wool and linen in 6th century AD in Egypt. It is a late representation of Hestia the Greek goddess of the hearth. The tapestry measures 44 x 53 inches and is labeled in Greek “Hestia Polyolbos" (Hestia full of Blessings). In 1945 a book discussing the symbolism and history of the tapestry was published by Paul Friedlander titled Documents of Dying Paganism. It is in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection in Washington D.C. [x]

[eadfrith]

The Bewcastle Cross

The Bewcastle Cross is an Anglo Saxon cross which still stands in its original place in the church yard of St Cuthbert’s Church, Bewcastle, Cumbria, England.  While the very top of the cross is missing it remains an impressive 14.5 feet high (4.5m).  Precise dating is difficult with some scholars suggesting the late 600s and others the early 700s.

Each side of the cross is beautifully decorated.  The West side depicts various figures, including Christ with halo, holding a scroll and standing on two beasts, St John the Baptist - with the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and possibly St John the Evangelist.  Animals, knots, complex interlaced vine scrolls and even a sundial feature on the other faces. 

Another prominent feature of the cross are the Anglo Saxon Runic inscriptions.  Many are heavily worn and difficult to read.  Above the figure of Christ is the runic inscription “Jesus Christ“  Another longer runic inscription has this tentative translation: ‘This Cross set up Hwætred, Wothgær, Olwfwolthu in the memory of Alcfrith a king and son of Oswiu; Pray for his soul’.

[caedmontochaucer]

Anyone who sets out to discuss Beowulf as an oral poem immediately places him- or herself on some rather shaky ground; for this is a hotly contested area where opinions are very defi nitely, even emotionally stated. I remember as a graduate student in the mid-1970s being told by a very distinguished scholar that Beowulf could not be an oral poem, since it was simply too good. But since that time oral studies have burgeoned in all directions, and those of us who try to keep up with the field are gaining an increasing admiration for the sophistication and complexity achieved by poets working in preliterate cultures, or societies where the impact of literacy is marginal or restricted. Indeed, the appearance in recent years of two major books that give full weight to the oral affiliations of Beowulf, not to mention a host of lesser productions, signals the emergence of a new consensus in Old English studies.

Paul Sorrell - Oral Poetry and the World of Beowulf (via caedmontochaucer)

[forgottenancients-blog]

The Crusifixion and iconoclasts, folio 67r, Chludov Psalter, c. 850-75.

[goodwilltoallpeople]

Escomb Saxon Church is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon churches in England, located in Escomb, County Durham. Founded in c.670-675, much of the stone came from the nearby Roman Fort at Binchester.

[earlymedievalhistory]

The Lord's Prayer in Old English

Fæder ūre, ðū ðē eart on heofonum

Sī ðīn nama gehālgod

Tō becume ðīn rice

Gewurde ðin willa

On eorþan swā swā on heofonum

Urne gedægwhamlīcan hlāf syle ūs tōdæg

And forgyf ūs ūre gyltas

Swā swā wē forgyfaþ ūrum gyltendum

And ne gelæd ðū ūs on costnunge

Ac alȳs ūs of yfele

Sōþlice

AD 995

[forgottenancients-blog]

Bracelet

Kerch, the Crimea

Late 4th-early 5th century AD

Gold, garnet, rock crystal

Diam 6 cm, wt 129.28 g

This bracelet is an example of the cloisonné technique, widely used during this period. It consists of a gold hoop, linked by means of hinges to a round medallion. The medallion and the ends of the hoop are decorated with garnet and rock crystal inlays. The medallion and inlays at the end of the hoop are edged with a filigree wire rim.

http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_2_10b.html

[historiated]

Folio illustrating the combat of the bird and serpent from the Spanish Gerona Beatus, c. 970. Image taken from ARTstor. This scene is characteristic of the mozarabic style, which makes use of bold, primary color palettes and stylized, patterned, and linear imagery which is influenced by Islamic artistic tradition in the Iberian peninsula.

[earlymedievalhistory]

Court jewellers Wartski have donated £57,395 in order to purchase 81 pieces of Anglo-Saxon treasure found last November in the same field as the Staffordshire hoard, in response to a campaign to ensure that the new finds remain in the West Midlands alongside the original hoard.

Eighty-one of the 91 objects found in November - including a helmet piece, a cross-shaped mount and an eagle-shaped mount - were declared treasure. They have been linked to the 3,500 pieces found in Hammerwich in 2009.

The original hoard, dated to the 7th and 8th Centuries, was found by metal detectorist Terry Herbert on the land owned by farmer Fred Johnson. It was subsequently valued at about £3.3m. Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Birmingham City Council jointly own the 3,500 artefacts and have permanent displays at the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. [I, II]