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In Search of the Dark Ages

Page 28

by Michael Wood


  West Saxon kingship 63, 66, 109, 114–16, 151

  see also bretwaldas; East Anglia; Mercia

  Anlaf Guthfrithson, King of Ireland 144, 156, 157, 159, 166, 167

  Anlaf Sihtricson 186, 188, 189, 191

  Annals of St Neots 111

  Annals of Ulster 158, 159, 162

  Annals of Wales 10, 11, 52–3, 55, 57–8

  anointing, and kingship 142

  Anwend, Danish king 117

  aristocracy, Norman 227

  Arlflaed, daughter of Offa 106

  Arthur, King 8, 11, 37–59

  and Anglo-Saxon invaders 37, 46, 50–3, 55, 58

  and Badon Hill 46, 50, 51–3, 54–5, 58

  death 58–9

  and northern battles 55–7

  and South Cadbury hillfort 48–9, 50

  and the twelve battles 53–5

  and Victorian England 38–9

  Ashdown, battle of 116–17, 134

  Ashingdon

  battle of 218–19, 239, 247

  Canute’s church at 221–2

  Asser, Bishop 112, 155

  on Alfred the Great 115, 116, 117, 120, 123, 130

  on Offa 81, 82, 102, 207

  Athelney, fort of Alfred the Great at 120–1, 123–4, 125, 127, 128–9, 134

  Athelstan, King 8, 11, 59, 109, 112, 126, 137–62, 168, 250, 261

  and administrative history 258, 259, 260

  and the battle of Brunanburh 158–60, 164, 240

  birth and ancestry 139

  burial place 138–9, 141

  character 160–2

  and coinage 151–2

  and the conquest of Britain 144–7

  Cornwall 146–7

  Northumbria 144–5, 164

  Scotland 152–3

  Wales 145–6

  coronation 140, 141–4

  death 162

  education 140

  and Eric Bloodaxe 188, 193

  and Ethelred 199, 207

  and European rulers and writers 148–9, 161–2

  grand alliance against 154–9

  and lawmaking 149–51, 259

  legacy of 137–8

  and Normandy 228

  and the succession crisis 140–1

  and town planning 150–1

  and William the Conqueror 248

  and York 173

  Augustine, St, Soliloquies 133

  Badon Hill, battle of 46, 50–3, 54–5, 58, 61

  Barons’ Revolt (1265) 261

  Bath, Edgar’s coronation at 196

  Bayeux Tapestry 231, 232, 241, 244, 245–6

  beacon system 101

  Bede 10, 132, 133, 156, 260

  and Alfred the Great 132, 133

  on the Anglo-Saxon invasions 43, 50–1

  on the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms 63–4, 256

  and Athelstan 160

  on Edwin (Northumbrian bretwalda) 108

  The Life of St Cuthbert 57, 71, 72

  on Offa’s dyke 103

  on royal standards 69–70

  on trade in Anglo-Saxon England 75–6

  Bedford, Offa’s burial at 109–10

  Belgic invaders 14–15, 19

  Beorhtric, brother of ealdorman Fadric 210

  Beornred, Mercian king 85

  Beowulf 61, 65, 68, 72, 93, 110

  Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy 133

  Boniface, St 100

  Boudica (Boadicea) 8, 11, 12–36

  appearance 12, 13

  death 34–5

  and the destruction of Colchester 25–7

  and the destruction of London 30–2

  and the Iceni 15, 17–21

  last battle at Mancetter 32–5

  and the Romans 24–5

  Braudel, Fernand 172–3

  bretwaldas 63–4, 77–8, 83, 85, 86, 256

  and Offa 95–8, 108

  Brian Boru 162

  Britnoth, ealdorman of Essex 199, 200–1, 202, 203

  Britons 8, 12

  Brixworth, Anglo-Saxon church at 100, 108, 154

  Brooke, Christopher 249

  Brown, Basil 79

  Bruce, Robert 111

  Brunanburh, battle of 158–60, 164, 240

  Burghal Hidage 127, 128, 257, 259

  Burgred, king of Mercia 114, 118, 120

  burgs 127–8, 139, 150, 214, 228, 257

  Byrhtwold, and the battle of Maldon 201

  Byzantine Empire 252

  Cadbury–Camelot hillfort 48–9, 50

  Camden, William, Britannia 71

  Camlann, and the legend of Arthur 58–9

  Canute, King 9, 196, 204, 213, 216–17, 218, 219–22, 248

  and Christianity 220–2

  and Earl Godwin 230

  and Harald Hardrada 233

  and Normandy 229

  Carlisle 55, 56–7, 171

  Carlyle, Thomas, Frederick the Great 223

  Carolingian empire 142, 258

  see also Charlemagne

  castles, Norman 228

  Catroe (traveller), journey from Scotland to York 171–2

  Ceawlin, king of the West Saxons 64

  Cenwald, bishop of Worcester 162

  Cenwulf, Mercian king 107

  Ceolred, Mercian king 109

  Ceolwulf, Mercian king 114, 129, 130

  Charlemagne 10, 95, 98, 126, 247

  and Alfred the Great 132, 134

  and Athelstan 137, 148, 149, 160, 162

  letters to Offa 92, 106–7

  Charles the Simple, Frankish king 224

  charters 11, 131, 259

  Chester-le-Street 152, 154, 188

  Childeric II, Merovingian king 72

  Chippenham, Alfred the Great and the Viking wars 118–19

  Christianity

  Alfred the Great and 133, 134, 258

  Canute and 220–2

  the Church and Anglo-Saxon kings 112

  and the East-Anglian kings 72–3, 74–5, 78

  and Eric Bloodaxe 163, 189

  and Ethelred 209

  and Mercia 84, 88, 96, 97–8

  and Normandy 224

  Offa and 103–4, 105

  in Viking York 175–7

  chronicles 9–11

  Cirencester 46–7, 51, 57, 125

  Anglo-Saxon church at 154

  Athelstan’s imperial assembly at 153–4

  Clan Ivar (Viking dynasty in Dublin) 144

  Claudius, Roman Emperor 16–17

  coinage

  Agnus Dei 211

  Athelstan 151–2

  Belgic 15

  East Anglian 104

  Edgar 196

  and Ethelred 214–15

  Iceni 17, 18, 19

  Mercian 98–9, 108, 129

  Sutton Hoo 65, 66

  Viking York 166–7, 180, 188

  Colchester (Camulodunum) 15–16, 16–17, 20, 21, 22–4, 28

  destruction of 25–6, 29

  Temple of Claudius 22–3, 25, 26–7

  Collingwood, Professor W. 192

  Colswein, thegn of Lincoln 251

  Constantine the Great, Roman emperor 173

  Constantine, king of the Scots 145, 152, 153, 154–5, 156, 171

  Cornwall

  Athelstan’s conquest of 146–7

  Viking raids in 199

  Cricklade 127, 215

  Croft Hill, Leicestershire 94

  Cumbria, kingdom of 171

  Cuthbert, St 152, 188

  Cynethryth, Queen (wife of Offa) 86, 90, 99

  Cynewulf, king of Wessex 97

  Dalriada, kingdom of 256

  Danegelds 117, 200, 203, 208, 209, 213, 216, 220, 222

  Danelaw 125–6, 161, 251

  Danes/Vikings 8–9, 112–13

  and Alfred the Great 111, 112, 113–14, 116–25, 199, 251, 257

  archaeological finds 256–7

  and Athelstan 144–5, 151, 156–7

  and the battle of Maldon (991) 199–203

  Danish settlement of northern and eastern England 125–6, 144–5


  and East Anglian kings 78, 79

  and Edgar 197

  effects of the invasions 131, 133

  and Ethelred 198–9, 203, 204, 207

  Danish wars 208–13

  fall of 213–14

  Massacre of St Brice’s Day (1002) 205–6

  and the Sandwich naval disaster 210–12

  and the Five Boroughs 125, 164–5, 166, 189, 213, 234

  Harald Hardrada’s invasion and defeat 233–8

  and the martydom of Aelffieah 212–13

  in Mercia 114, 117, 119, 129, 256–7

  and Normandy 224–5

  see also Eric Bloodaxe

  Decianus, Roman agent in London 26, 28

  Dee, John 65, 78–9

  Deerhurst, meeting of Canute and Edmund Ironside at 219

  Dekker, Thomas, Old Fortunatus 137

  democracy, and Anglo-Saxon England 261

  Devon

  Alfred the Great and the Danish wars 121

  Viking raids in 199

  Dio Cassius, Roman History 12, 13, 33, 34–5

  Domesday Book 169, 173, 224, 239, 249–50, 259–60, 261

  Great Domesday 249

  and thegns 251–2

  Donald, king of the Strathclyde Welsh 145, 171

  Dreux, count of the Vexin 229

  Dublin, Viking 144, 155, 165, 184

  Dunstan, Archbishop 199

  Durham Cathedral 152, 188

  Eadberht Praen 107

  Eadhelm (slave) 142–3

  Eadred, King of England 163, 164, 166, 167, 169, 180–1, 182–4, 186–7, 188, 189, 191

  Eadric, ealdorman of Mercia 216, 217, 218–19

  Eadwig, son of Ethelred 220

  Ealdred, Archbishop of York 238, 248

  Ealdred Ealdufing, Anglo-Saxon earl 145

  Ealdulfing family 188

  Ealhswith, wife of Alfred the Great 116

  Eamont Bridge, Cumbria 145

  East Anglia

  and bretwaldas 64, 77–8, 83

  and the Danes 114, 119, 125, 151, 177, 212

  and the Sutton Hoo burial 62–3, 70–5, 77–8, 79

  and trade 75–6

  Ecgfrith, son of Offa 98, 99–100, 107

  Ecgric, East-Anglian king 66, 75

  Edgar, King of England 112, 159, 193, 196–7, 220, 230

  coronation 196, 248

  death 197

  and Ethelred 207, 214

  rowed at Chester by subkings 196, 197

  and the succession 198

  Edington, battle of 123–5, 133, 224, 257

  Edmund Ironside, King 216, 217–19

  Edmund, King (half-brother of Athelstan) 164, 166, 188

  Edmund, St, East-Anglian king 79, 114, 177

  education, in Anglo-Saxon England 131–4

  Edward, atheling (son of Edmund Ironside) 230

  Edward the Confessor 9, 216, 229, 230, 231, 250

  Edward the Elder 112, 126, 139, 140, 151, 258, 259

  Edward, King (son of Edgar) 197–8

  Edward VII, King, coronation of 143

  Edwin, brother of Athelstan 140, 141

  Edwin, earl of Mercia 234

  Edwin, Northumbrian king 64, 69–70, 72, 108, 189

  Egbert, king of Wessex 256

  Egbert’s Stone 122

  Eiriksmal (poem) 179–80, 193

  Elizabeth I, Queen 65, 111, 137

  Elizabeth II, Queen 101, 143

  Emma, Queen (wife of Ethelred and later Canute) 215, 219, 228–9

  English individualism 261

  English Revolution (1640s) 223

  Eni, father of East-Anglian kings 66

  Eorpwald, East-Anglian king 66, 75

  Eric Bloodaxe 9, 11, 163–93, 235

  appearance 179

  and Archbishop Wulfstan of York 165–6, 189–90

  background in Norway 167–8

  career of 163

  and Catroe 172

  character 179

  and the Church 163, 189–90

  death 163, 190–3

  and the Eiriksmal 179–80, 193

  exile and the slave trade 183–6

  invited to be king in York 168–9

  and Norse sagas 164, 178–9, 190–1

  and Norse synoptic histories 164, 169

  return of 186–7

  second and last reign in York 187–90

  and war in the north 180–1

  Ethelred, eldorman of English Mercia 130

  Ethelred the Unready 9, 11, 117, 160, 195–222, 234

  and the battle of Maldon 199–203

  character 206–7

  coronation 198

  and the Danes 198–9, 203, 204, 207, 208–13, 215

  and the martyrdom of Aelffieah 212–13

  Massacre of St Brice’s Day (1002) 205–6

  and the Sandwich naval disaster 210–12

  death 206, 217

  decline of England under 196

  Enham code 209–10

  exile 214

  fall of 213–14

  foreign policy 215

  legacy of 195–6

  and the murder of Edward 198

  and Normandy 215, 228–9

  reason for the nickname 206–7

  and the unknown chronicler 203–5, 206, 207

  weakness of kingship in 207–8

  and William the Conqueror 228–9

  Eustace of Boulogne 246

  Exeter, Athelstan’s restoration of 146–7, 150

  Fagrskinna 190

  Five Boroughs 125, 164–5, 166, 189, 213, 234

  Florence of Worcester 130, 217, 237, 240, 241, 243

  Francia (France) 10, 106–7, 113, 161, 162

  and Normandy 224–5, 226–7

  Freeman, E.A. 223 Gallic Chronicle 43

  Geoffrey of Monmouth 39

  Germanus, St 42

  Gibbon, Edward 38

  Gildas 43, 44, 45–6, 48

  on the battle of Badon Hill 50, 51, 54

  Glastonbury, discovery of ‘Arthur’s tomb’ at 39

  Gloucester, and the Danes 117

  Goda, sister of Edward the Confessor 229

  Godwin, Earl of Wessex 229–30

  Gorm the Old, king of Denmark 168

  Great Glen, Leicestershire 94

  Greece, emigration of the English to 252

  Greenwich, martyrdom of Aelffieah at 212–13

  Gregory the Great, Pope 96, 100

  Pastoral Care 132, 133

  Grimbald 258

  Grumley, Leicestershire 94

  Gunderic 172

  Guthfrith, King 176, 191

  Guthrum, Danish king 117, 118–19, 121–2, 224

  baptism of 123–4

  Guttorm, Viking king 190

  Guy of Amiens 246

  Guy of Ponthieu 246

  Gyrth, earl of East Anglia 230, 244

  Hadrian’s Wall 58

  Hakon the Good of Norway 164, 168

  Hakon of Norway 148, 161

  Harald Finehair, king of Norway 148, 164, 168

  Harald Hardrada, king of Norway 233–8

  Harek, Viking king 190

  Harold Godwinson, King of England 9, 158, 223, 229–47

  accession to the throne 230–1

  and the Anglo-Saxon army 232

  and the battle of Hastings 239–47

  death 245–7

  and Harald Hardrada’s invasion of England 233–8

  Harthacanute, king of Denmark 233

  Hastings, battle of (1066) 224, 240–7, 251–2

  Henry I, French king 226–7

  Henry VIII, King 64–5, 78

  Hereford 151

  History of the Ancient Northumbrians 192

  Honorius, Emperor 41–2

  Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks 139

  Humber, river 189–90

  hundreds, system of 258, 261

  Huwal, Welsh king 147, 153

  Hwicce (Mercian tribe) 87, 88, 151

  Hywel Dda, Welsh king 146

  Iceni 15, 16
r />   Boudica’s revolt 24–35

  first revolt 20–2

  and the Romans 17–21, 35–6

  Iclinga royal family, Mercia 62

  Idwal Foel of Gwynedd 146, 147, 153, 157

  Ikey Oak 122, 123

  Indulf, Scottish king 187

  industry, in Viking York 173–5

  Ipswich

  Anglo-Saxon 76

  Viking raids on 199, 201

  Ireland

  Annals of Ulster 158, 159, 162

  Viking 113, 144, 155, 165

  and the slave trade 183–4

  Iron Age 14–16

  hillforts 21, 32, 45, 48–50, 51, 116

  mints removed to 214–15

  Ispwich 75

  Ivar, Viking king 190

  Jaenberht, Archbishop of Canterbury 97–8

  John, King 195

  John of the Rhineland 258

  John of Wallingford, Chronicle 165, 181, 182, 183

  Jones, Thomas 53

  Julius Caesar 14, 17

  Kent 62, 96, 211, 212

  Kingston, coronations at 141–4, 198

  Kipling, Rudyard, Dane-geld 222

  knights, Norman 227–8

  Latin, in Anglo-Saxon England 131–2, 132–4

  Laxdael Saga 185

  Leeds, Dark Age travellers in 171, 172

  Leofwine, earl of Middlesex 230, 244

  Levellers, and the English Revolution (1640s) 223

  Liddington Castle 51

  Life of Catroe 171–2

  Life of St Oswald 170, 202

  Lincolnshire, Danish settlement in 125, 126

  local government 258, 261

  Logue, Christopher 195

  London

  Anglo-Saxon 75–6, 89, 199

  and Alfred the Great 129–31

  and the Danes 125, 205, 216–18

  and Edmund Ironside 217–18

  and Ethelred 213, 214, 216–17

  Offa’s court in 106

  Roman (Londinium) 20, 28–32

  Lunt, Roman fort at 35–6

  Lyng 128–9

  Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 1st Baron 38

  Maccus, Earl 191

  Magna Carta 260

  Magnus, king of Norway 233

  Magonsaetan people 82

  Maldon, battle of (991) 199–203

  Malmesbury, Athelstan’s burial place at 138–9, 141

  Malory, Thomas, Morte Darthur 59

  The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 59

  Mancetter (site of Boudica’s last battle) 32–5

  Marcus Facilis 27

  Marianus Scotus 237

  Mercia

  Anglo-Saxon church at Brixworth 100, 108

  archaeological finds at Repton 256

  and Athelstan 140, 151, 161

  and Christianity 84, 88, 96, 97–8

  and the Danes 114, 117, 119, 129, 256–7

  economy 88–9

  food rent 90–1

  Iclinga royal family 62

  and London 129–30

  and the Norman Conquest 252

  origins of 83–4

  roads 88

  royal residence at Tamworth 87, 90–4, 108

  tribes 86–9

  see also Offa, Mercian king Middle Ages, and Athelstan 137

  Montfort, Hugh de 246

  Montgomery, Roger de 250

 

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