The origins of kingship in early medieval Kent

Abstract

In this article, it is argued that Bede's famous account of the origin and early development of the people and kings of Kent in Historia ecclesiastica (I.15) does not report historical events, but reflects eighth‐century concepts of migration‐period kingship with mythical links to the Jutes of Scandinavia. Bracteate evidence shows that the veneration of Woden existed in Kent by the sixth century. Support for a contemporary belief in the Scandinavian origin of Kentish kings is found in locally produced bracteates, which imitate Scandinavian styles, and where several recovered from Kentish cemeteries are found in close proximity to places with royal connections. These include the only known Kentish site linked to the veneration of Woden. Evidence suggests that Kentish genealogy reflects a mythical belief in ancestry from Woden, rather than historical descent from Scandinavian Jutes. Finally, it is argued that Kentish bracteates, usually found in exceptionally rich female graves, were worn by high status women. These women may have played a significant role in legitimizing new royal claims.

Memories of migration? The ‘Anglo-Saxon’ burial costume of the fifth century AD

“…This art is immensely varied, as is the metalwork, ranging from a hugely diverse range of belt buckle styles, to great square-headed brooches (Figure 3), smaller saucer or applied brooches (Figure 4) and the cruciform brooches upon which Martin (2015) bases his ethnic interpretation (Figure 5). These are usually considered to be emblematically ‘Germanic’, and in a similar manner to the art depicted on Scandinavian bracteates descended from Roman imperial solidi , to which they bear close formal relation (Behr 2000; Dickinson 2002; Martin 2015). Even when attempts are made to problematise the way in which ethnicity is inferred from this material, the adoption of these new art styles is still often assumed to indicate the transition towards a ‘Germanic ideology’ (e.g.…”

“…When such views are not based on culture-historical reasoning, this Germanic ‘essence’ is presumed to have come from the metalwork's role in conveying cosmologies and ideologies that refer to the ‘Germanic’ world, such as pagan myths or migration narratives preserved in Late Roman texts. These cosmological frameworks supposedly provide a cultural coherence that lends these decorative styles their ‘Germanic’ quality (Behr 2000, 2007; Hedeager 2000, 2011; Behr & Pestell 2014: 68; Martin 2015: 154–55; Pesch 2017). While there are countless examples of this line of argument, Hedeager (2000: 37–38; also argued with little alteration in Hedeager 2011: 37–41, 50–58) is fairly typical and widely cited; her understanding is based upon the assumption that material symbolism is an act of expression for the signalling of identity, providing a methodological bridge for material culture to be interpreted through the use of the textual evidence.…”

Tasting Misery Among Snakes: The Situation of Smiths in Anglo-Saxon Settlements

“…In addition to forming relationships between elites and their followers, the iconography of ornate metal objects was used to express a plethora of social, ethnic and cultural statements (Hedeager 1992Behr 2000. The activities of smiths, and the artefacts they produced, were therefore critical to the construction and reproduction of the social and political lives of elite society in Early Anglo-Saxon England.…”