Medieval City That Altered The Course Of English History

The Repton Long Barrow sits between the parish church and the River Esk in Repton, Bluffshire, U.K. Last summer, I examined evidence for previous disturbance(s) of the site and assessed the extent to which the original Neolithic burial mound remained intact. I excavated two different sites on the mound, one on the east end and another on the west end of the barrow. While excavating and cleaning each of the sections, I recovered artifacts and human bones. I was also able to draw a stratigraphic profile of each excavation site. Using documentary sources pertaining to the Repton Long Barrow site to assist in my interpretation of the history, I was able to reconstruct the

Ian Mortimer uses his book The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century to describe how one might live in the fourteenth century. This book covers a wide range of topics from what one might see and smell when approaching a city, to what one might wear, to how to stay alive. Mortimer’s clever use of a travel guide inspired book lends itself to a much wider audience. The evidence presented in this book is both engaging and intriguing, and provides easy reading for academics and non-academics both.

Before Querig’s mystical mist veiled the land, extreme hatred and bloodshed were prevalent among the dueling cultures. Gawain states: “Those small Saxon boys you lament would soon have become warriors burning to avenge their father fallen today. The small girls bearing more in the wombs, and this circle of slaughter would never be broken,” in response to Axl’s challenging of the morality of Arthurs decisions (Ishiguro, 213). In this quote, Gawain assures Axl that if the long raging war were to continue, the cycle of vengeance and death would continue without a tangible end in sight. In fact, Wistan slayed Querig with the explicit intent to awaken the conflict which had been long since put to bed. The Saxons were outraged with the Britons after learning of the awful events that came to pass. Saxon innocents were killed, tortured, and raped and “God himself [was] betrayed” (Ishiguro, 294). With the mist clearing, the Saxons planned a retaliatory conquest. In their rage, the Saxons had devised a plan to kill Querig and wreak war on the Britons enlisting Saxons throughout Briton to turn against their neighbors. The small boys and girls, whom Gawain previously mentioned, had at this point grown into adults. With their painful memories restored

Anglo-Saxon also deemed it acceptable to extract a man-price for a person's death. The price could be paid for with the life of a person or even treasure. One of the first acts of revenge occurs when Grendel dies. His mother, the "She-Wolf," becomes enraged when she learns of her son's death and is drove "from her den on the/dangerous/Pathway of revenge," (l. 1277-1297, 63). In response to her son's death, she murders King Hrothgar's closest companion. When the king learns of his friend's death, he pleads with Beowulf to hunt the "she-wolf" down and kill her, and if Beowulf succeeds, he will receive an reward of "heaped-up ancient treasure," (l. 1381, 66). Beowulf takes revenge on the monster and kills her. Later in the poem, revenge once again surfaces in the Finn digression. Finn is a past ruler who attacks the Danish people, proceeding to kill most of the Danish tribe. After slaughtering many of the Danish tribe, Finn offers peace to Hengest,

On the other hand, the weaknesses of the Anglo-Saxons needs to be considered in terms of its contribution towards the success of the Vikings with this particularly being centred around King AEthelred. This particular alternative factor is noteworthy as AEthelred's reign (978-1013) was characterised by the return of Viking raids in Britain. His mistakes are particularly significant due to the expectations of him to live up to the reputation of King Alfred the Great and his success against the Viking threat at the battle of the Edington (878) and through the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum. Reference to AEthelred as being “the unready” already allows us to have some idea of his abilities as king. Firstly, one particularly unsuccessful strategy he took on involved Vikings being employed as mercenaries which started in 994 and also involved a pledge of loyalty in exchange for gifts (including both land

Together with her husband, they took land from the Danes (Johnson, Web). They also destroyed the Norse army which attempted to take the city of Chester in 905 (East of England Broadband Network, Web). After her husband fell ill and died in 911, she formed an alliance with her brother, King Edward the Elder (Sawyer 69). The siblings worked together and were said to be of equal status (Malsmebury 123). Thereafter, she raided Danish East Angelia and brought back the body of St. Oswald (East of England Broadband Network, Web). Over the following years, the alliance between the brother and sister continued to drive the Danes out of central and southern England. She engaged them in Wales in 916 and 917, after the murder of an Abbot and his companions. Then, she moved north to Derby and Leicester, successfully sieging the towns. By late 918, Aethelflaed had reached the River Humber, and had managed to persuade the city of York to form an alliance with her (Johnson,

On November 13th of 1002 AD, known as St. Brice Day Massacre, Dane Vikings was massacred, they were brutally stabbed in the head, cracking and fracturing the skull, cuts on the legs, ribs and burns. In Oxford the Danes had tried to seek help by breaking into a church, and when they could not be driven out, the townsfolk had destroyed them by setting the building on fire. Also one of the victims was Swein’s sister, Gunnhild, who was then motivated to conquer England and Swein became Ethelred’s enemy. Afterwards, unending attacks were fired at

The Revolt in the Fens was lead by Hereward and had been strengthened by refugees from the harrowing of Northumberland, including Earl Mokar. During this same time Osbjorn was taken bribes that had weakened the army. However, even while his brother, Jarl Osbjorn could be bought off, but King Swein of Denmark and his new fleet was not offered this same deal and was preparing for battle. During this his brother Jarl Osbjorn and his fleet had been bought off, King Swein of Denmark and his new fleet had not. What happened during 1070 and 1071 could be consider fact as it could legend. It is know that William made two different attempts both unsuccessful, either in person or through a lieutenant to take Isle Ely where Hereward and his forces were based. We also know that Hereward did not fear to pay for his Danish allies. Hereward paid the Danish to sack the Peterborough and its Cathedral, which was now controlled by the Norman Bishop. What it is still up to debate is how thing exact happenings, nor the sequence of events. Eventually Swein, maybe seeing himself in a no win situation, gave the offer to be paid off. The Normans soon took Ely after the betrayal of the local monks secret causeways though the Fens that would allow an army to access the isle. Although Ely fell in 1071, Hereward escaped and, with loyal followers, remained a nuisance to king William for many more years to come. In 1072 another thorn in William side came form the scots with their numbers swelling by

In the video Heartlands - In Search of Medieval Britain we follow a medieval art historian Dr. Alixe Bovey as she investigates what life would have been like during Britain’s medieval ages. She uses a map called the Gough Map, this map is the oldest accurate map of Britain; showing many landmarks throughout Central England. Bovey uses this map to travel across Central England and begins her journey in the Northeast Midlands of Leicestershire. Throughout the video she visits one of England’s oldest pubs and gains insight on what people in the 1300’s would have eaten, as well as Lincoln Cathedral, which is the world’s tallest medieval building.

Alfred was a powerful king who defeated the Danes when he made his conquests. In 871, the Danes of the south invaded Saxon territory, in the north (Haaren; 137). In return, the courageous Saxons defended their homeland and attacked the invaders (137). Unprepared for the fight, the Saxons were unable to defend themselves against the Danish invaders (137). The Saxon soldiers fled for their lives, including King Alfred, king of the Saxons (137). While in hiding, Alfred gathered for himself an army and the first English Navy (137). Disguised as a wandering minstrel, Alfred snuck into the Danish camp. There he gained gifts and, more importantly, information on the Danes straight from their leader, Guthrum (141). According to Haaren, “In a week

In earlier times (Predynastic), the dead were buried in simple oval pits with several funerary objects placed inside the grave. There is also a record of group burials where the bones of not only people but also animals could be found. Over time, the graves have become more complex, the deceased were placed in a wicker basket first, and then in a wooden or terracotta sarcophagus. These tombs also contained jewelery and more sophisticated burial goods.

London’s urban life in the medieval times is based heavily on the court influence. The Sherriff’s court deals with mostly “cognisance of foreign pleas” making this court separate from that of the mayor (source). The Sherriff was responsible for foreign affairs such as merchants and trades (source). Going off the last point, the early mercantile courts of London were responsible specifically for trade agreements. In the data document it is claimed that “In the laws of Ethelred II are regulations for traders from Flanders, Ponthieu, Normandy, France…” (source). Mercantile courts were responsible for trade agreements with other European countries. However, in The Staples court the main concern is basic materials been traded such as “wool,

However, despite intensive excavations, archaeologists have found no evidence of a prehistoric major settlement in the area. There have been scattered prehistoric finds, evidence of farming, burial and traces of habitation, but nothing more substantial. It is now considered unlikely that a pre-Roman city existed, but as some of the Roman city remains unexcavated, it is still just possible that some major settlement may yet be discovered. London was most likely a rural area with scattered settlement. Rich finds such as the Battersea Shield, found in the Thames near Chelsea, suggest the area was important; there may have

Although London during the Elizabethan Era was prosperous, life there would be difficult. The Elizabethan society revolved around status. The wealthy/people of higher class would have better food, better clothes, and/or better education. All Elizabethans attended church on Sunday, in addition, the popularity of hymns and worldly songs increased. This was the time of the Renaissance. New ideas were splattered around in science and literature then, there was the introduction of the printing press which resulted in the increase of education and learning. The printing press ended up promoting interest in the supernatural. Eventually, superstitions started and witch-hunts began. Women were considered lesser than men, depended on men for support,

Due to Uhtred’s (Alexander Dreymon) warning the Saxon army have surprised Danes at Asec’s Hill and won a decisive battle, but it has come at a cost. King Aethelred (Alec Newman) has been gravely injured during the encounter, and as we know from his exchange with Odda the Elder last week, he has named his brother Alfred (David Dawson) as his successor rather than his son.