Medieval Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society

The Middle Ages and Game of Thrones

With the imminent release of the third series of HBO’s award-winning series Game of Thrones eagerly awaited by Christine and myself, I started to think about the representation of the Middle Ages in popular culture which seems to range from primitivism to high romanticism of The White Queen. The latter was slated by the critics for depicting such anachronistic features as zips on the back of the dresses of some of the leading female characters and hand-rails used by frailer visitors to the presumably National Trust properties where some of the scenes were filmed.

It seems rather ironic to say the least that some of the most convincing depictions of life in the high Medieval period are to be found not in historical series like The White Queen but in the fictional land of Westeros, the setting for much but not all of the plot in Game of Thrones.

The author J.R.R.Martin’s Game of Thrones series of novels (still unfinished) frequently draw upon archaeology and ancient and Medieval history. Though set in the fictional kingdom of Westeros, this is recognisably a ‘high Medieval’ world comparable to England (the map of Westeros looks like an inverted map of the British Isles) during the Wars of the Roses, complete with a hierarchical society of king, lords, knights (who show off their prowess in jousts), seneschals, castellans, men-at-arms, archers with longbows, crossbowmen and commoners. There are even trebuchets for siege warfare, each with its own name, reflecting the grim humour of Medieval besiegers.

But it is not only the setting and the social hierarchy that evokes the Middle Ages. Major parts of the plot recall pivotal episodes in English Medieval history. I refer of course to the dilemma faced by one of the most important characters, at least in the first series of Game of Thrones, Lord Eddard Stark played by Sean Bean. Eddard or Ned is the ‘Hand of the King’, the second most important man in the kingdom or rather group of kingdoms, for there are seven of them. Ned is honest, honourable, decent, hard-working and deeply moral. He comes from ‘the North’, a land of snows, moors, woodlands and outspoken characters. He is Lord of Winterfell, the capital of the North but he is a fish-out-of-water in in the capital at King’s Landing in ‘the South’ with its hot climate, slippery characters, devious plots and moral turpitude.

In the first series of Game of Thrones good king Robert (played by Mark Addy) was fatally wounded by a boar. During the hunt Robert had been deliberately plied with drink in order to incapacitate him by one of his Lannister in-laws. He lingers long enough to ask his friend Ned to become Protector of the Realm and oversee the succession of Robert’s son. What Ned knows but the dying king doesn’t is that the latter’s children by Queen Cersei (played by Lena Headey) are illegitimate. They are the offspring of Cersei’s incestuous relationship with her twin brother Jamie, and they include the odious heir to the throne Joffrey. Though Joffrey is bethrothed to Ned’s daughter Sansa, there is already bad blood between the Lannisters and the Starks. Acting as a scribe to record Robert’s last wishes Ned changes the wording of the document to read that the kingdom should pass not to Joffrey but to the king’s ‘genuine heir’. Ned had done the decent thing and warned Cersei to leave the capital with her children before he told the king of Cersei’s betrayal but that was before the boar hunt. As a decent man he does not want the blood of the children on his hands. This is typical of Ned. He does the right thing morally but subsequent events show this may have been naive of him. As Queen Cersei says “When you play the game of Thrones you win or you die”.

After King Robert’s death Ned is urged by some of the leading members of the High Council to move against the Lannisters and the heir Joffrey. If he arrests Joffrey, his mother Cersei and his siblings Ned can seize power and arrange for the succession to pass to a genuine heir, for King Robert had numerous illegitimate children, including a son. If he allows the succession to pass to Joffrey Ned’s position, indeed his life, will be in grave danger because the Lannisters want Joffrey to rule as king in their interests without a protector of the realm and they dislike Ned intensely because he threatens them and their hold on power. Lannisters and Starks are like chalk and cheese: Ned always does the right thing and cares nothing for the trappings of power. He serves the realm not himself. The Lannisters are morally corrupt, fixated with their own hold on power and treacherous.

Ned must act to arrest Joffery and members of his immediate family. He knows that whoever controls Joffrey holds power. Isn’t this the position of Richard III in 1483 following the death of Edward IV? Edward’s widow, Elizabeth Woodville, had a number of children, including the two male heirs – the Princes Edward and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York – from her marriage to the king and from an earlier marriage. With the death of Edward his brother Richard became Lord Protector. If Richard secured the Princes he would indeed be Protector, if he did not, his in-laws, the Woodvilles, would influence the king and run the kingdom as they wished.

What I’m suggesting is that the dramatic climax of the first series of Game of Thrones is a fictional reworking of the events preceding Richard’s usurpation of 1483 with Ned as Richard, Robert as Edward IV, Cersei as Elizabeth Woodville, Joffrey and his brother Tomen as the Princes Edward and Richard of York. It shows why Richard had to act the way he did because not having control of the princes would have made him very vulnerable in the longer term to his in-laws who would use their influence to marginalise him. In fact in Richard’s eyes they had already given him reason to doubt their motives when the Woodvilles sent a large body of armed men to escort Prince Edward back to London from Wales. Richard acted decisively and arrested Earl Rivers who was accompanying Prince Edward at Stony Stratford. Richard himself led the escort to London. Later he questioned the legitimacy of the princes and had them placed in The Tower where they disappeared in mysterious circumstances. In Game of Thrones Ned Stark leaves his bid to seize Joffrey too late and pays the ultimate price. He is betrayed, thrown in prison and finally beheaded (though he’d agreed to plead guilty in return for saving not his own life but the lives of his daughters who he has been told are both held prisoner by the Lannisters).

It also seems to me that there are some very interesting dualities at work. Richard has close connections with the North. He has a reputation for good honest competent management and leadership and firm support for his retainers even at some cost to himself. Ned Stark too is from the North and is supported by devoted retainers. Richard and Ned share similar qualities or have had similar qualities ascribed to them. J.R.R.Martin emphasizes the dualities in Game of Thrones to make these defining qualities clearer:

North: South
Cold: Hot
Honest: Corrupt
Moral: unscrupulous
Service: self-serving
Temperate: self-indulgent

Richard in Shakespeare’s Richard III is utterly selfish, unscrupulous and self-serving whereas J.R.R.Martin’s Game of Thrones with Ned Stark as Richard III places him at the good, honest and decent end of the spectrum: the Richard III of revisionist historians who challenge the creation of Tudor propaganda. Does Martin in Game of Thrones show the terrible consequences for Ned Stark/Richard III of not acting utterly unscrupulously?

This is a longer version of a blog I posted originally on Manchester Museum’s Ancient Worlds blog. Don’t get me started on the Dothraki and the Mongols…

Richard III in the News Again

Coin of Richard III (kindly sent by Medieval Section member David Harpin)

I am very grateful to Medieval Section member David Harpin who has kindly sent a photo of a silver coin of Richard III. Earlier this week the Daily Telegraph ran a story by Sarah Knapton about the DNA sequencing of the last Plantagenet king’s remains. The development of genetic research and the sequencing of the entire genomes of individuals who lived in the past is revealing new information. Richard III will be one of a relatively small number of people from the past who have been studied in this way. The researchers led by Dr Turi King (University of Leicester) hope to be able to report what colour Richard’s eyes and hair were and whether he would have been susceptible to diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s. The research may reveal evidence of infectious bacteria. It is already known that Richard suffered from roundworm.

In the issue (Wednesday 12th February) Harry Mount, author of How England made the English, was looking forward to finding out the results of the research, which he hoped would shed light on the DNA segments passed down the royal bloodline. He reiterated just how shaky was Henry VII’s claim to the throne in terms of his share of ‘royal’ blood. This line of research will no doubt develop over time but already there are other Medieval characters this could be applied to, such as Alfred, whose remains have been identified. So, as previously mentioned, the next few years are full of exciting potential for Medieval history and archaeology.

Members will remember I’m sure Bob Woosnam Savage’s lecture about the recent research on Richard’s remains. Bob being a consummate professional would not reveal what he knew but intimated to us that further exciting work was taking place. So you could say that you (almost) heard about it at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society Medieval Section lecture first!

February lecture: new approaches to Anglo-Saxon settlement and place-names: the Vale of Pickering and the northern Wolds

Saturday's lecture about place names and the Yorkshire Wolds — Saturday’s lecture about place names and the Yorkshire Wolds (Janet telling members about coming excursions of Medieval interest)

February’s lecture meeting of the Medieval Section proved to be rather popular and brought out members in larger numbers than we have seen for some time. We are most grateful to Stuart Wrathmell, Director of West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory, Ecology and Archive Services, who spoke to us about new approaches to Anglo-Saxon settlement and place-names: the Vale of Pickering and the northern Wolds. Stuart is no stranger to members of the Medieval Section because of his work on the Wharram Percy project. Stuart directed the post-excavation programme for the Wharram Percy excavations, and oversaw the publication of the final six volumes of reports between 2000 and 2012. The talk he gave on Saturday was based on research he carried out as part of the preparation of the final Wharram volume.There will be a more detailed lecture summary in the fullness of time but (for those who weren’t there) Stuart looked at where the township boundaries were on OS maps of the mid-19th century and began to work out how they changed over time, sometimes being carved up to create new townships.

North Lincolnshire geology and place-names

Stuart started by looking at the distribution of place-names ending in ‘by’ in North Lincolnshire and argued that the supposed correlation between Scandinavian settlements and relatively poorer land was misleading. The pattern of settlements with access to mixed farming resources including arable at the interface between chalk and clay and grazing on the wolds and in the wetter valley bottoms was one that could also be seen on the Yorkshire Wolds. Stuart illustrated his talk with maps and topographical diagrams that showed how in some cases the township boundaries followed routeways that also attracted (at a much earlier date) prehistoric burials. Unfortunately there wasn’t time to explore Viking place-names on the Wolds. As a section we look forward to finding out more about Stuart’s work on West Yorkshire OS maps.

Refreshments in the Claremont kitchen after the lecture

Afterwards Janet senior talked about some events of potential interest to Medieval Section members that she is organising for the main society. I’ll post details in the Blog once I have the information from Janet. Watch this space!

Medieval Section Xmas Party 2013

Saturday’s meeting at Claremont to discuss the relationship between the main society and the sections reminded me that we ought to do more to highlight and celebrate some of the softer, less tangible benefits of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, namely that we are a community of like-minded individuals who share a passionate interest in the county and we come together every so often to celebrate shared interest in more relaxed ways and settings, such as our Medieval Section Xmas Party. With apologies to anyone I have caught inadvertently mid-munch in the photos attached but it was a great meeting. Firstly Bob Woosnam-Savage from Royal Armouries gave us a wonderfully entertaining talk about the identification of the remains of Richard III. The summary of the lecture should be available on the appropriate part of the section website in due course. Sincerest thanks to all those – too numerous to name individually – who brought in food and drink. I know a great time was had by all. So much so that the ladies working on the digital successor to the Society’s newsletter Update would like to feature some photos of Medieval Section members enjoying themselves. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Bridge

Christine and I have been talking about the current popularity of what’s been called Nordic or Scandi-Noir, the detective story thrillers that are the high spot of our Saturday nights’ TV schedules – otherwise utterly devoid of viewing interest – in which gritty, unconventional cops track down bio or eco-terrorist serial killers in Sweden or Denmark and sometimes both countries at the same time. Wallender may have blazed the trail but The Killing and most recently The Bridge are sublime.

So unlike the native offerings that talk the story half to death (if you think I’m exaggerating compare the scripts of Casualty with ER), The Bridge is fast moving, intelligent and utterly compelling. Before you ask “But where’s he going with this? What’s this got to do with the Medieval Section?” isn’t the solution to the question as to why we should find Nordic or Scandi-Noir so fascinating that, in this part of the world at least, you could argue that we are genetically predisposed to be receptive to the whole Scandi-Noir approach – the long winters, the washed-out colours from the low levels of light at northerly latitudes, the dour characters, the long saga of well, Saga – because of our Viking heritage?

The Danelaw was the name given to those parts of England settled by the Scandinavians. The Norse may have started off as raiders but they came to see the British Isles as a place for colonisation rather than simply as a source of plunder. A large army came to East Yorkshire and captured York in 1867. At the time this was one of the two major cities of Anglo-Saxon England. The evidence is all around us: the place names for starters but also genetically. It would be interesting to compare the popularity of The Bridge in different parts of the UK…

For some of the most colourful lecture notes ever seen about research on the Viking genetic heritage in the North West see Prof Steve Harding’s ‘Genetic Legacy of the Vikings’.

Animated Bayeux tapestry

Early Medieval battle reenactment. Image courtesy of Ian Uzzell and Vikingasaga

It is not so long ago that a Time Team reappraisal of the topography at Battle revealed a better candidate for the site of the battle of Hastings than the traditional (English Heritage) site. This should come as no surprise to members of the Medieval Section because a number of our lectures this last year have focused on Medieval battles (Fulford, Chester and Bosworth – the lecture summary for this should be available shortly) and in all of them the site of the battlefield has proved to be debatable or subject to revision in the light of new evidence.

I am grateful to Medieval section Treasurer, Jo Heron, for sending a link to an animated presentation of the Bayeux tapestry by PotionGraphics. Jo says she loves the sound effects and asks if it is worth putting on the website?

http://www.cosmolearning.com/videos/bayeux-tapestry-animated-version/

The tapestry is only partly animated but it really does bring it alive to see people swinging axes to chop down trees or to see the wheels revolving on a cart that’s being pulled along. The action scenes are well done with a compulsory beheading scene which isn’t too shocking and won’t give the children nightmares.

But don’t take my word for it. Watch it for yourselves and let me know what you think. I’ll post comments for other members of Medieval Section to read, gladly.

On the subject of medieval battles, if it is not obsessing on the topic, Medieval Section member Rita Wood has suggested running a medieval Battles in Yorkshire dayschool this autumn. May I take a quick straw poll to find out what the members think? If positive, do you have any suggestions for presentations and speakers?

Medieval Matters in 2014

The Middle Ages seem already to be doing a brisk trade just a few weeks into the New Year.

Following the traditional seasonal overindulgence many of you may be considering going on a diet. Andrew Jotischky, Professor of Medieval History at Lancaster University has compared the monastic dietary regime with its regular periods of fasting to the currently trendy 5:2 diet (Daily Telegraph 9th January 2014). Which all goes to show that there’s nothing new under the sun, save perhaps for the cigarette.

The Vikings are one of those perennially fascinating historical topics that are revisited every few years with a blockbuster exhibition. So it proves this year and a new Viking exhibition Vikings: Life and Legend in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery at the British Museum from 6th March (Daily Telegraph Review 4th January 2014). This promises to be the biggest show on the subject in living memory. Remember that the ‘World of the Vikings’ Conference celebrating 40 years of Viking Archaeology in York, takes place in York on 21st-23rd March this year. Locally the Bedale Hoard at the Yorkshire Museum pending fund-raising gives the topic added local and regional appeal if any were needed.

Further to the medieval section’s visit to the posited 1066 battlefield at Fulford, campaigners are trying to save the Wars of the Roses battlefield of Tewkesbury from being built upon (Daily Telegraph 1st January 2014).

The parish church in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire has sold a silver cup dating from about 1400 and originally used in feasting for £1.3 million. It has been described as one of the best-preserved specimens of its kind and was lent to the British Museum in 1963. It has been jointly bought by the British Museum and Wiltshire Museum. The silver medieval chalice was donated to the church more than 400 years ago and was used for communion (Daily Telegraph 30th December 2013).

The anniversary of the battle of Flodden (1513) barely passed, the opportunity to settle the score with the battle of Bannockburn (1314) presents itself. As if Medieval Matters in 2014 were not sufficient there is already anticipation building for celebrating the anniversary of Magna Carta. All of which bodes well for stimulating interest in Medieval history and archaeology this year and next.

A Medieval Mount from the Bedale Area

Perforated Medieval copper alloy mount from Thirsk (thanks to David Hirpin) — Perforated Medieval copper alloy mount from Thirsk (thanks to David Harpin)

David Harpin kindly brought some Medieval copper alloy mounts and harness pendants to Claremont to show me just before Simon Tomson’s lecture about St Richard’s Priory in Pontefract on Saturday 11th January.

I photographed one of the pieces that particularly caught my eye (see above). It is decorated with a crowned leopard on a heater-shaped shield with a sun-burst top right and bottom. It is perforated at the corners for mounting. It measures 3.2 cm square and weighs about 12 grams. It looks as though it has hammered from the inside against a mould to create the design. These are the arms of the Trubeville or Turbeville family which originally came from Normandy. David said “The mount belongs to a family that had various name spellings at the time.Very broadly it is thirteenth century, say 1225-1325”.

This made me think of the scene in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles (serialised in 1891) in which an antiquarian-minded vicar informs John Durbeyfield, a poor Wessex carrier, that he is descended from the Turbeville family and that he should by rights be addressed as ‘Sir John’. This goes to his head and out of the realization that the family is descended from a once powerful Norman landed family comes the fateful decision to send his daughter Tess to claim kinship with the apparently still affluent branch of the family at Kingsbere… from which stems much misery.

David showed me an extract from an article in The Antiquaries Journal (vol.29, Oct 1949, 204-6) which says a similar pendant was recovered from silt from the Salisbury street canals before they were filled-in in 1852.

Many thanks to David Harpin for allowing me to share this with members of the Medieval section.

English Companions Early Medieval Events 2014

The foundations of today’s Yorkshire were formed during “the Anglo-Saxon Age”. The English Companions is a society which promotes interest and research into that era – AD 450-1100. A quarterly magazine, “Wiðowinde” is published and our website has ongoing information and discussions of interest. An Old English correspondence course enables members to learn both the written and spoken language.

We encounter numerous instances of our Anglo Saxon heritage locally in place names like Knaresborough which was originally Cenheard’s burh (i.e. fort) or in artifacts such as the crosses to be seen in All Saints Church, Ilkley. By joining the English Companions you can share an interest with like-minded people and learn of the origins of the English language and literature. You can explore the history and events of the period and be introduced to the lives of notable men and women of the time.

The English Companions does not follow any particular interpretation of history and maintains a strictly neutral line on modern political and religious matters. I coordinate a local group which arranges meetings and events – see schedule below for details of upcoming events. If you would like to join us or find out more please get in touch.

George Roe Tel: 01937 520075 or email georgeroe@ntlworld.com

Saturday & Sunday 19^th & 20^th April	Whitby Abbey The Companions will putting on a display about the Synod of Whitby and providing the Anglo-Saxon back story on Easter Eggs and Bunnies to visitors at the Abbey.
Saturday 3^rd May	All Saints Church, Ledsham Meet at the Chequers Inn opposite the church at Noon. Barbara Jackson will give us a guided tour of the church at 2.00pm.
Sunday 29^th June	Ripon Cathedral. Meet at the Royal Oak opposite the Cathedral at Noon. Guided tour of the cathedral from 2.00pm. The Cathedral makes a £5.00 pp charge for the tour.
Sunday 27^th July	Bolton Priory 12^th century church. Meet at the priory at 1.00pm. David Mosley will give us a guided tour and tell us about the sites Anglo-Saxon origins.
Saturday 6^th Sept	English Companions lectures at Dewsbury Minster. The title of this year’s lectures is “People and Politics in the conversion of Northumbria”. Professor Joyce Hill and our own Elizabeth Lee will be speaking. Meet at the centre at 12.45pm. Tickets £2 members £4 non members in advance from George Roe
Saturday & Sunday 20th -21st Sept	The Battle of Stamford Bridge Festival. The Companions will be pitching their tent for the weekend!

World of the Vikings Conference 21-23rd March

A very Happy New Year 2014 to all members of the Medieval Section and other readers of this blog. I have just received word of a ‘World of the Vikings’ conference on 21-23rd March, at the Department of Archaeology, University of York and York Archaeological Trust.

The ‘World of the Vikings’ Conference, celebrates 40 years of Viking Archaeology in York, in memory of Dr Richard Hall. Dagfinn Skre has agreed to give the keynote lecture, several of Richard’s colleagues from York Archaeological Trust will present papers, and other contributors will include Gareth Williams, Neil Price, David Griffiths, John Sheehan, Hannah Cobb, Nela Schola-Mason, James Barrett, Soren Sindbaek and Steve Ashby.

The conference will be based at The King’s Manor, University of York, in the centre of the historic city and YAT will host a reception at JORVIK.

Full details of how to book can be found online:

https://worldofthevikings.eventbrite.co.uk

Also as part of the IPUP Public Lecture Series taking place January to March 2014 there is a lecture by Dr Janina Ramirez about Cultural Triumphs in 8th century Anglo-Saxon Northumbria at 6pm on Tuesday 11th February in the Berrick Saul Building (Bowland Lecture Theatre BS/005).

This series of public lectures, run by the Institute for the Public understanding of the Past, University of York, originates from the Department of History’s new MA in Public History – all the speakers, who are among the leading practitioners of public history in their fields, are also teaching on the MA. The series will highlight recent developments in history by, with and for the pubic, in archives, museums, country houses, popular festivals and the media.