Openwork decoration from Whitby (courtesy of Christane Kroebel)
Hild was the first abbess of the Streoneshalh/Whitby monastery from 657 AD until her death in 680 AD. Within a few years, it rose to prominence as a centre for learning and for hosting the Synod of Whitby to decide the dating of Easter. Although few literary and documentary references to Hild and to Whitby are extant, the monastery continued to play an important part in the political life of Northumbria during the next three to four decades and is likely to have been an economic force afterwards. By the second half of the ninth century, all activity ceased and did not resume until after the Norman Conquest, when a Benedictine monastery was founded dedicated to St. Peter and St. Hild. This talk will trace Hild’s role and importance in the seventh century and her appeal throughout the Middle Ages and into the 21st century.
Small find from Whitby Abbey
Our speaker, Christiane Kroebel, is an independent researcher based in Whitby, North Yorkshire. She is hon. editor of Forum: the Journal of Council for British Archaeology Yorkshire, Whitby Museum curator for the abbey collection (volunteer) and was formerly hon. librarian and archivist of the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society (2000-13). She studied at Durham University (History MA, 2003) and the Catholic University of America, Washington DC (Library and Information Science MSc, 1983). Her research interest is Anglo-Saxon history but more recently she has broadened her scope into medieval and early modern Whitby and vicinity.
This will take place at 2pm at Swarthmore Leeds on Saturday 10th February. Non-members are welcome but a donation to the cost of running the section would be appreciated.
Chas Jones has kindly sent details of this year’s commemorations of the battles of Fulford and Stamford Bridge. Fulford was the first and arguably largest of the three battles in the autumn of 1066. Five days after the battle of Fulford the Vikings were caught off guard at Stamford Bridge by King Harold II and badly defeated. These two Yorkshire battles contributed to the defeat of King Harold a few weeks later at Hastings because his army was no longer fresh after its long march up to Yorkshire and back.
The archaeological digs of 2014 and 2015 on the site of the 1066 battle of Fulford yielded many fragments of bone, which appeared to be human. Sadly it was not possible to extract collagen for a carbon date or to do isotope analysis on these bones.
The work will resume this summer with more trenches where the bones were found. Another trench will expose a further section of the ancient road leading to the ford which was discovered last year.
Chas recently launched a ‘Crowdfunder’ appeal, featuring a film by Dan Snow, to get the money to open the site to visitors. As a part of the 950th anniversary of 1066 the site, which is on public land, will be open for families during the summer holidays to visit and dig some of the intriguing archaeology that was uncovered last year.
There will be a number of events to commemorate the Fulford and Stamford Bridge battles, culminating in a battle re-enactment at Stamford Bridge on 25th September, the 950th anniversary date of that battle before the trek south to Hastings. This is being organised by English Heritage.
Chas has spoken to Medieval Section in the past. Chas hopes some of our members might venture over to Fulford to do some digging or just to come and have a look. He also runs newsletter to which you can sign up.
July
As a part of the Council for British Archaeology, festival of archaeology, starting on Saturday 16 July we will be digging at the ford to expose more of the ancient road and land surface of 1066
When the dig is over on 31 July the site will be covered over to protect it from the weather and prepared to allow visitors to inspect the battle surface
August
Open Fulford site with free public access to the archaeology.
Site is open 11-4 every day but accessible outside these hours for unguided access
Access is free but a £10 family ticket is planned for those wanting to take part in the dig
A living history camp will be making items and talking to visitors
Prepare tableaux of three battles with panels to explain the history and the battles
September
The site will remain open to visitors as long as weather conditions permit. The hope is to keep them open until the battle of Hastings in mid-October, weather and floods permitting, to maximise visitor opportunities
Saturday 17
Riccall Rampage – 9.00 Talk at Riccall and Viking ‘breakfast’ when the walk reaches Fulford. The walk takes about 3 hours and is along paths and bike tracks
Living history and site open all day with several battlefield walks during the day
Workshop for school children make armour and paper weapons for the battle, 1-4
Private feast for supporters and sponsors on the site starts at 5
Sunday 18
00 Judging the best dressed Viking prior to Children’s re-enactment of the battle
10 – 12.30 Battle on the playing fields with children and some Viking leaders. Parents must stay behind the barriers. Only children and Vikings allowed on the battlefield. Great photo opportunity as the battle moves back and forth on the surface where the battle was fought
Living history and site open all day with several battlefield walks during the day
Monday 19
Site will be configured to receive field trips from local schools
Tuesday 20 (950 anniversary)
Dedicate the memorial for the warriors of the battle.
Mid-day walk round the battlefield
Focus will be on attracting media attention in the build up to the Stamford Bridge weekend
Wednesday 21
11-4 Brainstorm Conference “Where did the 1066 battles actually take place”
Themed Poetry and music evening in Fulford
Thursday 22
Tadcaster to Stamford Bridge ride & stride
Friday 23
Embroidery day with dye workshop on site
Saturday 24
Full day of events at SB including a battle
Victors feast and celebration for warriors in the evening
Sunday 25 (950 anniversary)
Second day of events at SB
5pm English Heritage ride to Hastings sets off from central York
October 15
English Heritage commemorates 1066 at Battle Abbey with a massive re-enactment
Group photo showing objects in the West Yorkshire Hoard (copyright Leeds Museums and Galleries – photographer Norman Taylor)
The Medieval Section is endebted to Kat Baxter, Curator of Archaeology and Numismatics at Leeds Museums and Galleries, for speaking to us in November and for providing photographs of some of the very handsome Medieval treasure objects from the West Yorkshire hoard. Kat began her talk by giving an overview of Leeds Museums and Galleries and by telling us about the development of Treasure legislation. The success of the Treasure law can be seen in the fact that before 1997 26 finds per year were found to be treasure but in 2011 970 cases were reported as treasure – 95% of them found by metal-detectorists.
The West Yorkshire hoard (drawings copyright of Leeds Museums and Galleries and Archaeological Services WYAS – drawings by Jon Prudhoe)
The story of the West Yorkshire hoard began when the Finds Liaison Officer for West Yorkshire sent Kat some photographs in 2008 asking if she might be interested in the objects. At this point five objects had been discovered. A rescue excavation was organised to see if there were any other pieces from the hoard still in the ground. A further two items were recovered by the metal-detectorist on a return visit to the site. The objects included a very fine 10th century gold and garnet ring, a 9th century niello ring, two filigree rings, a fragment of a 7th century cloisonne brooch, a piece of gold ingot or hack gold, and a lead spindle whorl.
Gold and garnet ring (copyright Leeds Museums and Galleries – photographer Norman Taylor)
The 10th century gold and garnet ring is particularly fine and has not suffered any wear. It has an enlarged stepped bezel and is decorated with granulations of gold beads. The garnet looks too small for its dog tooth setting – either this garnet is a replacement or it has sunk as its mount has degraded.The gold content of the ring is very high. The back of the ring has a twisted hoop of gold wire with decorative terminals. It is so fine it may have belonged to a bishop. It certainly belonged to someone of high status.
Drawing of gold and niello ring (drawing copyright Leeds Museums and Galleries and Archaeological Services WYAS drawing by Jon Prudhoe)
The 9th century niello ring is a different kind of ring. It may have been worn over the gloves. It has four large oval panels decorated with leaf or zoomorphic motifs picked out in niello (a black mixture of copper, silver, and lead sulphides used as an inlay). It has suffered a lot of wear.
Smaller gold filigree ring (drawing copyright Leeds Museums and Galleries and Archaeological Services WYAS drawing by Jon Prudhow)
The filigree ring is smaller and thinner and of lower gold content. It is decorated with filigree and granulation. It is not symmetrical and though a beautiful piece of jewellery it is not of the same quality as the piece described earlier.
Gold cloisonne brooch fragment (copyright Leeds Museums and Galleries – photographer Norman Taylor).
The cloisonne brooch or pendant fragment is the earliest item in the hoard and dates from the 7th century. It has cells for inlays such as garnets but these have been hacked on one side and torn or bent out of shape. It would have been a stunning high class object when complete.
Large filigree ring (copyright Leeds Museums and Galleries – photographer Norman Taylor)
The second set of objects from the hoard consist of a another high quality ring with a high gold content with granular decoration. The ring appears to have a hollow bezzle and although it rattles when shaken nothing shows up on x-rays. the ring may have been an ecclesiastical ring owned by someone of high status. Like the earlier ring it shows no wear and appears to be brand new.
The last object is a lead spindle whorl and at present it is not clear why this was included in the hoard of gold objects. Two of the rings are of the highest quality known from Anglo-Saxon England. However, the rings cover a considerable period of time (the brooch has been dated to the 7th century, the rings are later, perhaps between the 9th and 11th centuries). It has been suggested they may have been part of a thief’s stash and that the hoard was consumed little by little, the individual pieces hacked up and semi-precious stones chiselled out. It is interesting that another fine ring was found between Aberford and Sherburn in 1870. It is clear that in the 10th century there were some affluent individuals living in the vicinity of Leeds. It may be that some of the rings have ecclesiastical associations. It is unusual not to find any coins with the hoard. The hoard is important because it is the only Anglo-Saxon hoard found of this quality in the area. As such it is an important addition to local history. Certainly it raises more questions than it answers; why do the rings range so much in date, and why were they buried in a field?
The hoard took three years to go through the Treasure process and after being valued at just under £172,000 four months were allowed to raise the money needed to reimburse the finder, as is usual in cases of Treasure. The National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund made generous grants. The Headley Trust usually only makes a contribution if a Victoria and Albert Museum grant has been made but the latter had already been exhausted and the Headley Trust kindly made a grant award regardless. Further sums of money were given by Leeds Museums and Galleries, Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, the Friends of Leeds Museums and Galleries, and the Goldsmiths’ Company. The remaining money was raised by a public appeal and the hoard was secured for Leeds. The objects went straight on display in the Leeds City Museum, and a brand new display about the hoard, partly funded by the Art Fund, will be going up this Spring.
A lecture that sounds like a good follow-up to Stuart Wrathmell’s presentation to the Medieval Section in February: the Friends of St Andrews Weaverthorpe have organised a lecture on ‘Anglo-Saxon Estates on the Wolds: archaeological fieldwork at Cottam and Cowlam’ by Professor Julian Richards of the University of York at 7.30pm on
Friday 30thMay 2014at St Andrew’s Church, Weaverthorpe.
Tickets cost £5 and this includes refreshments.
Pete Wilson of the Roman section Y.A.S. is the contact for tickets and further details. let me know if you don’t know how to contact him.
At long last I am able to reproduce a drawing of a copper alloy Anglian cruciform brooch that was found by a metal-detectorist near Beverley, East Yorkshire. It was reported to the Hull and East Riding Museum in the early to mid 1990s. This being the pre-Portable Antiquities Scheme era, any provision for recording such material was at the discretion of the staff responsible for running the museum’s identification service. Recognizing the significance of such a piece I drew the brooch intending to publish it in due course. Soon afterwards I accepted a new job in Leeds and the brooch drawing was put to one side because my new duties had to take priority. However, I’m pleased to be able to share the brooch illustration for the first time with readers of the Medieval Section Blog.
As I recall the circumstances of discovery were rather sensitive. The finder offered the brooch for sale to the Museum and under due diligence the staff at the time contacted the landowner to request a formal transfer-of-title. However, the landowner had not been aware that metal-detecting was taking place on the land in question, though it was happy to give the brooch to Hull Museums. As a result the metal-detectorist did not receive a reward of any kind. It seemed a harsh outcome for him having reported the discovery but legally there was no other course of action because he did not have permission to metal-detect on that piece of land.
The drawing makes clear the brooch has a strongly arched bow. The terminals take the form of a face with what appears to be a protruding tongue. The cheeks look like birds’ beaks or perhaps biting beasts. Similarly-decorated extensions appear on the foot of the brooch. There are a number of disc-shaped depressions: two on the head of the brooch, one on the foot and I suspect part of one still survives on the left-hand terminal. There may have been some sort of inlay as decoration. Presumably the brooch dates from the 5th-6th centuries AD . It may have been worn as one of a pair of brooches, one on each shoulder and used to secure clothing. However, no other material was reported. It is not known whether this was from a burial or whether it was a casual loss, though it is in rather good condition.It measures 8.7cm (L.) by 7.6cm (W).
When I returned to Hull and East Riding Museum for a year in 2005 I tried to find the brooch again in the collection but the Assistant Keeper had no recollection of it and it does not appear on the publicly-accessible database for the collection. It is a beautiful piece and it was a challenging illustration. In fact it was the last significant drawing I worked on. It would be good to locate it again.
Advance notice of a lecture taking place on Saturday 6th September 2014 from 12.45pm at Dewsbury Minster by Professor Joyce Hill and Elizabeth Lee for the English Companions. The strapline of the society says that ‘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 410-1100.’ It seems churlish to quibble about the Scandinavian contribution to Yorkshire identity, and one should at least welcome the addition of a new lecture about the early Middle Ages to the autumn season.
Again from the text accompanying the lecture we are told that Professor Hill’s academic specialism is the language and literature of Anglo-Saxon England, with a particular focus on the transmission of Christian culture. Joyce began her career King’s College London, where she gained a First in English. From there she went to York for her D. Phil., where she began her research in the literature of the Anglo-Saxons, on which she now has more than a hundred publications. Joyce is now an Emeritus Professor of the University of Leeds. Within the new diocese to which Dewsbury Minster now belongs, she is a member of Ripon Cathedral Chapter as a Lay Capitular Canon.
Rev Elizabeth Lee trained as a teacher, specialising in Religious Education. She taught in Secondary Grammar and Modern Schools before becoming Head Teacher of a 9-13 Middle School in Leeds. Her final post was Head Teacher of the Cathedral C.E. Middle School in Wakefield. After retirement she was ordained priest in the Church of England and is now Honorary Curate in the Dewsbury Team Parish. Her interest in the Anglo-Saxon period was aroused when she moved to Dewsbury and discovered that the Parish Church was founded by Paulinus in AD 627. She continues to research the life and mission of Paulinus.
To reserve a place send a cheque made payable to the English Companions C/o George Roe 18 Heuthwaite Ave, Wetherby, West Yorkshire, LS22 6RR Tel: 01937 919173 email georgeroe@talktalk.net The cost is £2 for members £5 for non-members.
Medieval Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society 