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.
The next lecture in the programme will be by Dr Audrey Thorstad talking about Interaction, daily life, and socialising spaces in early Tudor castles on 10th December. This will be held in the Swarthmore Institute.
Dr Thorstad kindly sent the following abstract and the photograph of Cowdray Castle:-
‘Castles have long been understood as elite military structures. However, recent approaches to castle studies have demonstrated that historical documents and archaeological remains depict a much more complex narrative for those living, working, and visiting a castle site during the Middle Ages and early modern periods. This paper will explore how people – from the lord and his family to members of the household and guests – moved around and used space in English castles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. My approach takes into account sources that have not previously been used together in order to explore the layout and chamber arrangements in an age when castles were supposedly in decline. By dismantling the idea of the decline paradigm often used to describe castles after the fourteenth century, this paper will argue that castles were in fact still heavily used by the nobility well into the sixteenth century.’
I recently received word that the second volume of the Medieval Section journal Medieval Yorkshire has been printed and is available for distribution to paid up members. The new publication features a paper on Yorkshire’s medieval boroughs by Brian Barber; on Plough pebbles from Holderness, and on the Kirkstall Abbey Gatekeeper’s Lodge and Vesper Gate by your humble servant the Hon.Secretary; on A Stamford Ware pottery kiln in Pontefract by Ian Roberts; and on Malton Museum by Ann Clark. There are a number of lecture summaries from the 2014-15 programme, and, sad as it is to report, short obituaries for section members, the late Lawrence Butler and Brian Donaghey, who did so much to promote Medieval architecture and literature respectively.
The contents were kindly seen to press by our Hon. Editor David Asquith, ably assisted by Sue Alexander and all thanks to them and the contributors for their hard work.
We will be distributing copies by post shortly but in order to save money on postage we will take copies to this Saturday’s lecture about the Gilbertines at the Swarthmore Education Centre. Please come along to enjoy the lecture and pick up your copy of Medieval Yorkshire at the same time. Remember your subscription needs to be current.
We are grateful once again to John Cruse for drawing to our attention the following event:-
Saturday 20th June 2015
Rahtz Lecture Theatre, King’s Manor, York
In 2014 the JORVIK Viking Centre celebrated its 30th birthday. For three decades it has welcomed visitors to the site of the Coppergate dig, an undertaking that revolutionised approaches to Viking-era England both within and beyond the academy, through a range of new investigative and interpretative techniques. But where do we stand in 2015?
This one-day, interdisciplinary conference will bring together heritage professionals and researchers in such related fields as archaeology, history and public history to explore a range of current themes in early medieval research covering the period up to and including the early twelfth century, as well as the real or potential impacts of this research in the public sphere.
Confirmed keynote speakers:
David Petts, Lecturer in the Archaeology of Northern England, University of Durham
Edmund Southworth, Director, Manx National Heritage
Julie Gibson, Lecturer and County Archaeologist for Orkney, University of the Highlands and Islands
Registration from 9am, 10am start and a 4pm finish
£25 adult, £20 student / conc. / Friends of YAT
Ticket price includes morning/afternoon refreshments and lunch
Add to your experience with a VIP wine & cheese reception and private
group tour of JORVIK with the opportunity to see and handle finds
from Coppergate. Ticket upgrade £10 per person. Reception starts at
6pm at JORVIK.
Pre-booking essential:
visit http://www.jorvikbookings.com or call 01904 615505
David Asquith at Claremont with copies of Medieval Yorkshire
If you are wondering what our Honorary Joint Editor is smiling about, it’s the opportunity to acquire back-copies of the section journal Medieval Yorkshire for free. Yes all those obscure back numbers of the journal that you’ve been scouring second hand book shops, Amazon and ABE in search of, you may find being given away at the next section AGM on Saturday April 11th at 2pm.
Last Saturday at our most recent committee committee meeting we considered what to do with previous issues of Medieval Yorkshire and other section publications such as Medieval Dairying. This is in response to the main society asking the sections to think about what needed to kept and what could be disposed of when Claremont is eventually sold and the society moves into new premises.
Now that electronic publishing is a viable option we can provide researchers with a pdf in return for a payment on PayPal without having to maintain a large stock. We already have four issues scanned and with Axel Muller’s assistance we are working on scanning the rest. We shall of course keep a couple of issues of each volume for future reference but it does mean we can be a bit more economical space-wise.
Back copies of Medieval Yorkshire
If you’d like back copies of Medieval Yorkshire we’ll be giving them to members at the next AGM so do come along, to take part in the meeting, at which some new faces will be presenting themselves for election, and you can also enjoy the next presentation in our lecture programme by Richard Thomason about ‘Hospitality in a Cistercian Abbey: the Case of Kirkstall in the Later Middle Ages’. So do come along.
Sadly we had some hiccups with the latest mailing of the new look Medieval Yorkshire (New Series). Due to circumstances beyond our control we only have enough to distribute to fully-subscribed members and a few extra copies for review. It looks unlikely that we shall have many to sell to non-members. Of course, a pdf download copy of Medieval Yorkshire can be provided for the more modest sum of £5.50.
For little more than £10 extra you can subscribe to the section and enjoy up to eight top quality lectures about different aspects of Medieval Yorkshire and elsewhere. That’s just £1.25 per lecture, though I noticed recently that people who are not members of the section have been taking liberties and attending the lectures as prospective members repeatedly. Without wanting to be too officious about this the committee thinks it is perfectly acceptable to come to one or two lecture meetings to see if it is ‘for you’ but after that someone who comes along should really make a contribution to the cost of organising the lecture. At least £2. Otherwise those members who have paid their subscriptions are effectively subsidising prospective members and that simply isn’t fair. We would always wish to make joining the Medieval Section by payment of the annual subscription (£16) the most cost effective option for people. And don’t forget that in addition to the lectures paid-up members also receive the section journal Medieval Yorkshire. I can’t think of many societies where you would receive all these benefits for such a modest subscription.
The speaker at this month’s Medieval Section lecture will be Tony Abramson. Tony has studied early Anglo-Saxon coinage since the early 1990s. He has written a number of books on the topic, the most recent of which reclassified the silver proto-pennies or ‘sceats’ issued from the 670s to the 750s south of the Humber and well in to the ninth-century in kingdom of Northumbria. There are more than 630 varieties of these tiny coins, rich in the iconography of the Conversion Period. Tony initiated the biennial symposia in early medieval coinage and is editor of the resultant publications.
Tony qualified as a chartered accountant after graduating in economics from the University of Lancaster in 1970. He spent the last 25 years of his career launching technology start-up companies but has recently retired to take a PhD in numismatics at the Department of Archaeology, University of York.
His illustrated talk will trace the evolution of the coinage of Northumbria from the élite gold of the seventh-century, through the mercantile silver sceats of the eighth, to Northumbria’s unique brass widow’s mite or ‘styca’ issued in huge numbers before the fall of York to the Vikings in 866/7.
A member of the public has sent a photograph of a Medieval horse harness pendant that he found whilst metal-detecting recently. The finder found the account of David Harpin’s lecture about Richard of Cornwall last autumn on the Medieval Section blog. Although the cross is of a slightly different design it is very similar to the one that David showed us with the coat-of-arms of the De Montfort family, with its link to the heraldry of the South of France and the suppression of the Albigensian heresy. The enquirer has requested information about his discovery. Over to you David. It all goes to show that the Medieval Section Blog reaches places and people other means of communication find it hard to reach.
De Montfort cross pattee on a horse pendant that David Harpin showed the Medieval Section recently.
I am delighted to be able to share the news that Booths the printers have informed David Asquith, our Acting Honorary Editor, that they are dispatching the new-look section journal Medieval Yorkshiretoday. The box is being sent to Claremont and ought to be available for collection in the next week. Better still, why not come along to the lecture by Tony Abramson of Yorkshire Numismatics Society on Northumbrian sceats at 2pm on Saturday 14th February and you can collect your copy (if you are paid up member) and enjoy the presentation.
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.
Ruth Spencer has contacted me to say that Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group (UWHG) is organising a free Open Day on Monday, August 25th in the Amerdale Hall, Arncliffe in Littondale (BD23 5QD or NGR SD 9328 7185) . The focus for the day is the recent UWHG project undertaken in the village to research and investigate the location of an interesting archaeological discovery found by a metal-detectorist in 2000 and is a direct follow-up to the ‘Festival of Archaeology’ display that the group will have in Long Ashes Leisure Centre in Threshfield between Sunday the 13th and Sunday the 27th of July. UWHG would be very pleased to see any YAS members at either (or both) of these events.
Programme for the day:
From 11:00 until 16:00, Amerdale Hall in Arncliffe will
be open to present a range of project related items.
You are free to drop in anytime during the day:
11:00 – 13:00 Take part in a simulated burial
excavation with Kevin Cale, Community Archaeologist
14:00 – 14:30 Final Results for the Arncliffe Project
Dr Roger Martlew
Yorkshire Dales Landscape Research Trust
14:30 – 1500 Arncliffe’s Anglo Saxon Context –
recent excavations of Early Medieval sites in the
Ingleborough area.
Dr David Johnson, Independent Researcher and
Ingleborough Archaeology Group
15:00 – 16:00 Take part in a simulated burial
excavation with Kevin Cale, Community Archaeologist
Medieval Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society 