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Essays in Anglo-Saxon History
James Campbell's work on the Anglo-Saxons is recognised as being some of the most original of recent writing on the period; it is brought together in this collection, which is both an important contribution to Anglo-Saxon studies in itself and also a pointer to the direction of future research.
254 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1995
37 people want to read
About the author
James Campbell
12 books10 followersProf. James Campbell MA, Hon DLitt, FBA, FSA was Tutorial Fellow and Professor of Medieval History at Worcester College, Oxford. He has published extensively on the medieval period and on Anglo-Saxon studies.
He celebrated his 80th birthday in 2015.
He celebrated his 80th birthday in 2015.
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February 12, 2020
This is now an old book and the age of the scholarship contained within is even older, as some of the essays date back to the 1970s. However, Campbell is an expert and the vast majority of this book is still thought provoking to some degree or another. I paid £38 for this at Blackwell's over 15 years ago and just read what was necessary for my needs at the time. As much as I've enjoyed reading all but one of the remaining essays, I can't help but think that at £38, Blackwell's still had the better part of the deal. You can buy it for less than half that on ebay now, which is a fairer price.
The essays include:
Bede I
This is a good introduction to the writings of Bede. It fits a lot into 27 pages and whilst it obviously doesn't go into the same depth as Higham's (Re)reading Bede or feels so fresh, there's plenty to get your teeth into. Unfortunately the quotes are in Latin, which I didn't learn at school (we got taught about computers, instead), but for those familiar with Bede, you know what they are, anyway. Ie, comments from Aidan about Oswine are only going to be about his humility. Campbell makes the point that whilst Bede is generally very reliable, he isn't above question and as is well known, had his own purposes and we should not forget this.
On a side note, Riemmelth gets a mention. The other week I commented about how an agreed spelling list for names would be useful. I knew who this was from the context, but without it, I wouldn't have been 100% sure who this was.
Bede II
This one was written two years after the first essay (1966) and like the former it still hasn't aged badly. This expands a bit and makes further points about Bede's discretion, such as him not using any of Eddius' miracle stories of Wilfrid which manifested themselves as support for his position during his disputes with authority.
The first century of Christianity in England
The first half looks at the conversion and after effects, whilst the second half posits that the Irish Columbanus monasteries in Gaul played a larger part in English Christianity than has previously been thought. There were a lot of monasteries in England that are only mentioned in passing and it makes you wonder just how many others there were and what effect they had upon the royal fisc. The Gaulish/Irish connections is interesting, but I wonder how 'Irish' they actually were and if they didn't see themselves more as 'Roman' by the latter 7th Century.
Observations on the Conversion of England
This essay is the when, how and what differences it made of conversion. Campbell shows that there were other influences as well as the mission of St Augustine, such as Pilu and Genereus, two English who were recorded as being on Iona before the death of St Columba in 597. He then points out that during the early stages of recorded pre-Christian history, there is the marriage of a pagan king to a Christian, pagan exiles fleeing to Christian territory and a pagan warlord allying with a Christian king. The laws relating to religious practice get some attention, although it isn't fully clear how much they were honoured in the breach.
Bede's Reges and Principes
This chapter is deceptive. It begins by discussing the terminology used by Bede, which is fine if you read the EH in Latin, but as most read a translation you are really in the hands of the bod who translated it and have to take it on trust that they know their business. However, it then goes on to talk about 7th century kingship in some depth and is a fascinating read. Easily the most enjoyable essay so far.
Bede's words for Places
This essay was a bit disappointing, partly because it could have been far more interesting. Campbell is a good writer, but his usual sure touch isn't so evident here and this essay feels like a tongue twister in places. It doesn't help that the operative sentences are in Latin with no translation. The main point is that Bede had a scheme in naming places (civitate if it was of some importance to the Romans, etc) and if you follow his rules for naming places it can help distinguish the type and likely place of unknown settlements and add context to what he is saying. The most accessible and useful part of this one was the table showing what term Bede used for each place how many times.
The Age of Arthur
This a review of John Morris' book, which means I'm reviewing a review – who said creativity was dead? Rather than savage it for the problems with evidence, the huge assumptions and presentation of supposition as fact, Campbell does his best to salvage something from it. He points out that Morris has looked at things that others haven't, but really this is just damning it with faint praise. I wish he'd just done what I did when I tried to read it and throw it across the room whilst screaming no repeatedly.
Early Anglo-Saxon Society according to written Sources
Here the institutionalised hierarchical society of the early period is looked into. Campbell makes the point that although the law codes can teach us something, there are a lot of blanks. The further down the hierarchy one goes, the larger these blanks become. We're not helped by how so much of the evidence that we do have can be read in different ways, such as that concerning just who counted as a member of the nobility. Was St Cuthbert from noble stock? He owned a horse and a spear, but also acted as a shepherd.
The Church in Anglo-Saxon Towns
A great read and very informative it is, too. Norwich having 49 churches by Domesday seems staggering, but a lot were probably very small (ala the one in Winchester that was 13' x 16'). It's good to be reminded that churches were seen as a form of property that could be flogged on to others.
Observations on English government from the 10th to the 12th century
This reiterates the excellence of the late Anglo-Saxon administrative system. Campbell goes on to show that there may well have been Carolingian influence on things such as estate records and so on. This is worth thinking about, but I'm not sure how much is 'influence' and how much the result of similar circumstances.
The significance of the Anglo Norman state in the administrative history of western Europe
Here Campbell discusses how precocious the administrative ability of the Anglo-Saxon state was in comparison to most of the other states, apart from Frankia, which wasn't doing too badly. However, he does temper this by acknowledging that if our continental sources were better, we may find that the other kingdoms were doing quite alright. He does put a bit too much faith in the Burghal Hidage and the lengths of wall to be defended, as that isn't quite the close fit in as many cases as he seems to think.
England, France, Flanders and Germany in the reign of Aethelraed II: some comparisons and Connections (and breathe)
This essay demonstrates that Anglo-Saxon contacts with the continent were pretty common, although the sources are fragmentary, they do show a range of interactions across different facets. This could be trade, embassies (home and away), lots of religious contacts and the account of Ethelred's raid on Cotentin is looked at again.
Some 12th century views of the Anglo-Saxon past
I didn't fancy this one, so didn't read it. I watched Minder instead.
The essays include:
Bede I
This is a good introduction to the writings of Bede. It fits a lot into 27 pages and whilst it obviously doesn't go into the same depth as Higham's (Re)reading Bede or feels so fresh, there's plenty to get your teeth into. Unfortunately the quotes are in Latin, which I didn't learn at school (we got taught about computers, instead), but for those familiar with Bede, you know what they are, anyway. Ie, comments from Aidan about Oswine are only going to be about his humility. Campbell makes the point that whilst Bede is generally very reliable, he isn't above question and as is well known, had his own purposes and we should not forget this.
On a side note, Riemmelth gets a mention. The other week I commented about how an agreed spelling list for names would be useful. I knew who this was from the context, but without it, I wouldn't have been 100% sure who this was.
Bede II
This one was written two years after the first essay (1966) and like the former it still hasn't aged badly. This expands a bit and makes further points about Bede's discretion, such as him not using any of Eddius' miracle stories of Wilfrid which manifested themselves as support for his position during his disputes with authority.
The first century of Christianity in England
The first half looks at the conversion and after effects, whilst the second half posits that the Irish Columbanus monasteries in Gaul played a larger part in English Christianity than has previously been thought. There were a lot of monasteries in England that are only mentioned in passing and it makes you wonder just how many others there were and what effect they had upon the royal fisc. The Gaulish/Irish connections is interesting, but I wonder how 'Irish' they actually were and if they didn't see themselves more as 'Roman' by the latter 7th Century.
Observations on the Conversion of England
This essay is the when, how and what differences it made of conversion. Campbell shows that there were other influences as well as the mission of St Augustine, such as Pilu and Genereus, two English who were recorded as being on Iona before the death of St Columba in 597. He then points out that during the early stages of recorded pre-Christian history, there is the marriage of a pagan king to a Christian, pagan exiles fleeing to Christian territory and a pagan warlord allying with a Christian king. The laws relating to religious practice get some attention, although it isn't fully clear how much they were honoured in the breach.
Bede's Reges and Principes
This chapter is deceptive. It begins by discussing the terminology used by Bede, which is fine if you read the EH in Latin, but as most read a translation you are really in the hands of the bod who translated it and have to take it on trust that they know their business. However, it then goes on to talk about 7th century kingship in some depth and is a fascinating read. Easily the most enjoyable essay so far.
Bede's words for Places
This essay was a bit disappointing, partly because it could have been far more interesting. Campbell is a good writer, but his usual sure touch isn't so evident here and this essay feels like a tongue twister in places. It doesn't help that the operative sentences are in Latin with no translation. The main point is that Bede had a scheme in naming places (civitate if it was of some importance to the Romans, etc) and if you follow his rules for naming places it can help distinguish the type and likely place of unknown settlements and add context to what he is saying. The most accessible and useful part of this one was the table showing what term Bede used for each place how many times.
The Age of Arthur
This a review of John Morris' book, which means I'm reviewing a review – who said creativity was dead? Rather than savage it for the problems with evidence, the huge assumptions and presentation of supposition as fact, Campbell does his best to salvage something from it. He points out that Morris has looked at things that others haven't, but really this is just damning it with faint praise. I wish he'd just done what I did when I tried to read it and throw it across the room whilst screaming no repeatedly.
Early Anglo-Saxon Society according to written Sources
Here the institutionalised hierarchical society of the early period is looked into. Campbell makes the point that although the law codes can teach us something, there are a lot of blanks. The further down the hierarchy one goes, the larger these blanks become. We're not helped by how so much of the evidence that we do have can be read in different ways, such as that concerning just who counted as a member of the nobility. Was St Cuthbert from noble stock? He owned a horse and a spear, but also acted as a shepherd.
The Church in Anglo-Saxon Towns
A great read and very informative it is, too. Norwich having 49 churches by Domesday seems staggering, but a lot were probably very small (ala the one in Winchester that was 13' x 16'). It's good to be reminded that churches were seen as a form of property that could be flogged on to others.
Observations on English government from the 10th to the 12th century
This reiterates the excellence of the late Anglo-Saxon administrative system. Campbell goes on to show that there may well have been Carolingian influence on things such as estate records and so on. This is worth thinking about, but I'm not sure how much is 'influence' and how much the result of similar circumstances.
The significance of the Anglo Norman state in the administrative history of western Europe
Here Campbell discusses how precocious the administrative ability of the Anglo-Saxon state was in comparison to most of the other states, apart from Frankia, which wasn't doing too badly. However, he does temper this by acknowledging that if our continental sources were better, we may find that the other kingdoms were doing quite alright. He does put a bit too much faith in the Burghal Hidage and the lengths of wall to be defended, as that isn't quite the close fit in as many cases as he seems to think.
England, France, Flanders and Germany in the reign of Aethelraed II: some comparisons and Connections (and breathe)
This essay demonstrates that Anglo-Saxon contacts with the continent were pretty common, although the sources are fragmentary, they do show a range of interactions across different facets. This could be trade, embassies (home and away), lots of religious contacts and the account of Ethelred's raid on Cotentin is looked at again.
Some 12th century views of the Anglo-Saxon past
I didn't fancy this one, so didn't read it. I watched Minder instead.
Displaying 1 of 1 review