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Anglo Saxon

Artist’s impression of the Harpole Bed Burial (Image: with permission © MOLA)

Anglo-Saxon Bed Burials And Grandmother’s Featherbed

In April 2022, a ‘once in a lifetime” British archaeological discovery was made of a rare bed burial , accompanied by grave goods, known as the Harpole Treasure. So important and so vital was it to...
Marie de France from an illuminated manuscript (Public Domain)

Anglo Saxon Women’s Wills: Freeing The Enslaved As Testimony Of Piety

Women’s wills which so miraculously have survived from late Anglo-Saxon times deliver some surprising bequests such as the enslaved, which is shocking, but they mirror the societal values which...
Sir Geoffrey Luttrell and his wife, Agnes Sutton entertaining. On the table are knives, spoons, dishes, and plates or trenchers of bread. (CC0)

Be It Known: Women’s Wills Mirroring Anglo-Saxon Times

Anglo-Saxon England was a wealthy world with a gold and silver coinage from the early 600s, beginning in Kent and East Anglia. It had been pagan in the 400s but by the ninth and tenth century it was...
Rock crystal jar from the Galloway Hoard

Galloway Hoard Restoration Reveals More Surprising Secrets

Researchers have revealed that what is perhaps Europe’s most famous Viking Age hoard – the Galloway Hoard – was not a rapidly concealed family treasure being hidden from invaders. Rather, it was a...
Holy Sovereignty:  How the English Church Resisted a Norman Takeover

Holy Sovereignty: How the English Church Resisted a Norman Takeover

The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought enormous social and political upheaval to English society. Structures and institutions that had been in place for centuries were replaced by Norman ones...
Anglo-Saxon chieftain. Who were the Anglo-Saxons? Source: Archivist /Adobe Stock

Who were the Anglo-Saxons? Peaceful Settlers or Barbarians?

The skull shapes of ancient Anglo-Saxons have revealed that they were bonded not so much by genetic heritage as their shared language and culture. What they farmed and how they fought is well...
The Prophecy Of The Tower Of London Ravens: Less Than Six Means Doom

The Prophecy Of The Tower Of London Ravens: Less Than Six Means Doom

The disappearance of one of the Tower of London ravens, the “Queen raven,” means only six ravens remain at this iconic British building. This number, according to English mythology, signals the...
Lady Godiva

The Naked Truth on Lady Godiva and Her Nude Ride to Help the Poor

Lady Godiva was an English noblewoman who lived during the 11th century AD. Although she belonged to the upper class, she had a reputation for being sympathetic towards the less fortunate and was...

Shadows of the Dead: Anglo-Saxon Burials are Spooky Sand Silhouettes

Archaeologists in Britain have uncovered a remarkable Anglo-Saxon burial ground that dates back to the 6th or 7th century AD. This Anglo-Saxon burial site is rather unusual as it consists of spooky...
Beowulf against the dragon.

Finding Beowulf: Is Some of the Famous Anglo-Saxon Heroic Epic Based on Truth?

Beowulf is possibly the most famous example of Anglo-Saxon literature. The heroic epic was created between the 8th-11th century and is set in Scandinavia. In the tale, Beowulf helps the king of the...
The shrine of Medieval Saint Eanswythe in the Folkestone church, England. Source: A Clerk of Oxford

Bones of Medieval Saint and Princess Found Hidden in Church Wall

Scientists have finally managed to solve a centuries-old mystery. They have been able to show with a high degree of probability that some bones located in a church wall belonged to a medieval saint...
St Dunstan crowns King Edgar

Anglo-Saxon Abbey where Lusty King Edgar was Crowned, Found!

King Edgar (the Peaceful) was the first king of ‘all England’ - including the kingdoms of Scotland, Mercia, and Wessex, and his coronation at an Anglo-Saxon abbey as a divine ruler recognized by God...
Representative image of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians

Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, Struck Fear in Viking Hearts

Aethelflaed, also known as the Lady of the Mercians, was an Anglo-Saxon ruler of Mercia who lived between the 9th and 10th centuries AD. When Aethelflaed was still a child, the Vikings controlled a...
Medieval knights battle. Credit: Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock

A Red Dawn Rises - The Battle of Hastings, 1066

As the early morning sun dawned on October 14th, 1066 AD, casting its light on the clustered, eager soldiers, it would herald a new bloody, revolutionary epoch in the history of England. For on this...
Medieval knight riding into battle. Credit: rudall30 / Adobe Stock

The Dramatic History of the Normans: A Tale of Medieval Conquest

History is full of stories that will grip you like a modern page-turner novel, but only a few can do it as easily as the tale of the Normans. Proud and fearsome, these Viking descendants were key...
Beowulf fighting Grendel’s Mother beside Grendel’s body.

Of Monsters and Men: What Is the Grim Being Known as Grendel from the Epic Beowulf?

Nowadays, monsters hide under your bed. They come out of the closet or dangle from your ceiling. Children usually picture such monsters with fangs or scales, glowing eyes, and claws. With the right...
The Tremulous Hand of Worcester was a medieval scribe in the 13th Century.

The Tremulous Hand of Worcester: Unfurling the Medical Mystery of a Medieval Scribe

Handwriting is one of those things most people don’t really give a second thought to today – we live in a world where we are surrounded by text and the vast majority of the time it is printed rather...
A ditch has revealed what is thought to be the boundary to Aebbe’s monastery.

Discovered: The Lost Spiritual Legacy Of A Powerful Anglo Saxon Pagan Princess

Aebbe (615-668 AD) was a powerful Anglo Saxon pagan princess who became an abbess and then a saint for having been instrumental in spreading Christianity along the north east coast of what is today...
Britain’s Oldest Door is in Westminster Abbey

Britain’s Oldest Door is Westminster Abbey Relic that May Have Been Covered in Human Skin

Doors are an integral part of a building, and have been made commonly of wood or metal in the past. As an organic material, wood is highly susceptible to deterioration. Nevertheless, in some...
A Roman chicken brooch unearthed during the excavations.

Huge UK Archaeology Excavations Project Unearths Prehistoric, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Medieval Sites!

One of the largest archaeology projects in the UK has revealed Anglo-Saxon settlements, a Roman military camp, remnants of a Medieval village, and a wealth of archaeological treasures. That’s quite a...
Detail of “An Old Woman Spinning” (1646-1648) by Michiel Sweerts.

New Study Answers the Question - Did Medieval People Reach Old Age?

An Australian archaeologist has decided to take a different approach to looking at the lives of past society. Instead of focusing on the rich, young, and beautiful (all popular groups by today’s...
They came from the fjords of Western Norway, and when they left, only silence could be heard.

Did the Viking Age Really Start on 8 June 793 AD?

BY THORNEWS “ Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race (…). The heathens poured out the blood of saints around the altar, and trampled on the bodies...
Medieval miniature of Æthelflæd in Genealogical roll of the kings of England. 14th century

Æthelflæd: The Anglo-Saxon Iron Lady Who Showed the Vikings No Fear

The UK now has a female prime minister and Elizabeth II has been queen for more than six decades, but few would associate Anglo-Saxon England with powerful women. Nearly 1,100 years ago, however,...
1,500-Year-Old Mound in England Found to be Elite Anglo Saxon Burial

1,500-Year-Old Mound in England Found to be Elite Anglo Saxon Burial

Students at the historic British boys’ boarding school Eton College may have been using an ancient grave as a community gathering place for centuries, not realizing that the 20-foot mound near the...

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