Wow! eBook
Signals of Belief in Early England: Anglo-Saxon Paganism Revisited
Author(s): Alex Sanmark (Author), Sarah Semple (Author), Martin Carver (Editor)
- Publisher: Oxbow Books
- Publication Date: 28 Mar. 2010
- Edition: Illustrated
- Language: English
- Print length: 208 pages
- ISBN-10: 1842173952
- ISBN-13: 9781842173954
Book Description
This volume will throw new light on the intellect of the earliest English – the way they thought, the way they viewed the world, and the way they viewed worlds other than this. Previous understanding of the topic, well rooted in the ideas of its time, regarded the English as adherents of two consecutive religions: Paganism governed the settlers of the 4th-6th century, but was superseded in the 7th-10th century by Christianity. Of the two, Christianity, a religion of the book, documented itself thoroughly, while in failing to do so Paganism laid itself open to centuries of abuse, conjecture or mindless admiration. In developing new objectives, the papers here demonstrate that beliefs varied from place to place and were expressed in material culture. Through archaeology therefore, these beliefs can be rediscovered. Aware of the fact that even the best archaeology provides no open access to the mind, the contributors record, and study, signals of belief rather than what was believed. The premise of this volume is therefore that paganism was not a religion with supraregional rules and institutions but a loose term for a variety of local intellectual world views. The same courtesy is extended to Christianity. Both religions are treated as sources on which people, local people – the true agents of Anglo-Saxon England – eclectically drew. A range of material culture and locations across Northern Europe are explored, looking at signals of belief from the landscape, water cults, burial rites, the hall and animals in life and art. Each author looks across the sea to Scandinavia, as well as to the woods and fields, mires and mounds of Old England, resulting in a new perspective on the intellectual preoccupations and anxieties of a crucial age.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Introduced by Martin Carvers magisterial (and sometimes magnificently contrarian) overview, eight scholars here set out to approach pre-Christian belief on its own terms rather than through the lens of Church commentary, teasing insight from the intersections of archaeology, history and cultural anthropology. Stimulating and provocative, and emphasising the local, contextual and contingent, these essays succeed most when engaging directly with the material evidence and near-contemporary texts.’–Chris Scull “British Archaeology, May-June 2011”
This book wholly succeeds in its task of furthering our understanding of the signals eloquent of the beliefs of the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons, and will provide a starting-point for future attempts to understand the beliefs themselves.’–Michael Shapland “Archaeological Review from Cambridge, 2011”
Signals of Belief in Early England is a hugely welcome addition to the literature of Anglo-Saxon paganism. Any reader interested in the subject will find new and thought-provoking arguments, as well as superb examples of current archaeological approaches to understanding religion.’–James Holloway “Fortean Times” (3/1/2010 12:00:00 AM)About the Author
Sarah Semple is Professor in Archaeology at Durham University. Her research interests range from early medieval funerary archaeology to monuments and buildings as well as sculpture and particularly understanding the landscape context and sensory impacts of monuments. She is co-editor of A Cultural History of Objects in the Medieval Age (with Julie Lund, 2022).
