Anglo-Saxon Myths: State and Church, 400-1066

by Brooks, Nicholas

• ISBN13: 9781852851545
• ISBN10: 1852851546
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-02
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

In this collection of essays Nicholas Brooks explores some of the earliest and most problematical sources, both written and archaeological, for early English history. In his hands, the structure and functions of Anglo-Saxon origin stories and charters (whether authentic or forged) illuminate English political and social structures, as well as ecclesiastical, urban and rural landscapes. As well as previously published essays, "Anglo-Saxon Myths: State and Church, 400-1066 includes a new account of the English origin myth and a review of the developments in the study of Anglo-Saxon charters over the last twenty years.

Table of Contents

Figures	vii
Acknowledgements	ix
Abbreviations	xi
Preface	xiii
History and Myth, Forgery and Truth	1	(20)
Introduction to `The Making of England'	21	(12)
The Creation and Early Structure of the Kingdom of Kent	33	(28)
The Formation of the Mercian Kingdom	61	(18)
The English Origin Myth	79	(12)
The Ecclesiastical Topography of Early Medieval Canterbury	91	(10)
The Cathedral Community at Canterbury, 597-1070	101	(54)
The Career of St Dunstan	155	(26)
Anglo-Saxon charters: A Review of Work 1953-73	181	(36)
with aPostscript on the Period 1973-98	202	(15)
A New Charter of King Edgar	217	(22)
The Micheldever Forgery	239	(36)
Romney Marsh in the Early Middle Ages	275	(26)
Index of Charters	301	(1)
Index	302