Royal burial and the cult of kingship in France and England, 1060–1330

In the late-eleventh and early twelfth centuries, French and English royal burials were relatively unceremonial, low-key affairs, a contrast with the obsequies of other contemporary rulers such as the Holy Roman emperors. One reason for that may be the dominance of reforming ecclesiastics in arranging the funeral rites in England and France; another, the importance attached by the monarchs to obtaining personalised intercession from ascetic monks. By the early fourteenth century, however, the French and English sovereigns were commemorated after death in magnificent ceremonies and monuments. In the intervening centuries, those kings and their followers had shown a growing interest in the creation and promotion of royal saint-cults; in the honouring of royal remains; in public and splendid funeral ceremonies and lawish tombs; and in the creation and development of imposing burial-churches at Saint-Denis and Westminster. During this time there was an increasing emphasis upon the image and panoply of monarchy in both kingdoms which was rooted to a large extent in the personal and political rivalry of their rulers. The new splendours of royal burials can be seen as one important part of those developments.     

Royal burial and the cult of kingship in France and England, 1060–1330

In the late-eleventh and early twelfth centuries, French and English royal burials were relatively unceremonial, low-key affairs, a contrast with the obsequies of other contemporary rulers such as the Holy Roman emperors. One reason for that may be the dominance of reforming ecclesiastics in arranging the funeral rites in England and France; another, the importance attached by the monarchs to obtaining personalised intercession from ascetic monks. By the early fourteenth century, however, the French and English sovereigns were commemorated after death in magnificent ceremonies and monuments. In the intervening centuries, those kings and their followers had shown a growing interest in the creation and promotion of royal saint-cults; in the honouring of royal remains; in public and splendid funeral ceremonies and lawish tombs; and in the creation and development of imposing burial-churches at Saint-Denis and Westminster. During this time there was an increasing emphasis upon the image and panoply of monarchy in both kingdoms which was rooted to a large extent in the personal and political rivalry of their rulers. The new splendours of royal burials can be seen as one important part of those developments.     

Hosting the king: hospitality and the royal iter in tenth-century England

Traditional studies of royal itinerancy have depended on locating the king’s progress through his kingdom(s) as precisely as possible and it should therefore not surprise that the iter regis in pre-conquest England has received relatively little attention, since Anglo-Saxon diplomas only rarely record their date and place of issue, making the establishment of the royal itinerary all but impossible. However, more recent studies, particularly by German scholars, have moved away from the earlier attention to the concrete details of the royal iter and focus more on the effects of itinerancy as a method of rulership, viewing itinerancy as a central part of royal ritual. This study argues that if we investigate itinerancy in tenth-century England from this standpoint, we can throw new light onto the subject. Contemporary sources reveal that in England as in France and Germany the iter regis was of great importance, with symbolic acts of feasting and gift-giving accompanying royal visits. The attention given to these ritualised acts in contemporary sources suggests, moreover, that Anglo-Saxon kingship possessed an important ‘charismatic’ quality, which deserves further investigation.     

Anglo-Saxon Timber Building Measurements: Recent Results

THE METHODS of analysis of Anglo-Saxon timber building plans and the use of the 5.03 m (16 ft. 6 in.) rod have been explored previously. The use of a shorter rod was identified tentatively at Thetford and now, at 4.65 m long, positively at Mucking. The use of both rods is discussed at Yeavering, Mucking, West Stow, Thirlings, Cowdery's Down, Northampton, Springfield Lyons, Wicken Bonhunt, Rounds, Bishopstone, Catholme and Cheddar. Nineteenth-century records in the Elbe-Weser region of Germany show rods, extant at that time, with an average length of 4.63 m. It is thus possible that the origin of the shorter Anglo-Saxon rod might be sought in the Germanic homeland of the Anglo-Saxons. The rods seem to have been divided into thirds and sixths, and the possible use of even smaller measures is considered. The implications of the widespread use of standard measures in Anglo-Saxon England are discussed. The awkwardness of the English medieval system of linear measurement may have been due to the amalgamation of elements of both of the two Anglo-Saxon systems.     

英国近代早期“政治性的四旬斋”运动探微

在英国近代早期的特殊时代氛围下,原本作为基督教的宗教斋戒仪式的四旬斋被赋予了浓重的政治和经济色彩,被冠之为“政治性的四旬斋”。在当时的社会公共生活中,四旬斋备受国家立法的关注和重视。究其实质,“政治性的四旬斋”首先是近代英国政府所奉行的重商主义对内政策的重要组成部分;其次,该政策亦是当时英国囿于国情和外部国际环境压力所采取的一种无奈之举;最后,其不过是对宗教改革之前的英国民众饮食文化传统的一种变相恢复而已。关于其实施后果,该运动对当时英国政治、经济生活及民众日常生活都产生了一定影响。它既在客观上促进了英国渔业的发展,并刺激了英国航海业乃至海军的发展,还在一定程度上通过限制富人的消费改善了穷人的生活境况。但囿于其非常化、权宜性和理想化色彩过重的缺陷,它的影响最终是较为有限的。     

英国议会请愿的起源

在13世纪中期,因为地方司法治理不力,英国臣民向王室施加了巨大的政治压力。与此同时,为了扩大管辖范围,罗马教廷和巴黎高等法院也向英国王室发起有力的主权挑战。英国国王爱德华一世被迫开展司法改革,以应对这些压力和挑战,进而加强其统治权威。其中的一项重要举措就是允许臣民向议会呈递请愿。在当时,议会请愿的主要内容是寻求司法公正和祈求王室恩惠。它的推行,一方面加强了王权,另一方面维护了民权,由此受到普遍的欢迎和支持。正是在爱德华一世统治时期,议会请愿获得了初步发展,成为议会制度的重要组成部分。这标志着英国议会请愿制的成形。最后要指出的是:议会请愿的起源,深受英国君臣之间实力对比的影响。     

中世纪前期英国的地方自治形态

早在中世纪前期,英国的地方统治就不同于封建时代中国式的“官治”,而呈现出一定的自治特性。这一自治特性分别表现为“官民合治”与“民官自治”。无论是哪一种情形,其自治形态都属于“国王监控的地方自治”。这种自治形态真实地反映了王权触角的向下延伸与地方集团对王权的制约,它对于英国地方自治的起步、宪政的发展、市民社会的孕育都产生了深远的影响,是英国成为“地方自治之家”与“宪政之乡”的重要原因所在。     

略论殷墟王陵制度的形成

无论是传世文献还是甲骨金文,均反映出晚商时期有一个嫡庶观念逐渐加强的过程,而这个过程与殷墟西北岗王陵区不断突出王墓的作法是一致的。两个方面均反映出晚商王权的逐步加强以及父死子继王位传承制度的逐渐巩固与最终确立。西北岗王陵西区是比较纯粹的王陵区,但东区埋葬的人员较为复杂,只能看作是一处高等级王室墓地。西北岗王陵区可能开启于殷墟文化一期偏早阶段,并可能一开始就大致划定兆域界限。武丁在位时期可能对王陵制度作过重大调整,即西区只葬殷王,其他成员只能葬在王陵东区、小屯宫殿宗庙区西南部墓地以及后岗西区墓地等处。殷王陵不奉行夫妻并穴合葬,王与后分处。但王陵东区有异姓陪葬的现象。殷王陵区有象征国家政权的一面,与殷墟其他普通族墓地有较大差异。     

Royal inauguration and liturgical culture in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099–1187

ABSTRACT

While modern scholars have often assumed that the models of liturgical kingship which prevailed in Latin Christendom during the Early Middle Ages became less prominent in the Central Middle Ages, more recent work has suggested that royal dynasties including those of France and England maintained practices of liturgical kingship between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. This article contributes to this recent wave of historiography by examining the image of monarchy which was adopted in the kingdom of Jerusalem between 1099 and 1187. It takes as its focus the inauguration ceremonies and associated royal rituals performed by the monarch during this period, considering aspects of each ceremony, including the various constituent rituals, the place or places in which the rituals were held, the prelates who presided, the identity of other individuals who were recorded as having taken part, and the dates upon which the ceremonies were held. It is suggested that the royal dynasty of Jerusalem was attuned to the liturgical potential of inauguration ceremonies, and that it adopted rituals which were aimed at fostering consensus among the political community of the kingdom. The monarchy created an image of liturgical kingship which combined Western practices with elements that were unique to Jerusalem.     

Divide and rule? The military infrastructure of eighth‐ and ninth‐century Mercia

Military might is widely recognized as having been a key element in the Mercian kings’ ability to forge and maintain a large kingdom in midland England in and after the seventh century. The paper argues that its basis was a network of fortified places – all major royal settlements that were given substantial defences in the eighth and early ninth centuries – and a systemic mechanism for manning them. The archaeological evidence of these defences at Hereford, Tamworth and Winchcombe is reviewed; the probable locations of other such early fortified places in midland England are considered; and the significance of this burghal system for our understanding of ‘the supremacy of the Mercian kings’ is weighed.     

The Rhetoric of Convention: The Foundational Saul Narratives (1 Samuel 9–11) Reconsidered

Biblical scholars have applied new methodologies to the royal narratives in the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua–Kings) as viable resources for recovering authentic historical information regarding the monarchic cultures of ancient Israel and their impact on the development of Israelite religion. The present study considers anew the narratives regarding Israel's first king, Saul son of Kish. A recurring motif in these narratives is the appeal to socio‐religious convention, which is suggestive of a rhetorical strategy among the authors that sought to situate the Saulide royal lineage in familiar traditions that the institution of kingship was perceived as disrupting.     

Charles the Bald and Aethelwulf of Wessex: the alliance of 856 and strategies of royal succession

Scholars have usually supposed that the marriage of King Aethelwulf of Wessex to the daughter of Charles the Bald in 856 signified the creation of an anti-Danish alliance between the two rulers. That this union signified a royal accord is not in doubt but there is no evidence to associate it with any venture against Danes. Though the evidence is not conclusive it appears more probable that Aethelwulf's marriage to Princess Judith was part of a scheme to prevent or to undermine a rebellion in England then being fomented by Aethelwulf's son Aethelbald who desired his father's throne. For his part Charles the Bald aimed at gaining influence in England. At the time of her marriage Judith was crowned and anointed and this was a rare occurrence. When analyzed in the proper light it suggests the existence of a compact by the terms of which Aethelwulf would disinherit Aethelbald at some future date should Judith bear a son. The marriage, then, did not signify an alliance against Danes. Rather it denoted an alliance against Aethelwulf's son Aethelbald.     

Charles the Bald and Aethelwulf of Wessex: the alliance of 856 and strategies of royal succession

Scholars have usually supposed that the marriage of King Aethelwulf of Wessex to the daughter of Charles the Bald in 856 signified the creation of an anti-Danish alliance between the two rulers. That this union signified a royal accord is not in doubt but there is no evidence to associate it with any venture against Danes. Though the evidence is not conclusive it appears more probable that Aethelwulf's marriage to Princess Judith was part of a scheme to prevent or to undermine a rebellion in England then being fomented by Aethelwulf's son Aethelbald who desired his father's throne. For his part Charles the Bald aimed at gaining influence in England. At the time of her marriage Judith was crowned and anointed and this was a rare occurrence. When analyzed in the proper light it suggests the existence of a compact by the terms of which Aethelwulf would disinherit Aethelbald at some future date should Judith bear a son. The marriage, then, did not signify an alliance against Danes. Rather it denoted an alliance against Aethelwulf's son Aethelbald.     

Embroidery as a Means of Diplomacy: The Artisans’ Part in a Royal Marriage Proposal, 1560–1561

The use of fashionable dress played an important part in early modern dynastic politics. In this paper, the diplomatic efforts to engineer a marriage between Erik XIV of Sweden and Elizabeth I of England are used as an example of the interrelations of textiles and diplomacy. Parallel to their negotiations in London, the Swedes organised the production of luxury goods and set up temporary workshops on the spot. The study looks at the Swedish embroidery workshop in London, using written records to investigate its organisation and production, and to discuss artisanal skills and the transnational element in employment in a royal workshop. It is suggested that the entire enterprise was a diplomatic practice, designed to enable the Swedes to draw attention to their presence in London and make their consumption visible on all possible levels.     

Landscape and warfare in Anglo‐Saxon England and the Viking campaign of 1006

This paper outlines the state of research into early medieval conflict landscapes in England and sets out a theoretical and methodological basis for the sustained and systematic investigation of battlefield toponymy and topography. The hypothesis is advanced that certain types of place were considered particularly appropriate for the performance of violent conflict throughout the period and that the social ideas that determined the choice of locale are, to some degree, recoverable through in‐depth, interdisciplinary analysis of landscapes, place names and texts. The events of 1006 and the landscape of the upper Kennet are introduced as a case study that reveals the complex interplay of royal ideology, superstition and place that were invoked in the practice of violence in late Anglo‐Saxon England. In the course of the discussion, this paper seeks to demonstrate the value of applying a similar approach to the full range of evidence for conflict landscapes in early medieval England and beyond.     

Archbishop Wulfstan’s criticism of King Edgar in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Archbishop Wulfstan of York’s interpolation in the DE version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 959 is out of character for both the churchman himself and for the pre-Conquest period as a whole, as it is the only text from early England critical of King Edgar. This article shows that Wulfstan’s complaints about Edgar, which focus on the king’s policies related to Scandinavians in England, are rooted in the monarch’s probable official employment of Scandinavians and in the law code IV Edgar. Ultimately, this article argues that Wulfstan’s criticisms of Edgar are best understood in relation to the archbishop’s notion that royal policy could have significant long-term negative consequences, especially if such policy contravened Wulfstan’s understanding of the will of God.     

英国近代早期的物价问题与国家管制

近代早期的英国曾与西欧各国一同经历了"价格革命".当时英国的物价大幅上涨,从而严重影响到国家经济秩序的稳定和国民的生活.是时执政的都铎政府为此进行了长期的国家管制,并颁布了各种调节物价的专门法规,其中诸多王室敕令的施行颇为引人注目,体现出政府不断强化干预力度的政策导向.通过王室敕令等相关.法规的实施,都铎国家的物价管制取得了一定成效.但受若干主客观因素的制约,都铎时期物价国家管制的实际效果又是较为有限的.     

Making the Lancastrian capital at Leicester: the battle of Boroughbridge,civic diplomacy and seigneurial building projects in fourteenth-century England

Though a community of some note throughout the Middle Ages, Leicester really came to the forefront of England's consciousness following a series of political and economic crises in the first decades of the fourteenth century. Thereafter the relationship between the town and its Lancastrian lords was forced to shift from one of sometimes indifferent, sometimes overwhelming, clientage to a more balanced and mutually beneficial association. This increasingly positive relationship found physical expression in two projects in particular: the renovation of Leicester Castle and the foundation of the Newarke Hospital and College. This building programme gave the Lancastrian dynasty not only a place to stay, entertain and pray in southern England, but also a solid base from which to face the political and economic turmoil of the fourteenth century. This fact, along with Leicester's growing connection to the English royal family, would distinguish the town, and bequeath it an importance even once its Lancastrian lords had become kings of England. Leicester exemplifies important themes in later-medieval urban history. The town not only derived concord out of conflict with its lords in the face of difficult economic circumstances; it also brought some of the most potent aspects of both the English and continental traditions of urban-seigneurial relations together, especially in terms of the lord's political and physical connections with the town under his control.