Photo © Andy Lawrence
A Review of:
Why the Anglo-Saxons Matter, a talk by Professor Michael Wood
Last Friday, 2nd June, Michael Wood, the well-known historian and broadcaster gave a talk, organised by the St Albans & Hertfordshire Architectural & Archaeological Society (SAHAAS) at St Albans School on, Why the Anglo-Saxons Matter. You don’t have to be a history buff to have seen the many ground-breaking TV programmes he has presented across the decades. Therefore, it was not surprising his talk was a sell-out with over 280 attendees, including students from St Albans School, Townsend School and St Albans High School for Girls amongst the audience. Lady Verulam, who along with her husband Lord Verulam, is patron of the SAHAAS, hosted a tea for the speaker prior to his talk, and the Mayor, himself an historian, and Mayoress attended. The Mayor Cllr Anthony Rowlands later had this to say:
“I was privileged to be present at Professor Michael Wood's enthralling lecture on the Anglo-Saxons. He has that rare ability to captivate an audience with erudition, insight and humour. Enormous credit goes to SAHAAS for adding one of the country's leading historians to their hugely impressive cast of visiting speakers. The growth of the Society is testimony to the importance of History in understanding not only our past but also the present. It was heartening to see so many young people in the audience. Listening to an hour-long lecture is a discipline in itself which needs to be encouraged.”
It is from the work, The Histories, an account of the Greco-Persian Wars (499–479 B.C.) by the ancient Greek author Herodotus that we get the modern meaning of the word 'history.' Herodotus gives us a remarkable range of ‘stories’, set in his past and his contemporary times. Michael Wood took the same approach as Herodotus in his talk: he gave the audience a variety of different stories about the Anglo-Saxon world and his own part in our understanding of its history. He demonstrated his skill as a consummate story-teller, both articulate and engaging while blending stimulating narrative with scholarship and humour.
To warm up his audience he started his talk with a video from many years ago when he presented In Search of the Dark Ages for the BBC (1979-81). It now seems a humorous clip as he flies in a helicopter over the English countryside and he poked fun at himself as he alluded to his pose as the trendy academic broadcaster in his Ray Ban sunglasses. The point of the flight, however, was the search for the location of the Battle of Brunanburh (937) and, as he pointed out, it is an anomaly that the site of this battle, so crucial to the unity of the Kingdom of England, is still a matter of much speculation and dispute. Though he is not certain where the battle took place, later at question time, he strongly asserted, it was not fought in the Wirral, as some would have it!
This is not the place to paraphrase the many stories, which Michael Wood teased out through his talk, illustrated with evidence from manuscripts and artefacts, but to give the flavour of what he had to say, I will focus on a couple of stories that seized my imagination. The first story was of two ‘immigrants’ that came to Britain to sustain the continuity of the Roman Christian legacy. In 669 Theodore of Tarsus (now in modern Turkiye) came to Britain. As a refugee from war in Syria it is difficult not to equate his escape with the present-day situation in that country. Fleeing to Constantinople and then to Rome, he was appointed by Pope Vitalian as Archbishop of Canterbury (668 to 690). Educated in the city of Antioch, one of the great seats of ancient learning, and alongside another clerical refugee, a Libyan, a man of African descent, called Hadrian, who came to Canterbury in 670, Theodore was to transform the theological and intellectual basis of Anglo-Saxon England. He and Hadrian both not only radically reformed the English Church but also established a school, a centre of learning, in Canterbury. It is Michael Wood’s contention that these two incomers, arriving in what might be described as a wild and semi-pagan land laid the foundations of English culture and were the powerhouse behind a remarkable renaissance in the Anglo-Saxon world.
The second story I am going to pick went under Michael’s slide heading, ‘The People’s Princess’. This was the story of Eadgyth, or more commonly known as Edith (910–946). She was born to the English King Edward the Elder by his second wife, AElfflaed, and Edith was the granddaughter of King Alfred the Great. After an arranged marriage in 930 to the future Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, she was to become Queen Consort. According to the German poetess, Hrotsville, Edith was a woman "of pure noble countenance, graceful character, and truly royal appearance". Fated to die, when Edith was probably only 35, she was deeply mourned by Otto. You can see why Michael chose that particular title for this story. Edith’s tomb is now in Magdeburg’s Cathedral. In 2008 archaeologists found unexpectedly (‘unexpectedly’, because it was thought to be just a monument to her, not a grave) within the tomb a lead coffin with an inscription stating that her body had been reburied there in 1510. Through isotope tests on the tooth enamel, it was established that the skeleton fragments that had survived were that of a woman who had spent time in her youth in the chalky uplands of Wessex. Her remains are the oldest found of a member of English royalty.
Michael put up his last slide which just had the title ‘Conquest’ and left it at that. Then there was the opportunity for a few questions and one did raise the controversy as the whether the term Dark Ages is appropriate any more. This name for the period is controversial among scholars as it does not take into account the advancements made outside of Europe, for example, in the Arab world. Michael had used the term several times and was relaxed about the nomenclature as it is readily understood to cover a certain period.
The proceedings were brought to a close by the President of SAHAAS, Dr. John Morewood, who thanked the speaker for a wonderful talk that lived up to all expectations, and he also thanked the School and all those who had helped make the event possible. As a token of appreciation, he presented Michael Wood with a copy of the Folio Society edition of Beowulf. Attendees were then invited to have drinks and Michael signed copies of his books including his revised edition of In Search of the Dark Ages: A History of Anglo-Saxon England, published this year.
The evening ended with a lot of enlightened and happy people.
Proceeds from the evening go to Centre 33: Supporting those in need or homeless in St Albans
Tim Boatswain
4th June, 2023
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