Trees and timber in the Anglo-Saxon world / edited by Michael D.J. Bintley and Michael G. Shapland.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bintley, Michael D. J., editor.

Shapland, Michael G., editor.

George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

Series:

Medieval history and archaeology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trees.

History.

Great Britain--History--Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066--Congresses.

Great Britain.

Trees--England--History--To 1500--Congresses.

England.

Genre:

Conference papers and proceedings.

Physical Description:

x, 258 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 26 cm.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013.

Summary:

Trees were of fundamental importance in Anglo-Saxon society. Anglo-Saxons dwelt in timber houses, relied on woodland as an economic resource, and created a material culture of wood which was at least as meaningfully-imbued, and vastly more prevalent, than the sculpture and metalwork with which we associate them today. Trees held a central place in Anglo-Saxon belief systems which carried into the Christian period, not least in the figure of the cross itself. Despite this, the transience of trees and timber in comparison to metal and stone has meant that the subject has received comparatively little attention from scholars. Trees and Timber in the Anglo-Saxon World constitutes the very first collection of essays written about the role of trees in early medieval England, bringing together established specialists and new voices to present an interdisciplinary insight into the complex relationship between the early English and their woodlands. The woodlands of England were not only deeply rooted in every aspect of Anglo-Saxon material culture-as a source of heat and light, food and drink, and wood and timber for the construction of tools, weapons, and materials-but also in their spiritual life, symbolic vocabulary, and sense of connection to their beliefs and heritage. These essays do not merely focus on practicalities, such as carpentry techniques and the extent of woodland coverage, but rather explore the place of trees and timber in the intellectual lives of the early medieval inhabitants of England, using evidence from archaeology, place-names, landscapes, and written sources. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 An Introduction to Trees and Timber in the Anglo-Saxon World / Michael D. J. Bintley Bintley, Michael D. J., Michael G. Shapland Shapland, Michael G. 1

Part I Timber in Anglo-Saxon Building Practice

2 Meanings of Timber and Stone in Anglo-Saxon Building Practice / Michael G. Shapland Shapland, Michael G. 21

3 The Sophistication of Late Anglo-Saxon Timber Buildings / Mark Gardiner Gardiner, Mark 45

4 References to Timber Building Materials in Old English Place-Names / John Baker Baker, John 78

Part II Perceptions of Wood and Wooden Objects

5 The Wooden Drinking Vessels in the Sutton Hoo Assemblage: Materials, Morphology, and Usage / Martin G. Comey Comey, Martin G. 107

6 The Exeter Book Riddles' Precarious Insights into Wooden Artefacts / Jennifer Neville Neville, Jennifer 122

7 Brungen of Bearwe: Ploughing Common Furrows in Exeter Book Riddle 21, The Dream of the Rood, and the Æcerbot Charm / Michael D. J. Bintley Bintley, Michael D. J. 144

8 Breaking the Mould: Solving the Old English Riddle 12 as Wudu 'Wood' / Pirkko Anneli Koppinen Koppinen, Pirkko Anneli 158

Part III Trees and Woodland in Anglo-Saxon Belief

9 What is a 'World Tree', and Should We Expect to Find One Growing in Anglo-Saxon England? / Clive Tolley Tolley, Clive 177

10 Holy Beams: Anglo-Saxon Cult Sites and the Place-Name Element Beam / John Blair Blair, John 186

11 Recasting the Role of Sacred Trees in Anglo-Saxon Spiritual History: The South Sandbach Cross 'Ancestors of Christ' Panel in its Cultural Contexts / Michael D. J. Bintley Bintley, Michael D. J. 211

12 Christianity and the 'Sacred Tree' / Delia Hooke Hooke, Delia 228.

Notes:

'This volume had its beginnings in the "Woodlands, trees, and timber in the Anglo-Saxon world" conference hosted at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London in November 2009, organized by the editors'-- page 1.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the George Clapp Vaillant Book Fund.

ISBN:

0199680795

OCLC:

861919503

Publisher Number:

99956552361