Early Medieval Northumbria: Kingdoms and Communities, AD 450-1100 ed. by David Petts and Sam Turner (review)

This collection of fourteen essays originating from a conference held at Newcastle University is an important addition to works on early medieval England. In particular, the scope of the collection allows for important contributions on Northumbria both before and after its well-documented 'Golden Age' of c. 650-750.

The volume is divided into two parts, 'Regions and Places' and 'Identities and Material Culture'. It begins with Rob Collins's examination of Roman military communities, in which he argues that the forts continued to be occupied after the official withdrawal of 410, and that the soldierly communities evolved into local war bands. MarkWood's essay is an important study of rarely used place-names in the context of Bernicia. Although Wood demonstrates some correlation between early place-names, archaeological sites, and churches, the dating of none of these forms of evidence is secure, making his argument somewhat circular. The late Richard Hall provides a short overview of 'Recent Research into Early Medieval York and its Hinterland', and includes information on many yet-to-be published excavations such as Ainsbrook and St Helen, Skipwith.

Through an investigation of monumental sculpture in Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, Nicola Toop demonstrates that the historical and sculptural evidence for the Northumbrian expansion to Whithorn does not sit comfortably together, as the Northumbrian bishopric at Whithorn is an area devoid of sculpture showing Anglian influence. Toop suggests that the Northumbrian bishop may have arrived at Whithorn through the invitation of its community, as they recognised the growing power of Northumbria.

The focus on Western Northumbria continues in a paper by Felicity Clark in which she applies frontier theory to the region for the period c. 600-800 through three case studies: a chapter of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica; two chapters of the Vita Wilfridi; and the excavation of a small settlement at Fremington, Cumbria. The paper demonstrates that frontier theory can suggest new research avenues, and a number of future doctoral candidates are likely to gain inspiration from this paper.

Julian Richards and John Naylor provide an overview of the Viking and Anglo-Saxon Landscape and Economy project, which created a database of early medieval metal-detector finds, and suggest ways in which portable antiquities can be used to enhance our understanding of settlement and economy. Their research suggests that Northumbria was a distinctive cultural zone, and that there is less metal-work and coinage the further west and north one travelled in early medieval England. Saxo-Norman Northumbria is the focus of Aleksandra McClain's paper, in which she suggests that the 'harrying of the north' was not as severe as traditionally thought, and that Saxo-Norman sculpture is more often found in peripheral regions than new and rebuilt churches.

Part II opens with Martin Carver's 'Intellectual Communities in Early Northumbria', in which he continues his work on questions of ethnicity and identity and the importance of ideology and politics in burial rites, and stresses the importance of water transport in early medieval Northumbria. Colm O'Brien then provides a summary of the ongoing debate over the Yeavering site and offers some new ideas. Yeavering is also the focus of a paper on socio-political and religious performances in halls by Jenny Walker, where it is compared to the nearby site of Doon Hill. Her research shows a move towards an increasingly hierarchical society, and it complements a study by Frands Herschend on the positioning of high seats within halls. Sarah Groves explores the relationship between burial practices and biological data at the sixth- to eighth-century Bowl Hole cemetery at Bamburgh, suggesting that the deliberate placement of animal bone in male burials indicates social stratification.

Through the aid of new technologies, Michelle Brown offers a fascinating description of the making of the Lindisfarne Gospels, which itself...