Reference aids

Glossary of terms

African red slip ware

See pottery.

Aisle

See architectural terms.

Amber

Amber is a fossil resin with a beautiful, translucent, brown appearance, which is used in jewellery. It is found in Sicily, but its principal source-area is the lands around the Baltic Sea. It was imported from there to the area of the Mediterranean Sea in prehistoric times, and it continued to be traded during the early middle ages.

Amphora (plural amphorae)

See pottery.

Annona

This term can mean: a system of in-kind payments used to support the Roman army (annona militaris); or the corn supplied from Egypt and North Africa in the Roman Empire to support the cities of Constantinople and Rome with free doles of grain.

Architectural terms

1. Aisle

See basilica.

2. Apse

The rounded east end of a church or chapel.

3. Basilica

In origin a Roman public hall, this was a rectangular building with aisles on either side of a central nave. The nave rose higher than the aisles and was lit by lines of windows (clerestories), which looked out over the roofs of the aisles. Entry was usually through one of the ends of the nave, while the other often finished in a rounded end called an apse. This type of building was widely used for churches, and the word basilicacame in some contexts to mean church. In Roman forts, the basilica was the assembly-hall in the headquarters building, and scholars sometimes refer to it as the cross-hall.

4. Chancel

The eastern end of a church, opening off the nave through a chancel arch, the chancel either contains the high altar, or terminates in the sanctuary, which contains it. The chancel is sometimes known as the presbytery, or in larger churches the choir.

5. Corinthian capitals

Capitals are the sculptured stone blocks at the top of columns. Corinthian capitals are those sculpted in the classical style called Corinthian, involving the use of leaf-decoration.


6. Crypt

The lower part of a church, sometimes but not always below ground level, and often under the chancel, which is raised above it. The crypt could be a church in its own right, sometimes housing the relics of saints, to which it offered access by way of corridors.


7. Nave

See basilica.

8. Nave arcade

The line of columns separating the nave from the aisles running alongside it on either side.

9. Porticus (plural porticus)

A Latin word meaning ‘porch’, this is used by scholars to refer to any room attached to a church and connecting with it by a door or archway. Early churches not in the form of basilicas often had series of porticus where a basilica would have had aisles. Porticus could be used for subsidiary altars or for burials.

10. Presbytery

See chancel.

11. Sanctuary

See chancel.

12. Transept

That part of the church running from north to south at 90˚ to the nave, and dividing the nave from the east end.

Bacaudae (Bagaudae)

Bacaudae or Bagaudae, which is a Celtic word possibly meaning ‘warriors’, was first applied to Gaulish rebels against the Roman emperor in 285, but came to be used more widely. Although it has sometimes been taken to refer to a class-based peasant movement, many of the references in the sources are merely to brigands, while those in the fifth century seem to be to rebels of middling status, the only individual amongst them known by name being a doctor.

Ballista (plural ballistae)

A Roman shooting engine, shown below in a replica demonstrated at Corbridge Roman fort (Northumberland) by the Ermine Street Guard. The soldier on the right is holding the handle which tensions the spring device, which in turn propels a missile along the cradle which is in this instance angled at 45 degrees. Ballistae could be very much larger than this one.

Basilica

See architectural terms.

Bloodfeud (feud, vendetta)

In a situation of bloodfeud, when a member of one extended family (or kindred) killed a member of another extended family, any member of the latter could take vengeance by killing a member of the killer’s extended family. In the barbarian kingdoms, kings and the Church tried to restrict bloodfeuds by requiring them to be settled by the payment of a fixed sum of money to the kindred of the victim of a killing, often to his wife or next-of-kin, to buy off the threat of vengeance. This payment was known in Old English as wergeld (wergild) or ‘man-money’. Nevertheless, some feuds continued through tit-for-tat killings across several generations, and the Merovingian kings of the Franks were themselves deeply involved in such feuding.

Burh

This Old English word means ‘fortification’. It is mostly used by scholars to refer to the fortified sites and fortified towns constructed by the kings of Wessex in the late ninth and tenth centuries to defend their kingdom against the Vikings, but also as a tool in the reconquest of territories held by the Vikings in the Midlands and, to an extent, in the North. The fortifications, which were sometimes Roman walls as at Winchester, were often made of earth and wood as at Wallingford (Oxfordshire), where portions of them survive.

Capitulary

The record of a royal council (assembly, diet) in the Carolingian period, usually divided into chapters (hence the word capitulary deriving from Latin capitulum, meaning ‘chapter’). A collection of capitularies for the late eighth and first quarter of the ninth centuries was made in 827 by Ansegisus, abbot of Saint-Wandrille (France), and this has been preserved.

Carolingian

The family of the emperor Charlemagne now called ‘Carolingian’ – that is the family of Carolus (Charles). The daughter of his ancestor, Pippin I in the late seventh century, married the son of Arnulf, bishop of Metz (died 643/47), and the child of this marriage, Pippin II (d. 714) brought together Pippin I’s family estates and those of Arnulf’s family to create an important area of land-holding in the valleys of the rivers Rhine, Mosel, and Meuse. Pippin II held the highest office, that of ‘mayor of the palace’, in the eastern Frankish kingdom of Austrasia. His descendants were also ‘mayors of the palace’, including Charles Martel, whose son Pippin III became the first Carolingian king when he deposed the last king of the Merovingian family in 751. His successors, Charlemagne (768–814) and Louis the Pious (814–40) ruled the kingdom which Charlemagne had greatly expanded, but it broke up in a series of civil wars between Louis’s sons in 840–43. Members of the family continued to rule the resulting fragmentary kingdom, until the eastern kingdom passed to Henry the Fowler of the Ottonian family in 911, and the western kingdom passed to Hugh Capet in 987.

Cartularies

Charters – that is documents recording the grant of land or privileges by kings – were originally written on single sheets of parchment. For convenience, however, these were normally copied, sometimes much later, into manuscript books which scholars call cartularies. The word comes from Latin carta, meaning ‘charter’.

Catacombs

Catacombs were underground burial-places in the Roman period, and came to be used extensively for Christian burial. Many Christian catacombs survive around Rome, and they are often quite rich in decoration and complex in construction, providing space for commemorative meals and for the celebration of mass over especially important tombs, such as those of martyrs.

Cataphracts

Cataphracts were a type of cavalry soldier, originating amongst the peoples east of the Roman Empire, and distinguished by being clad in mail. They were armed with long spears, which they used in charges against the enemy.

Cenobitic monasticism

Monastic life lived in communities, living and worshipping in common, rather than in an individual way as a hermit (eremitic monasticism). The Latin word cenobium, from which ‘cenobitic’ derives, means ‘cloister, convent’.

Ceorl

This an Old English word which appears in the early law-codes to designate a farmer, probably an independent farmer or yeoman, who was free in the sense that he was not a slave, who paid tax, took part in the public courts, and was expected to do public duty such as work on fortifications. Scholars have sometimes termed such ceorls‘free peasants’ and have regarded them as the principal component of early medieval society.

Chamberlain

Chamberlain means ‘the person responsible for the king’s bedchamber’, and was one of the principal officers in the king’s palace.

Charters

See cartularies.

Chi-Rho

The names of the Greek letters which make up the first part of Christ’s name (chi = ‘ch’; rho = ‘r’). The two letters as they are written in Greek characters were joined together in the time of Emperor Constantine to produce a symbol of Christ which is known as the chi-rho (see illustration).

Chrism

A mixture of oil and balsam used in Church rituals, including baptism and ordination of priests, and from the seventh and eighth centuries the inauguration of rulers. Only bishops could consecrate chrism.

Coins

1. Roman

The gold coinage of the Later Roman Empire consisted of:

1. the solidus, the gold coin introduced by the emperor Constantine;
2. the semissis or half a solidus;
3. the tremissis, or a third of a solidus.

Silver coinage was much less important and even absent in the fifth century.

1. Barbarian

The solidus and the tremissis were the Roman coins principally imitated in various forms by the barbarian kings of Western Europe after the end of the Roman Empire in the west. In England, the tremiss was called a thrymsa.

From the eighth century until the fourteenth, the dominant coin in western Europe became the denier (Latin denarius), called in England the penny, which was a silver coin weighing between 1g and 2g. It was the dominant coin until the thirteenth century.

1. Moslem

The dinar was the standard gold coin of the Moslem caliphate.

The dirhem was the standard silver coin.

Colonia

A Latin word meaning ‘colony’ or ‘settlement’, this came to mean a town established for the settlement of veterans of the Roman army where they could be given land. This was the case at Lincoln, the name of which means colonia of the area of Lindum (Lindum colonia = ‘Lincoln’).

Comitatenses

Soldiers of the mobile field army established by Emperor Constantine and distinct from the frontier-army, soldiers of which were called limitatenses (from Latin limes = ‘frontier’).

Compute

The study of the movements of the moon and sun with the aim of computing the calendar. The relationship between the two celestial bodies was especially important for the fixing of the dates of Christian festivals, since the date of Easter was based on the date of the Jewish feast of Passover which was fixed by the lunar calendar rather than the solar calendar.

Consul

In the time of the Roman republic, two consuls were elected annually as the chief civil and military magistrates, wielding the highest power in the state. After Augustus became emperor and the republic came to an end, the office continued but in a chiefly honorific way.

Corinthian capitals

See architectural terms.

Cross-hall

See architectural terms: basilica.

Denarius (plural denarii)

See coins.

Denier

See coins.

Dendrochronology

The method of dating wood by studying the pattern of tree-rings in it. The width of each ring varies according to the weather conditions during the year in which it was formed, so that any sequence of years has a unique pattern of tree-rings. Using very ancient living trees, and dated preserved trees such as the oaks from the Irish bogs, it has been possible to develop a chronology of the pattern of tree-rings across our period and beyond. By comparing wood recovered from early medieval buildings or from archaeological sites with that chronology, it is possible to fix the year in which the wood was cut, although that is not necessarily the date when it was used.

Dinar

See coins.

Dionysio-Hadriana

A collection of canons (that is Church law) composed in the Later Roman Empire, and sent to Charlemagne in 774 by Pope Hadrian I (772–95). It formed the basis of Charlemagne’s capitulary, the General Admonition (Admonitio Generalis).

Dirhem

See coins.

Donation of Constantine

A document forged in the second half of the eighth century, this claims to be a record of Emperor Constantine granting extensive powers to Pope Silvester I (314–35). These included primacy over all other churches and lordship over Rome, not to mention the whole of Italy and the ‘western regions’. Exactly when and why it was forged are questions that have been much discussed, but it was presumably used in the negotiations between Charlemagne and Pope Hadrian I concerning the status of the papacy.

Emporium (plural emporia)

A Latin word meaning ‘place of trade’, ‘market-town’, ‘market’. It is used from time to time by writers of our period, as in the case of Bede who describes London as ‘an emporium for many nations who come to it by land and sea’ (Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, II.3). Modern scholars have applied it to towns newly established in the eighth and ninth centuries for trade and industry, including Hamwic, Ipswich, Dorestad, Birka, Haithabu, and Quentovic. The suffix wic/vic in some of these names derives from the Continental Germanic word for market, wic in Old English, which is regarded as a vernacular equivalent of emporium.

Eremitic monasticism

The life of monks living in solitary isolation as hermits (or eremites). Eremitic means exactly this – ‘as hermits or recluses’.

Exegesis

Critical commentary on, and interpretation of, a text, principally in our period the Bible.

Exarchates

Territorial and administrative unit created under the Byzantine emperor Maurice (582–602) and based on Carthage in North Africa and Ravenna in Italy. Each exarchate was governed by an exarch who held in his hands both military and civil power

Federates (Latin foederati)

Groups of barbarian soldiers who retained their own organisation but nevertheless formed part of the Roman army.

Francisca

A throwing axe found in barbarian graves, sometimes interpreted as a sign of Frankishness, and conceivably the origin of the name ‘Frank’.

Freemen

Men entitled to participate in the public courts and in the general assembly. The Latin equivalent is liber homo (plural liberi homines), and the Old English equivalent may be ceorl.

Fyrd

An Old English word meaning ‘army’, although it may have referred to different types of army ranging from the ‘general levy’ of all freemen to the putative ‘select fyrd’ composed of fewer, higher-status warriors.

General Admonition (Admonitio Generalis)

A lengthy capitulary issued by an assembly held at Charlemagne’s palace at Aachen (Germany) in 789, the General Admonition was concerned with raising the standards of the spiritual life of the Church and the laity, dealing, for example, with the celebration of the mass, the suppression of avarice, prohibition of bestiality and homosexuality, and the behaviour of bishops and priest. The text is translated in: King, P. David, ed., 1987. Charlemagne: Translated Sources. Kendal: P. D. King, pp. 209–220.

Gesith

An Old English word meaning ‘companion’, and hence ‘companion or follower of a chief or king’. In England in the earlier part of our period, ‘gesith’ seems to be the Old English equivalent of the Latin comes (‘companion, count’) who was a more senior and settled warrior, usually married with an estate, as distinct from the thegn.

Hadrianum

The book sent by Pope Hadrian I around 790 to Charlemagne, who had asked for a copy of the Roman sacramentary (mass-book). This was not entirely suitable for use in the Frankish Church, so it had to be supplemented with liturgical material for keeping particular saints’ days. The name ‘Hadrianum’ is modern.

Hagiography

A word meaning ‘writing about saints’, this covers the texts that have been written from very early in the Christian period to record and celebrate martyrs and saints. They include ‘passions’ of martyrs, lives of saints, accounts of the posthumous miracles of saints, and accounts of the translations of their relics from one resting-place to another, or their installation in a new shrine in the same church.

Heresies

1. Adoptionism

A heresy maintaining that Jesus Christ was born entirely human, and earned his god-like character through his devotion to God the Father, who adopted him at his baptism. Promoted in late eighth-century Spain, especially by Felix, bishop of Urgell, and Elipand, bishop of Toledo, it was condemned by the Frankish Church under Charlemagne.

1. Arianism

Arius (d. 336), a churchman at Alexandria in Egypt, developed the teaching that Jesus Christ was not eternal but was rather created by God the Father at a point in time. Christ was therefore not God by nature. Although this was condemned at a synod at Alexandria around 320 and by the Council of Nicaea in 325, it was supported by the Roman emperors, especially Constantius (337–61) and became dominant, chiefly in the eastern Mediterranean. It was finally condemned in the Roman Empire at the Council of Constantinople in 381, but it remained important amongst several of the barbarian peoples, especially the Goths and Vandals.

1. Donatism

A heresy (or more properly a schism) arising from attitudes in North Africa in the early fourth century to the treatment of bishops who had cooperated with the persecutors to the extent of handing over sacred scriptures to them. The Donatists refused to accept Caecilian as Bishop of Carthage because he had done this, and they established a separate and parallel Donatist church. Although condemned at the Council of Arles (314), repressed after 347, and finally condemned at the Council of Carthage in 411, Donatism persisted as a schism in North Africa until the Arab conquests of the seventh century.

1. Iconoclasm

A heresy denying the holiness of religious images (the Greek for ‘image’ is icon) and rejecting the practice of venerating them. In 726, the Byzantine emperor Leo III (717–41) supported the Iconoclast views of various bishops, ordering the removal of the image of Christ from the gate of the Great Palace in Constantinople, and in 730, he ordered the destruction of images of saints generally. A Church council in Hieria, called in 754 under the Byzantine emperor Constantine V (741–75) condemned the veneration of images, and persecutions of those venerating images followed. In 787, the Second Council of Nicaea condemned Iconoclasm. This was in turn followed by a revival of it in 815 when a Church council reinstated the decrees of the council in Hieria. In 843, however, the Byzantine empress Theodora definitively condemned Iconoclasm and restored religious images for good.

1. Manichaenism

Reportedly founded by the Persian religious leader Mani (216–74/77), Manichaenism became widely diffused not only in the Roman Empire but also in the Near East and even China. It was more a separate religion than a Christian heresy, for it maintained the existence of two co-equal forces of good and evil, or darkness and light. Manichaeans regarded Jesus Christ as a messenger of light. Although it was influential in the Roman Empire, attracting St Augustine of Hippo, for example, early in his career, it was only in Syria and Mesopotamia that it flourished for any length of time.

1. Monophysitism

Appearing in the first half of the fifth century in opposition to Nestorianism, Monophysitism emphasised the god-like character of Jesus Christ, while accepting that he possessed also perfect human qualities. In 449, the so-called Robber Council of Ephesus supported the Monophysites, but two years later, in 451, the Council of Chalcedon condemned them. Nevertheless, the heresy continued, enjoying the support of the Byzantine emperor Anastasius I. From the late sixth century onwards, however, Monophysites were persecuted by the Byzantine state.

1. Nestorianism

Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople (428–31) formulated doubts about the possibility that the Virgin Mary could have given birth to a child, Jesus Christ, who was of the same substance as God Himself. This gave rise to the heresy of Nestorianism which emphasised the human rather than the god-like character of Christ, in opposition to the Monophysites who rather emphasised Christ’s god-like character. In 431, the Council of Ephesus condemned both Nestorianism and Monophysitism. In 486, however, the Council of Seleukia-Ctesiphon established a separate Nestorian Church, which flourished in Persia, and in 612 a Nestorian synod defined the doctrine of Nestorianism in opposition to that of the orthodox Church.

Hide

An Old English word, equivalent to Latin cassatus and mansus, and meaning ‘land of one family’, presumably an extended family rather than a nuclear family. It was used as a means of assessing land for the imposition of dues and services, as well as for giving a measure of land to be granted. Later a hide came to have a fixed area, in England often 120 acres.

Homines (singular homo)

A Latin word meaning ‘men’, this could also mean ‘retainers’ or ‘vassals’, that is men who owed military service to a lord and served in his military unit or war-band.

Hundred

An administrative unit notionally composed of a hundred hides or manses, and subject to a hundred court. Hundreds, which are found in England from at least the tenth century and on the Continent much earlier, may have had their origin in hundred-strong units in the barbarian armies.

Inhumation

Burial of the body after death, as distinct from cremation.

Jellinge style

A decorative style using ribbon-like animals, their bodies shown with double-outlining, and their jaws and limbs intertwined. The style, which is found widely on stone sculpture from England in the Viking period, takes its name from the Danish site of Jelling (sic), and is found first on Scandinavian metalwork such as the Jelling cup.

Labarum

The banner which the emperor Constantine I (306–37) used in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge after his conversion, as described by Eusebius. It had on it the Chi-Rho symbol of Christ.

Khārijītes

Chiefly originating in southern Iraq, the Khārijītes were schismatic Muslims who were opposed equally to ‘Alī and to Mu‘āwiya and his successors as caliphs, believing that Muslims should be led by a religious leader (imam) appointed on the basis of merit.

Limitanei

A Latin word deriving from limes (plural limites, ‘frontier), and meaning Roman frontier troops, as organised by the emperor Constantine and distinct from the comitatenses (field-army).

 

Magister militum (‘master of the soldiers’)

When he reformed the military organisation of the Roman Empire, the emperor Constantine I (306–37) established this office, applying it to the two generals in charge respectively of the infantry and the cavalry of his new mobile field-army. Later it was used more widely of generals in charge of mobile armies in different parts of the Roman Empire.

Manse

See hide.

Merovingians

The family which supplied the kings of the Franks from the earliest times until the coup d’état of the first Carolingian king, Pippin III, in 751. The name, which is a modern one, refers to the belief of this family that their origins went back to a mythical king Merovech, conceived by a sea-monster. The last Merovingian king, Childeric III, was deposed in 751 by the mayor of the palace, Pippin III, who then became the first Carolingian king.

Minting

Roman and medieval coinage was produced by placing a disk of metal (a flan) between an obverse and a reverse die and hammering it. The obverse die, which printed the ‘head’ of the coin on to the flan, was fixed to the bench while the reverse die was held in the moneyer’s hand.

 

Missus dominicus (plural missi dominici, ‘messenger of the lord’)

Royal officials who appear in Carolingian capitularies as fulfilling a variety of tasks, including inspecting the workings of counties, assembling armies, and checking on the conduct of churches. After 802, the system of missi dominici was reformed so that these officials were organised into pairs, consisting of a churchman and a layman and each responsible for a defined area called a missaticum.

Mithraism

Mithras was a figure in the mythology of ancient Persia, credited with the creation of the world. According to his myth, he was born from a rock, or in some versions a tree, and after a life of hardship he captured and brought back to his cave the primeval bull, being the first living thing created by the chief of the gods, Ormazd. Mithras there slew it, and from its blood came the vine, from its body herbs and plants, and from its semen all useful animals. This sacrifice of the bull, the ‘tauroctony’, was thus the act of creation of things useful to mankind, and it was what was celebrated in the liturgical services of Mithraism, with the words ‘you have saved men by the spilling of the eternal blood’.

Mouldboard

The curved board fitted behind the plough-share (that is the blade of the plough) in order to turn over the earth after the share had cut through the surface.

Obverse die

See minting.

Ordeal

The ordeal was used as a judicial method of resolving guilt. If someone failed in the ordeal, they were considered to have been found guilty of whatever they were accused of. There were various types of ordeal: the ordeal by fire, in which the accused was made to carry a piece of red-hot iron, and was found guilty if the resulting burn did not heal cleanly; the ordeal by boiling water, in which the accused had to reach into boiling water to retrieve a pebble, and was found guilty if the resulting scald did not heal cleanly; the ordeal by cold water, in which the accused was bound and thrown into water, and was found guilty if they failed to sink; and the ordeal by bread and cheese, in which the accused was required to swallow pieces of these without choking. In all these processes, relics were involved or were invoked for purposes of solemnizing the ordeal.

Palaeography

The study of handwriting, aiming to distinguish and date styles of handwriting, and even to identify the handwriting of individual writers.

Pallium

A distinctive white woollen band worn on the shoulders, given by the pope to a new archbishop, and coming to be regarded as an essential badge of that office.

Pandect

A copy of the entire Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, all in one volume. Such copies were rare in our period, most manuscripts containing only parts – or books – of the Bible.

Papyrus

A kind of paper made in Egypt from the papyrus plant.

Peace and the Truce of God

A movement initiated by a series of church councils in southern Gaul in the second half of the tenth century, and aiming to extend protection from attack and oppression either to certain categories of unarmed persons, such as the clergy, peasants, and merchants (that is the Peace of God), or on certain days of the week or certain religious festivals (that is the Truce of God). This was achieved by having participants in the councils, especially lords and their vassals, swear collective oaths on the relics of saints to uphold the Peace and the Truce. The movement spread widely, including to Normandy. Scholars debate the extent to which it really protected the vulnerable from violence, rather than being itself a means by which lords imposed their power.

Penny

See coins.

Per cola et commata

The practice of writing manuscripts in columns and using the lengths of lines to indicate the required punctuation.

Polyptychs

Surveys of the estates of churches. The earliest is the Polyptych of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (or of Abbot Irminon) from the late eighth century.

Porticus (plural porticus)

See architectural terms.

Portus

A Latin word meaning ‘harbour, port’, this is used in early medieval sources to mean ‘trading centre’, or possibly ‘warehousing and landing point for merchants’. Scholars discuss how far medieval towns originated from such centres, and note that word lies at the root of the Dutch word poortman, which means ‘townsman’.

Pottery

African red slip ware: a type of Roman fine pottery, so-called because it was decorated with a layer of red slip, that is liquid clay, before being fired. It was produced in North Africa from the late first century until the mid-seventh, and was very widely exported.

Amphora (plural amphorae): a large, two-handed, coarse pottery jar, used in the Roman world for transporting goods such as olive oil, wine, and fish-sauce. The amphora, or fragments of it, is a very common find in Roman archaeology.

Samian ware: a type of Roman pottery, mass-produced in Italy and elsewhere from the first century, and notable for its consistently high-quality, colouring, and elaborate decoration.

Terra sigillata: high-quality Roman pottery notable for its bright red colour.

Primogeniture

The inheriting of land and titles by the eldest son in preference to other children, as distinct from partible inheritance in which all children, and sometimes other relatives too, share in the inheritance.

Prosopography

A catalogue of biographies of groups or categories of people.

Quadrivium

See Seven liberal arts.

Relics

The physical remains of holy persons, including Jesus Christ himself, other biblical figures, and saints and martyrs.

Bodily or corporeal relics were either the whole body of a saint or martyr, or fragments of the body, or blood from it. Some contemporaries (such as Pope Gregory the Great) emphasised the importance of having the complete body, whereas others (such as Victricius of Rouen) believed that the saint’s power (or virtus) was equally present in fragments of the body. The Virgin Mary was believed to have been taken bodily to heaven, so there were no bodily relics of her. Christ too was believed to have ascended bodily to heaven, but there were nevertheless bodily relics in the shape of his blood (arising from the Crucifixion) and his foreskin (arising from his cirumcision).

Secondary relics were objects which had been in contact with the holy person, or with his or her mortal remains. They could be deliberately created for distribution to other churches, as the popes did by placing cloths (brandea) in the shrine of St Peter for them to absorb the virtus of that saint.

Reliquary

A container for relics, often portable, and often very ornate. See http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/reliquary-casket-emly-shrine-52287

Reverse die

See minting.

Romance languages

Languages derived from Latin (that is Roman) rather than Germanic linguistic roots, and including Italian, French, Walloon, Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Row-Grave cemeteries

Barbarian cemeteries in north-eastern Gaul, consisting of inhumations in rows (hence the name), with the male bodies equipped with weapons and the female bodies adorned with jewellery.

Samian ware

See pottery.

Sax

Widukind of Corvey, a German writer of the tenth century, connected the Saxons (those at any rate who had been living from an early date in the area of Saxony in central Germany) with the short, one-edged sword called a sax, which was accordingly held to be characteristic of them.

Seven liberal arts

The curriculum of learning formulated by the Roman writer Martianus Capella. It consisted of two stages. First, the trivium (or group of three subjects) made up of grammar, rhetoric (the art of public-speaking), and dialectic (or logic); secondly, the quadrivium (or group of four subjects) made up of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy (or astrology as we would regard it), and music (treated in a theoretical way in terms of the tones of music). In the Roman period, study of these two groups led progressively to philosophy, but in the Middle Ages they were seen as leading to theology.

Shi‘ites (Shi‘a)

The Shi‘ites (or Shi‘a) were Muslims who maintained that Muhammad had designated ‘Alī, his son-in-law to be caliph after his death. ‘Alī was murdered in 660/61 after conflict with Mu‘āwiya, who became the first Umayyad caliph. The Shi‘ites continued to believe that the caliph had to be one of ‘Alī’s descendants, and thus could not be an Umayyad.

Solidus

See coins.

Sunnites

The Sunnites were Muslims who believed, in opposition to the Shi‘ites, that Muhammad had designated no successor, so that it was quite appropriate for Mu‘āwiya and his successors to rule as Umayyad caliphs.

Terpen

A raised earthern platform forming the basis of an early settlement in Frisia, along the North Sea coast.

Terra sigillata

See pottery.

Thegn

An Old English word meaning ‘one who serves’, thegns were important persons with military and administrative responsibilities in pre-Conquest England. In the earlier part of our period, they may have been the warriors who lived in the king’s household, called milites or ministri in Latin, who would eventually settle to become gesiths or comites.

Theme

Meaning in origin a division of the army, this term came to mean a territorial unit governed by a strategos who combined civil and military power. The introduction of the system of themes, which transformed the government of the Byzantine Empire, seems to date from the sixth century, possibly under the emperor Heraclius (610–41), possibly somewhat later.

Thrymsa

See coins.

Tithing

Groups of ten men appearing in pre-Conquest English documents and responsible for ensuring that they were all law-abiding and for pursuing and apprehending one of their number if he was not.

Tonsuring

The practice of shaving the head of a man when he became a monk, a priest, or generally a member of the clergy. It could take the form of shaving a patch at the top of the head, leaving a crown of hair around it; this was from an early date believed to have been the style of tonsure used by St Peter himself. Or it could take the form of shaving from the forehead backwards, leaving only a fringe of hair at the back and sides; this was believed to have been the tonsure used by St Paul. Which type of tonsure should be used was one of the issues debated in 664 at the Northumbrian Synod of Whitby, which decided that the crown-tonsure (that attributed to St Peter) was the correct one to use.

Transept

See architectural terms.

Tremissis

See coins.

Trivium

See Seven liberal arts.

Uncial

A handwriting derived from the sort of letters used by the Romans for inscriptions, it consists in part of capital letters, with a very distinctive ‘A’.

To see the letter forms: http://spoodawgmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/uncial-alphabet.html

Vassal

This is a difficult term to pin down and has been much discussed, but in essence it means a man who has accepted the protection of a lord or a king in return for doing him service, usually military service. This relationship was normally established by the would-be vassal swearing an oath to the lord, and it might – but need not – involve the lord giving his vassal use of land for his maintenance.

Vulgate

The Latin version of the Bible most widely used in Western Europe, this was the work of the scholar Jerome between 382 and 384 to replace the Old Latin versions which were then available but considered inadequate.

Wergild (wergeld)

See bloodfeud.

Wic

See emporium.

Writs

Royal documents which issued instructions in the form of letters.

Zoroastrianism

The principal cult of the Persian Empire, based on the teachings of the Persian prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra) who lived supposedly around 1000 BC.

Who’s who in early medieval Europe

Adalbero, bishop of Laon (France; 977–1030)

Adalbero was very involved in the politics of the end of Carolingian dynasty in Western Frankia and its replacement by the Capetians, with the accession of Hugh Capet as king in 987. He was one of the writers who expressed the concept of society divided between the three orders.

Adomnán, abbot of Iona (d. 704)

Adomnán was the ninth abbot of the monastery of Iona, founded on the island of that name in the Hebrides by Columba. He is particularly noted by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English Peoplefor having promoted the Roman dating of Easter. His best-known work is his Life of St Columba.

Ælfric, abbot of Eynsham (1005–c.1010)

Ælfric joined the monastery of Cerne Abbas (Dorset) around 987. He may have been in charge of the school there, and he certainly produced a series of writings, including works in Old English, principally homilies for reading and preaching and lives of saints, and a grammar of Latin written in Old English. In 1005, he became the first abbot of the reformed abbey of Eynsham near Oxford, where he died around 1010.

Ætheleberht I, king of Kent (d. 616)

Ætheleberht, who had married the Christian, Frankish princess, Bertha, some while before, welcomed the mission of St Augustine when it arrived in Kent in 597. He permitted the conversion of his subjects, and was himself converted, perhaps soon after Augustine’s arrival. Bede identified him as one of seven overlords of southern England (Bede, Eccl. History,II.15) and attributed to him a code of laws ‘in the manner of the Romans’, which is extant. He died in 616, but there are problems regarding the beginning of his reign. Bede places it in 560 or 561, but this seems too early.

Æthelflæd, ‘lady of the Mercians’ (d. 918)

Daughter of King Alfred the Great, and wife of Æthelred, ealdorman and ruler in Mercia, the Midland kingdom of England, who formed a close alliance with Alfred, she was called by a contemporary writer the ‘lady of the Mercians’. She was actively involved in wars against the Viking invaders of Mercia, especially after her husband’s death in 911, when she and her brother Edward the Elder were active in the development of a system of fortifications, known as burhs. She was buried in the monastery of St Peter at Gloucester, which she had founded.

Æthelfrith, king of the Northumbrians (604–16)

Ruler of northern Northumbria or Bernicia from 592, his period of rule is presented by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People as notable for its conquests of the lands of the Britons. He defeated an invasion by the king of the Scots of western Scotland at the Battle of Degsastan in 602, and won a savage victory against the Britons at Chester between 613 and 616. He remained a pagan until his death.

Æthelred II the Unready, king of England (978–1016)

His accession was marred by the murder at Corfe (Dorset) of his half-brother, King Edward the Martyr, in which his mother was later suspected of involvement, and his reign was noted for persistent Viking attacks, culminating in the conquest of England by Swein and Cnut.

Æthelstan, king of England (924–39)

Æthelstan’s reign was notable for a series of military campaigns, including his victory over a combined force of Scots, Irish, and Vikings at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937, and also for a number of marriage-alliances and other contacts with Continental Europe.

Aëtius

A Gallo-Roman commander of the remaining Roman forces in Gaul in the middle of the fifth century, who led those forces in combination with those of the king of the Goths to win the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451 against the Huns.

Aidan, monk of Iona, bishop of Lindisfarne (635–51)

Aidan was summoned by Oswald, king of the Northumbrians, to convert his kingdom, and with him he founded the monastery of Lindisfarne, on Holy Island, a tidal island on the Northumberland coast. This was a monastery and a bishopric combined, and Aidan was the first bishop.

Alcuin, scholar and abbot of St Martin’s at Tours (c.735–804)

Alcuin was the leading scholar of the church of York until, probably in 781 or 782, he moved to the court of Charlemagne at Aachen, where he taught and wrote, until becoming abbot of Saint-Martin at Tours (France) from 794 until his death in 804. He was closely involved with Charlemagne, with whom he corresponded extensively, and also in the same way with the kings of Northumbria. He was the author of an important series of letters, books on the liberal arts of dialectic and rhetoric, a history of the church of York in verse, and a rebuttal of the heresy of Adoptionism.

Alfred the Great, king of the West Saxons (871–99)

Faced with the invasion of his kingdom by the Viking Great Army, he won a decisive victory at Edington (Wiltshire), and in 886 he occupied London which had been under Viking control. He began the process of building fortified sites and towns (burhs) for defence against the Vikings, he began also the reform of the English church which was to culminate in the later tenth century, and he gathered scholars at his court, and himself contributed to their work by translating books into Old English.

Ambrose, bishop of Milan (373/4–397)

The son of the Praetorian Prefect (the principal Roman official) of Gaul, he was first an administrator, becoming governor of the province of which Milan was the head. After the death of its bishop in 373/74, he was persuaded to become bishop himself, even though he was not yet baptised. He was a successful bishop, acting at the highest level, for example, in excommunicating the emperor, Theodosius, for a massacre at Thessalonica (Greece). He convened the Council of Aquilea (Italy) in 381 and, in 391/2, the Council of Capua (Italy).

Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg (832–65)

Anskar conducted missions to the Danes and, in 829, a mission to the Swedish trading-centre of Birka. He was made bishop of Hamburg in 831, and elevated to archbishop in 832. He had responsibility for missions to the Swedes, Danes, and Slavs.

Anthony of Egypt, monk (d. 356)

Born at Queman on the River Nile, according to his biographer, Athanasius, he came of a good family and, after the death of his parents, he placed himself under the direction of an old man leading a holy life. Eventually he moved to live in a tomb, and then to a ruined fortress on the edge of the desert, where he struggled with demons who appeared to him in various forms, such as those of animals or beautiful women. Overcoming the temptations which these apparitions placed before him, he attracted a considerable following of persons who venerated him for his holiness and, wishing to escape their presence and to be alone in his spiritual struggles, he moved to an even more remote place, the Outer Desert, where he died in 356.

Arius, heresiarch (d. 336)

He was ordained priest at Alexandria in Roman Egypt, and emerged as a champion of teaching that Christ was subordinate to God the Father. He was condemned for this teaching, known as Arianism, at Alexandria, and again at the Council of Nicaea (325). Arianism was nevertheless very influential in the fourth century and, amongst the barbarian peoples, well beyond that.

Attila, king of the Huns (435/40–453)

Becoming sole king of the Huns after murdering his brother Bleda in 445, Attila built up a powerful confederation of Hunnic and other peoples. He invaded: the Roman Empire in the east in 442–3 and 447; Gaul in 451, where he was defeated by Aetius and his allies at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields; and Italy in 452.

Augustine, archbishop of Canterbury (597–604 x 609)

A monk at Rome, and prior of the monastery of St Andrew there, he was sent by Pope Gregory the Great as leader of a mission to England which arrived in Kent in 597. The king, Æthelberht, received him favourably, and himself became converted to Christianity. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, where the king endowed his see, and consecrated Justus as Bishop of Rochester and Mellitus as Bishop of London.

Augustine of Hippo (354–430), father of the Church

Originally a devotee of the teachings of Mani, that is Manichaeism (that there are co-equal powers of good and evil), he was baptised a Christian by Bishop Ambrose in 386. In 388, he returned to Africa, and in 391 he was seized by the people of Hippo Regis and forced to become a priest. In 395, he became bishop of that city until his death in 430, at the time when the barbarian Vandals were besieging it. He wrote very influential works on Christianity, especially a sort of autobiographical meditation called the Confessions (395–8), and politico-religious discourse, the City of God, written at the height of barbarian invasions in 416–22. This sought to defend Christianity against the charge that the abandonment of the old pagan gods had led to the sack of Rome by the Goths in 410. Augustine argued that the City of God was what really mattered and that, although it could be struggled towards on earth, it really belonged to the other world.

Basil, monk and bishop (c.330–79)

Educated at various schools in the eastern Roman Empire, he became a monk, spent time in Syria and Egypt, and in 358 settled as a hermit at Neocaesarea in Asia Minor. Soon after this, he wrote a rule for the monastic life, which is still the basis of monasticism in the eastern Church. In 370, he became bishop of Caesarea, and he was involved in the controversy over Arianism.

Bede, monk and scholar (c.673–735)

Given as a child to the Northumbrian monastery of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, Bede spent his whole career there as a monk and a priest. He was the author of a series of works, including the Reckoning of Time, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, and many writings on the Bibles, including homilies and commentaries. He was a very influential writer, whose works were widely copied in manuscripts right across Europe.

Benedict Biscop, monastic founder (d. 689)

Originally abbot of the monastery of St Peter and Paul (St Augustine’s) in Canterbury, he was the founder and first abbot of the joint monastery of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria. Born of an aristocratic family, he decided to pursue a career in the Church, making a number of visits to Rome, and also to Lérins in southern Gaul, to learn about monasticism and to collect books and treasures. He founded Monkwearmouth in 673/74 and Jarrow in 681/82. His career is known from an account by an anonymous monk of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow and a very similar account by Bede.

Benedict of Nursia, monk (c.480–c.550)

Educated at Rome, he became a monk at Subiaco in Italy, but in around 529 he moved to Monte Cassino, where around 540 he composed his rule for monks, the Rule of St Benedict. It became highly influential when it was adopted by the Carolingian Church at the beginning of the ninth century.

Birinus, missionary and bishop (d. 650)

A missionary to England in around 634, he converted the king of the West Saxons, Cynegils, and established the see of the West Saxons, of which he became bishop, at Dorchester-on-Thames (Oxfordshire). Under Bishop Haeddi (676–705), his relics were translated to Winchester (Hampshire) after the see had been transferred there from Dorchester-on-Thames.

Boethius, philosopher(c.480– c.524)

Boethius wrote a number of works on philosophy, for which he drew extensively on Greek writings, and he also wrote five Theological Tractates, presenting and discussing Christian doctrine. In 522, he became the most important official in the government of Theoderic the Ostrogoth, but he was imprisoned and condemned to death on charges of corruption and treachery, in particular collaborating with the Byzantine government against the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. During his imprisonment, he wrote The Consolation of Philosophy, in which philosophy in person talks with Boethius.

Boniface (Wynfrith), missionary and archbishop (c.675–754)

Born in England and christened Wynfrith, he received the name Boniface from Pope Gregory II, who also gave him the task of spreading Christianity in the pagan areas of Europe. He became archbishop of Mainz around 746, founded monasteries, notably Fulda (Germany) where he was buried, and established a number of episcopal sees in Germany and Austria. An important collection of his letters is extant. He was martyred at Dokkum in Frisia in 754 by a blow to the head.

Brunhild, queen of the Franks (d. 613)

Daughter of Athanagild, king of the Visigoths, queen of Sigibert, king of Austrasia (Eastern Frankia), Brunhild married Sigibert in 566/7. Her sister Galswinth married King Chilperic of Neustria (Western Frankia) a little later, but he had her murdered so that he could marry his former lover Fredegund. Hatred between Brunhild and Fredegund formed part of the conflict between their respective husbands. Sigibert was killed in 575, and Brunhild was active in trying to protect the interest of her son Childebert II. After many conflicts, she was handed over to King Chlotar II in 613 and savagely executed.

Cædwalla, king of Gwynedd (North Wales) (d. 634)

Driven from his kingdom by King Edwin of Northumbria, Cædwalla invaded Northumbria in 633 in alliance with Penda, king of Mercia, and killed Edwin at the battle of Hatfield Chase. After ravaging the country savagely and killing Edwin’s two immediate successors, he was himself killed and defeated by King Oswald at the battle of Heavenfield in 634.

Caesarius, archbishop of Arles (502–42)

Educated at the monastery of Lérins in the delta of the River Rhone, he became Archbishop of Arles in 502. He wrote many sermons, which have survived, as well as monastic rules for monks and for nuns.

Cassian, John, monk (c.360–after 430)

After being a monk at Bethlehem, he studied monasticism in Egypt. About 415, he founded two monasteries near Marseilles (France). He there used material collected in Egypt to write the Institutes, a rule for, and discussion of, monastic life, and the Conferences, consisting of conversations with the great leaders of monasticism in the eastern Mediterranean.

Cassiodorus, statesman and author (485/90–c.580)

Born of a Roman senatorial family, he served the kings of the Ostrogoths in Ravenna, and wrote for them the Variae, incorporating official correspondence, and a History of the Goths, which is lost but which seems to have formed the basis of the similar work by Jordanes. At some point in the 540s, he went into exile at Constantinople, returning to Italy in 554 to establish the monastery of Vivarium on his lands at Squillace near Naples. He built up a considerable library there, books from which were copied widely, including at Monkwearmouth-Jarrow.

Charlemagne, king of the Franks (768–814), king of the Lombards (774–814), emperor (800–14)

The eldest son of Pippin III, king of the Franks (751–68), Charlemagne became sole king of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman in 771. He conquered the kingdom of the Lombards in 774, and led a campaign to Zaragoza (Spain) in 794, when his army was ambushed by Basques at the Pass of Roncesvalles as it was returning across the Pyrenees. In 788, he deposed Duke Tassilo and took over his duchy of Bavaria. He defeated the Avars and took possession of their treasure and, more importantly, he conquered the pagan area of Saxony, integrated it into the kingdom of the Franks, and made it Christian. He also undertook wars against the duchy of Benevento in southern Italy, and against the Slavs to the east. He was crowned emperor on Christmas day 800 in Rome. His principal palace was Aachen, where he built a major complex of church, hall, and other buildings in the later years of the eighth century. He was buried there.

Charles Martel, mayor of the palace, effective ruler of the kingdom of the Franks (718–41)

The grandson of Pippin II of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia (eastern Frankia), Charles Martel fought to establish his position as mayor of the palace of the whole kingdom of the Franks after Pippin II’s death in 714, and had succeeded by 718. He was involved in resisting Moslem attacks across the Pyrenees and won a victory near Poitiers in 732.

Charles the Bald, king of West Frankia (840–77) and emperor (875–77)

Son of the emperor Louis the Pious and his second wife Judith, Charles the Bald was the half-brother of Lothar and Louis the German, who were sons of Louis the Pious. He allied with Louis the German against Lothar, and at the Treaty of Verdun in 843 he was acknowledged as the ruler of West Francia. Although his reign was marred by continuing tension with Lothar and attacks by the Vikings, he devoted considerable effort to promoting scholarship and art. On Christmas Day, 875, he was crowned emperor by the pope in Rome

Childeric, king of the Franks (late fifth century)

Aside from some stories in Gregory of Tours’s History of the Franks, the principal evidence for this ruler is provided by the rich grave-goods from his tomb at Tournai (France). Many of these were stolen and destroyed but a few survive, including a seal-ring with his name on it, and most others are known from drawings made before the theft.

Clovis, king of the Franks (481/2–511)

Succeeding to his father Childeric, he won victories over the Roman commander Syagrius at Soissons in 486, over the Alamanns and the Thuringians, defeating the latter at the Battle of at Tolbiac in 493, and over the Visigoths of south-west Gaul at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. He took Aquitaine (south-west Gaul) from the Visigoths as a result of this victory. Around 493, he married the Christian princess Clotilda, granddaughter of Gundioc, the king of the Bugundians, and in 496 or at a date in the early sixth century (perhaps 503, 506, or 508) he renounced paganism and was baptised a Christian in Rheims by St Rémi (Remigius), archbishop of Rheims. His followers are said (by Gregory of Tours) to have followed suit. Clovis issued the Salic Law (Lex Salica), and, at a date before 511, presided over the ecclesiastical Council of Orléans.

Cnut the Great, king of England (1016–35), king of Denmark (c.1018–35)

Son of Swein Forkbeard, Cnut was present during his father’s conquest of England in 1013–14, and returned in 1015 after his father’s death. He won a resounding victory at Assandun (Essex) and at the end of 1016 he became king of England in succession to the deceased Edmund. He married Emma, second wife of his dead predecessor Æthelred the Unready, and worked closely with Archbishop Wulfstan of York to issue a series of laws. He became king of Denmark on the death of his elder brother Harald around 1018.

Columba (Columcille), monastic founder (d. 597)

A member of the Irish dynasty of the Uí Néill who ruled as kings of Tír Conaill, he left Ireland in 563 after being excommunicated in 561 for his involvement in a battle. He established a monastery on the island of Iona in the Hebrides, given to him by the king of the kingdom of Dalriada in western Scotland. He also founded other monasteries, including Derry and Durrow in Ireland, and he was an influential figure, including with kings. His life was written in the early eighth century by Adomnán.

Columbanus, monk (d. 615)

An Irishman and a monk at Bangor (Ireland), he left Ireland in around 590 to undertake a perpetual pilgrimage. He established monasteries at Annegray and Luxeuil in eastern France, and Bobbio northern Italy. He wrote a rule for monks which survives.

Constantine (caesar 306–8; augustus 308–37)

The son of the co-emperor (or caesar) Constantius Chlorus and his mistress Helena, Constantine became a courtier of the emperor Diocletian, and an officer in the Roman armies. He was with his father when the latter died at York in 306, and the armies elected him co-emperor. He led an army to defeat Maxentius, the son of the former emperor Maximian, at the battle of the Milvian Bridge outside Rome in 312, gaining control of the western empire. In 324, he defeated the eastern Roman emperor Licinius and took control of the whole empire. In the same year, he began the conversion of the city of Byzantium into a capital city which was to be known as Constantinople after him. He was himself a Christian, and he favoured Christianity. In 391, he issued the Edict of Milan, which granted religious freedom, he founded a number of churches, and he took a close interest in heresies, including chairing the Council of Nicaea which tried to deal with the heresy of Arianism.

Constantine (Cyril, 826/27–869) and Methodius (c.815–85)

Around 842, Constantine went to Constantinople, where he was educated to a high level, and later became a teacher of philosophy and a noted and erudite scholar. In 863, however, the Byzantine emperor Michael III sent him and his brother Methodius to Moraviain response to a request from the ruler of Moravia, Rastislav. Since Slavonic was the language of Moravia but had no written form, Constantine devised a Slavonic alphabet called Glagolitic and a Slavonic literary language called Old Church Slavonic, into which he translated Greek religious works. In Moravia, Constantine and Methodius established a church using the Slavonic language. In 867, however, under pressure from Frankish clergy in Moravia, they went to Rome where Constantine became a monk (taking the monastic name Cyril) and died. In 870, Methodius returned to Pannonia and Moravia but was imprisoned by the Franks, nevertheless returning after his release in 873.

Cuthbert, monk and hermit, bishop of Lindisfarne (d. 687)

Born in Northumbria, he became a monk at Melrose (Scotland) in 651. He became prior of Melrose in 664, and in the 670s he moved to Lindisfarne, where he became first prior, and then a hermit on the nearby island of Inner Farne (Northumberland). In 685, he was persuaded to become Bishop of Lindisfarne, but in 687 he returned to the Inner Farne where he died on 20 March. He was buried in the cemetery at Lindisfarne but, when in 698 his grave was opened and his body found to be undecayed, it was installed in a raised shrine in the church. The still undecayed body was taken with the community when it left Lindisfarne in 875, to be installed at Chester-le-Street (County Durham) from 893 until it was finally moved to the newly established church of Durham in 995. His life was written in the early eighth century, both by an anonymous monk of Lindisfarne and by Bede.

Diocletian, emperor (284–305)

Elected by the army as emperor after the murder of his predecessor, Diocletian made Maximian his co-emperor in 286, and in 293 he divided the empire between himself and Maximian as senior emperors (or augusti), each supported by a junior emperor (or caesar). His reign was a period of some military success and some stability, and he undertook governmental reforms, including organising the empire into thirteen administrative units called dioceses each ruled by a vicar, and issuing the Edict of Prices (301). He undertook a persecution of Christians which was only ended by his successors. In 305, he retired and forced Maximian to do likewise.

Dionysius Exiguus, scholar

A Scythian monk, and a specialist in canon law and compute (calculating the dates of Church festivals, especially Easter). He worked in Rome from shortly after 496, and his Easter cycle was very influential for Bede.

Edward the Confessor, king of England (1042–66)

The elder son of King Æthelred II, the Unready, and his queen Emma of Normandy, he went into exile during the reign of King Cnut, returning to England in 1041 and being accepted as king in 1042. His reign was marred by conflict with the family of the great English magnate Godwin, whose son Harold was to succeed him briefly as king in 1066. His principal achievement was the rebuilding and endowment of Westminster Abbey. His widow, Edith, commissioned a Life of him, and he eventually came to be regarded as a saint and was canonised by the pope in 1161.

Edwin, king of Northumbria (616–33)

A scion of the Northumbrian dynasty of Deira (southern Northumbria), Edwin was in exile during the reign of throughout Northumbria of the king of northern Northumbria, Æthelfrith, whom he defeated with the assistance of the East Anglians in 616. He took control of all Northumbria himself. Having married the Christian princess, Æthelburg of Kent, he was baptised in 627, and he was responsible for the first conversion of his kingdom. This was reversed, however, when he was defeated and killed by the king of Gwynned, Caedawalla, at the battle of Hatfield Chase in 633.

Einhard, statesman and author (d. 840)

Einhard was a layman, educated at the monastery of Fulda (Germany), who came to Charlemagne’s court at Aachen (Germany) in the 790s. There he was noted for his expertise in literature, mathematics, and in architecture and art. He acted as an ambassador to the pope in 806, regarding Charlemagne’s plan to divide his empire. For a time, he was active in the government of Charlemagne’s successor, Louis the Pious, but he eventually withdrew to the monastery of Seligenstadt (Germany), which he had founded. His Life of Charlemagne was probably written around 830.

Emma, queen of England (1002–1016, 1017–35)

The daughter of Richard I, duke of Normandy, Emma married Æthelred II the Unready, king of England (978–1016), in 1002, and was known in England as Ælfgifu. After her husband’s death, she married the Danish conqueror, Cnut the Great, king of England (1016–35), in 1017. Following Cnut’s death, she was politically active on behalf of her son, Harthacnut. She died in 1052.

Godric, hermit (d. 1170)

Born in Norfolk, he became a pedlar in Lincolnshire until about 1089 when he made a pilgrimage to Rome. He later went to sea, bought shares in two ships, and became a captain. He made a series of pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, and Saint-Gilles (France). Around 1105, he sold all his possessions and began various attempts to become a hermit in different parts of northern England. Later, he attended school at Durham, and then became a hermit at Finchale on the River Wear below Durham. He was made an associate or confrater of Durham Cathedral Priory, which after his death built a monastic cell around his tomb at Finchale.

Gregory the Great, pope (590–604)

The son of a senator, Gregory became prefect of the city of Rome in 573, devoting his wealth to founding six monasteries in Sicily, and one in Rome, at which foundation he became a monk in around 574. The pope, however, compelled him to take posts in the Church, including one at Constantinople. Having become pope in his turn, he had to deal with a difficult situation in Italy, making a peace with the hostile Lombards in 592–93. He was also active with regard to other parts of Western Europe, sending the mission of Augustine to Kent in 597, and also assisting the progress of the Church in Spain, Gaul, and Lombardy. He was the author of a series of Christian works: the Dialogues (a book on the lives of Italian saints, including the author of the Rule of St Benedict composed in the form of dialogues between Gregory and his deacon Peter), The Pastoral Care (a book about how bishops should act, which was later to be thought equally applicable to secular rulers), and The Moralia on Job (a book seeking to convey the teachings of Christianity through a commentary on the Old Testament book of Job, who was notable for patiently suffering God's retribution sitting on a dung-hill).

Gregory VII, pope (1073–85)

Born in Italy as Hildebrand, he became a monk at Rome, and then chaplain to the pope, with whom he went into exile in Germany. He returned to Rome in 1049 with the newly elected Pope Leo IX, over whom and his successor he had great influence. Becoming pope himself in 1073, his reforming activities brought him into conflict with secular rulers, especially Henry IV, king of Germany, whom he effectively deposed, annulling his subjects’ oath to him. This led to insurrection against him by the princes of Germany and, in 1077, the king was forced to submit to the pope at Canossa (Italy). He nevertheless remained opposed to the pope, who had to rely on military support from the Normans in Italy. At the end of his life, he was forced to flee to Monte Cassino (Italy) and he died at Salerno (Italy).

Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark and Norway (c.958–c.987)

Son of Gorm the Old, Harald Bluetooth became king of Denmark and Norway on his father’s death, and he claimed to have established Christianity in Denmark. At Roskilde (Denmark), he established a palace and a cathedral, where he was buried.

Harold II, king of England (d. 1066)

In 1053, he succeeded his father, Godwine, as earl of Wessex, in 1055 he took responsibility for the defence of south-west England, and he was a very powerful man when Edward the Confessor died on 5 January 1066. Edward had made Harold his heir and the latter was crowned at once, even though Edward had probably previously promised the throne to William, duke of Normandy. Harold defeated the invasion of Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, at the battle of Stamford Bridge, but was defeated and killed almost immediately afterwards by William, duke of Normandy, at the battle of Hastings.

Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony (912–19), king of Germany (919–36)

Son of Otto, duke of Saxony, Henry succeeded his father as duke on his death in 912, and he became king in 919 after the death of the monarch Conrad I. He declined to be anointed or crowned by churchmen. He was active against the military threat of the Magyars from the east, and he built fortified towns against them.

Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims (845–82)

Educated at the West Frankish abbey of Saint-Denis (near Paris), he became a member of the court of Louis the Pious, after whose death he became closely involved with the government of his son, Charles the Bald. He was very active with regard to disputes in the Church, especially in that concerning the predestination of the faithful to go to heaven, and he was also a notable specialist in the law of the Church, that is canon law. From 861 to 882, he was the author of the Annals of Saint-Bertin.

Honoratus, monk (d. 429/30)

After his conversion to Christianity, Honoratus undertook a pilgrimage to the holy places and monasteries of Syria and Egypt. On his return, he settled around 410 on the island of Lérins near Marseilles (France), where he founded a monastery. In 427 or 428, he became Bishop of Arles.

Isidore of Seville, monk, bishop and scholar (c.560–636)

Born of a noble Roman family in the province of Cartagena, his father having fled to Seville from the incursions of the Visigoths, he became a monk around 589, and succeeded his brother as bishop of Seville around 600. He was a prolific author, and his works include a sort of encyclopaedia called the Etymologies, and a Great Chronicle from the creation of the world, as described in the Bible, to the year 636.

Jerome (c.343–420), scholar

Having studied at Rome, where he was baptised, he went to Palestine to be a hermit in 374. After his return, he was secretary to Pope Damasus from 382 to 385. In 386, he settled at Bethlehem where he founded a monastery. He wrote many commentaries, but his principal work was the Vulgate, the translation of the Bible from the original languages into Latin, in which he was encouraged by Pope Damasus.

Julian the Apostate, emperor (360–3)

Half-brother of the first Christian emperor, Constantine, Julian became deeply committed to the pagan philosophy of Neoplatonism. In 355, he was appointed co-emperor (or caesar) of Gaul and Britain, and in 360 his army refused to obey the emperor, Constantius, and elected him to be emperor. Constantius died before Julian entered Constantinople in 361 to take up this position. He promoted paganism and sought to marginalise Christianity in his short reign. He was killed on campaign in Persia in 363.

Justinian, emperor (527–65)

Nephew and colleague of his predecessor, the emperor Justin I, Justinian was crowned junior emperor in 527, and emperor (or augustus) on Justin’s death later in the year. His reign was notable for a series of campaigns to wrest the former Roman Empire in the west from its barbarian rulers. In 533, Justinian’s general, Belisarius, led a successful campaign against the Vandal kingdom in Africa. In 535, he led an army into Italy, capturing Rome in 536. But the Ostrogoths proved less easy to defeat, and the conquest of Italy was only completed in 562, under the command of another general called Narses. A further campaign in 551 gave Justinian a toehold in the south of the Visigothic kingdom of Spain. Justinian’s reign was also notable for a major codification of Roman law, the Codex Justinianus, and for the lavish building work undertaken by the emperor, especially the construction of the great church of Haghia Sophia in Constantinople.

Leo III, pope (795–816)

In 799, Leo III was apparently seriously injured by his enemies amongst the nobility of the city of Rome, and fled to Charlemagne, king of the Franks, at his palace at Paderborn in Saxony. Charged by his enemies with improper behaviour, he was escorted back to Rome by Charlemagne’s officials, and cleared himself publicly in front of that king on 23 December 800. Two days later, on Christmas day, he crowned Charlemagne emperor in the church of St Peter in Rome.

Louis the Pious (778–840), sole emperor (814–40)

Born in 778, the son of the Frankish ruler Charlemagne, Louis was made king of Aquitaine (south-west Gaul) in 781. As Charlemagne’s only surviving son, he was crowned co-emperor at Aachen in 813, and succeeded as sole emperor on his father’s death in 814. His reign was notable for his promotion of Christian culture and monasticism. He had three sons, Lothar, Louis, and Pippin, with his first wife Irmingard (d. 818) and a further son, the future King Charles the Bald, with his second wife Judith, and his reign was marred by protracted disputes over the succession, including a conflict with his nephew, King Bernard of Italy. After causing the death of the latter as a consequence of having him blinded, he performed a public act of penance in 822. In 833, his three elder sons forced him to abdicate, but he was subsequently able to recover his position. Nonetheless, the question of the succession was not definitely resolved, and there were three years of civil war after his death.

Martin, monastic founder and bishop (c.315/c.336–397)

Born of pagan parents, Martin was a Roman soldier, but he became a Christian. In 360, he founded a monastery at Ligugé in the valley of the River Loire (France). Around 371, he became bishop of Tours, living as a monk and a missionary; and in 372 he established a colony of hermits at nearby Marmoûtier

Odoacer (Odovacer), ruler of Italy (476–93)

A barbarian, possibly a Hun, Odoacer was the leader of the overthrow of the last Roman emperor in the west, Romulus Augustulus, in 475. He was proclaimed king by his barbarian soldiers, but the eastern Roman emperor, Zeno, only gave him the title of patrician. Nevertheless, he was the effective ruler of Italy, and he also gained control of Dalmatia on the other side of the Adriatic. Hostile to Odoacer’s power, Zeno invited the Ostrogothic leader Theodoric to invade Italy, and the latter besieged Odoacer in the city of Ravenna, and subsequently had him murdered at a feast.

Offa, king of Mercia (757–96)

A very powerful king who extended his power throughout much of England, apart from Wessex and Northumbria, and who was probably the creator of Offa’s Dyke to mark the border with Wales. He issued a law-code, which does not survive but is referred to the laws of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex; and he had his son, Ecgfrith, anointed to kingship in preparation for succeeding him, although his reign was very short and turmoil ensued in the kingdom of Mercia.

Olaf, saint, king of Norway (1015–28; d. 1030)

The son of a king of south-east Norway, Olaf had been baptised at Rouen in France; he returned to Norway in 1015 to claim the throne. He brought with him English clergy, and he set about establishing the Christianity in Norway. He was, however, expelled from Norway, and was eventually killed at the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030, while trying to regain his kingdom. Miracles were believed to have occurred around his body, and he soon came to be venerated as a saint.

Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway (995–9/1000)

Olaf Tryggvason began his career as a leader of Viking raids, notably on England in 991 and 994. He was accepted as king of Norway from 995, and was energetic and determined in establishing Christianity not only in his own country, but also in Iceland, where he instigated the acceptance of the religion at the assembly (or Althing) in 999.

Oswald, king of Northumbria (634–42)

A son of King Æthelfrith of Northumbria, of the Bernician royal family, Oswald spent the reign of King Edwin of Northumbria (616–33), who was of the Deiran royal family, in exile in the kingdom of Dalriada in western Scotland, where he was converted to Christianity. After Edwin’s death in 633, Oswald defeated King Cædwalla of Gwynedd, who was ravaging Northumbria, at the Battle of Heavenfield in 634, and seems to have eventually made himself overlord of much of England as well as king of Northumbria. In 635, he founded in partnership with the missionary from Iona, Aidan, the island monastery of Lindisfarne (Holy Island, Northumberland) as the bishopric for Northumbria. He was killed in 642 in battle against the pagan King Penda of Mercia at the battle of Maserfeld, possibly Oswestry (Shropshire). His death was regarded as a sort of martyrdom, and he was venerated as a saint, with his body being enshrined at Bardney (Lincolnshire), his head at Lindisfarne, and his arms at the Northumbrian royal centre of Bamburgh.

Oswiu, king of Northumbria (642–70)

A son of King Æthelfrith of Northumbria, of the Bernician royal family, Oswiu became king
after the death of his brother, King Oswald of Northumbria, although there was from then until 655 a king of Deira or southern Northumbria, Oswine. The power of Oswiu was, according to Bede, very extensive, and he was overlord of much of England. In 664, he convened the Synod of Whitby, which resolved several issues, principally the method of calculating the date of Easter.

Otto I, king of Germany (936–73), emperor (962–73)

Son of Henry I, the Fowler, Otto married Edith, daughter of King Æthelstan of the West Saxons. He was crowned in the palace-church at Aachen in 936. He had to deal with civil wars from 937 to 941, and he was very active against the military threat of the Magyars from the east, winning a decisive victory over them at the Battle of the Lech (near Augsburg, Germany) in 955. He was crowned emperor by the pope in Rome in 962, and he was closely involved with Italy from then until his death.

Otto II, king of Germany (961–83), emperor (973–83)

Born in 955 as the son of Otto I, he was crowned as king in 961 and as co-emperor in 967, succeeding to his father in 973. He was militarily successful against Henry the Quarrelsome, duke of Bavaria, whom he had imprisoned in 978, and to an extent against Lothar, king of West Francia, but his campaign in 982 to conquer southern Italy was a disastrous failure. He married the Byzantine princess Theophanu in 972, and died in Rome in 983.

Otto III, king of the Germans (983–1002), emperor (996–1002)

Born in 980 as the only son of Otto II, he was crowned in Aachen on Christmas Day 983. During his childhood, his empire was governed by regents, and his position was threatened by the ambitions of Henry the Quarrelsome, duke of Bavaria. In 995 he went to Italy in response to an appeal for help from the pope, whose successor crowned him emperor in 996. He intervened in Rome again in 998 in support of the pope, and had a palace built for himself there. In 1000, he visited Aachen and opened the tomb of Charlemagne, whose body he was believed to have found undecayed, as a sign of that ruler’s sanctity. Otto III died in 1002 at the age of twenty-one.

Paulinus, bishop of Nola (353/5–431)

Son of a noble Roman family in Aquitaine, he was a senator and, for a time, governor of the Roman province of Campania (central Italy). After giving up this role, he was baptised and, in 393, ordained priest in Barcelona. In 394, he and his wife went to Italy to lead a monastic life by the tomb of St Felix at Nola (southern Italy).

Penda of Mercia, king of Mercia (d. 655)

A pagan king of Mercia and overlord of southern England, who attacked a number of Christian English kingdoms, being responsible for the deaths of King Anna of the East Angles and King Oswald of Northumbria. After ravaging Northumbria repeatedly, he was killed by the army of King Oswiu of Northumbria at the battle of the Winwaed in 655.

Pepin III

See Pippin III.

Pippin III, the Short, mayor of the palace (741–45), king of the Franks (751–68)

Son of Charles Martel, on his father’s death in 741 he and his brother Carloman became jointly Mayors of the Palace, the most powerful office in the Frankish kingdom. In 747, Carloman retired to Rome and Pippin assumed sole power. In 751, he obtained the authorisation of the pope, Zacharias, to be elected king of the Franks, and he had himself anointed king. The last Merovingian king of the Franks, who had had no real power, deposed and consigned to a monastery. Zacharias’s successor as pope, Stephen, came to Francia in 754, re-anointed Pippin, and also anointed his two sons, Carloman and Charles, the future Charlemagne. He was very active in warfare, fighting campaigns against the Saxons, the Bavarians, the Aquitanians, and the Lombards. Nevertheless, his reign was notable for his commitment to Christian culture and the reform of the Church.

Sidonius Appollinaris (c.430–c.486)

A member of a great family of senatorial aristocrats in the area of Lyons (France), he had a political career, including a period as prefect of Rome (468–69). In 470 or 471, he was elected Bishop of Clermont (France). His surviving letter-collection shows that he was a man of great wealth, deeply imbued in classical Roman culture.

Theoderic, king of the Ostrogoths (471–526)

Son of Theodemur, king of the Ostrogoths, Theoderic was a hostage in Constantinople, where he was educated. After he had become sole king of the Ostrogoths, he helped Zeno to become emperor of the Roman Empire in the east in 476. Zeno adopted him, and invited him to go to Italy with the Ostrogoths in 488 to take power from Odoacer, whom he had killed in 493. Theoderic was a successful ruler, who was on good terms with the Romans in Italy until the end of his reign. He was an Arian and built the church of San Apollinare Nuovo in his capital, Ravenna, as well as his own mausoleum, a remarkable building which still stands.

Theodosius I the Great, emperor (379–95)

Proclaimed emperor in the east in 379, he became the ruler of the whole empire after the death of the emperor Gratian in 383, and he was responsible for the settlement of Goths as federates within the empire. In 394, he despatched an army to Italy to put down an attempted usurpation by a certain Eugenius, who was defeated at the Battle of the Frigidus. He was very active against heresy, and in 391 he prohibited pagan worship by law.

Ulfilas (Ulphilas), missionary (c.311–83)

Born amongst the Goths north of the River Danube, Ulfilas lived in Constantinople where he was ordained bishop around 341. He returned to the Goths and spent the rest of his life as a missionary, in particular translating the Bible into Gothic, but omitting the Book of Kings as being too warlike.

Venantius Fortunatus, poet (c.535–c.600)

Born in northern Italy, he received a classical education at the Roman schools of Ravenna. Around 565, he travelled to Gaul and became known as a poet. After spending time at the court of King Sigisbert of the Franks, he became first the secretary to the Frankish queen and abbess Radegund in her monastery at Poitiers in western Gaul, of which city he became bishop in 599. He was the author of eleven books of poems, a Life of St Martin in verse, and lives of other saints of Gaul.

Wilfrid, St, bishop and abbot (c.634–709)

Born of an aristocratic family in the Kingdom of Northumbria, Wilfrid was patronised by the queen, Eanflæd. He made a journey to Rome, which had a great impact on him, and then spent three years at Lyon (France). Returning to England, he became abbot of Ripon, was ordained priest in 663, and took part in the Synod of Whitby, which resolved the method to be used for fixing the date of Easter, in 664. In the same year he was appointed Bishop of the Northumbrians, but when he went abroad to be consecrated in Compiègne (France), his see was given to Chad. He was restored in 669, and proved an ambitious bishop, rebuilding the cathedral at York, lavishly founding the abbey of Hexham (Northumberland), and – by his own account – introducing the monastic Rule of St Benedict to Northumbria. In 678, however, he was driven from his see, which was divided. Although an appeal to the pope was successful, the king of Northumbria, Ecgfrith, disregarded the papal decision and Wilfrid went to Sussex, where he founded the abbey of Selsey, and to Wessex, where he acted for a time as bishop. Following a further appeal to the pope, his position in Northumbria was partially restored in 706, to the extent that he had control of the abbeys of Hexham and Ripon. After his death, his life was written by the Ripon monk Stephanus.

William I the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, king of England (1066–87)

The illegitimate son of Robert I, duke of Normandy, he was nevertheless his heir and succeeded him as duke. In 1066, he conquered England, having himself crowned king at Westminster on Christmas Day 1066. He was a determined ruler, responsible for the Harrying of the North in 1069–70, and for the compilation of Domesday Book in 1086.

Willibald, English, missionary (d. c.787)

Beginning his career in England, where he was born, he made extensive journeys to Rome, the Holy Land, Cyprus, and Syria, visiting holy places and monastic communities, which he described in a book he dictated. He made a long stay in Constantinople, returned to Rome in 730, and spent time at the abbey of Monte Cassino (Italy). The pope sent him to Germany, where he became Bishop of Eichstatt in 742, and founded the monastery of Heidenheim. He came to be regarded as a saint after his death and his relics are venerated at Eichstatt.

Willibrord, missionary (658–739)

Beginning his career as monk at Ripon (Yorkshire), he spent some time at the English monastery of Rath Melsigi (Ireland) before setting out with twelve companions in 690 to convert the Frisia, where he became Archbishop of Utrecht. He faced considerable opposition from the pagan Frisians, being driven out in 714 by their king Radbod to take refuge at the monastery of Echternach (Luxembourg), which he had founded. He returned to Utrecht in 719, following Radbod’s death, continued his mission work there, and extended it into Denmark. He was venerated as a saint after his death.

TIMELINE

100 BC–44 BC	Julius Caesar, Roman general and writer
	27 BC     Death of Marcus T., author On the Affairs of the Countryside
55–c.120	Tacitus (P. Cornelius Tacitus)
	97/98     Publication of On Germany
70	Death of Lucius Junius Columella, author of On Agriculture
c.100	Mithraism appears as a cult in the Roman Empire
?? c.155	Martyrdom of Polycarp of Smyrna
c.232–c.303	Porphyry, Neoplatonic philosopher
235–84	The ‘third-century crisis’ of usurpations and revolts
284–305	Reign of Emperor Diocletian
	286         Empire divided between two augusti: Diocletian in the East, and Maximian in the West
	301         Edict of Prices, shortly after an edict on tax-reform
c.311–83	Ulfilas, missionary to the Goths, translator of the Bible into Gothic
306–37	Reign of Emperor Constantine
	306         Constantine elected emperor ('raised to the purple’) at York
	312         Battle of Milvian Bridge; Conversion of Constantine to Christianity
	313         Edict of Milan
	314         Council of Arles on Donatism
	324         Victory over the eastern emperor Licinius; founding of Constantinople
	325         Council of Niceaea on Arianism Basilica Nova, Rome Church of Santa Constanza, Rome
c.315/c.336–397	St Martin, bishop of Tours
	c. 360     Monastery of Ligugé founded
c.345–402	Symmachus, senatorial aristocrat in the West
357	Battle of Strasbourg
c. 330–79	St Basil ‘the Great’
	357–8     Visits monks in Egypt and the Holy Land
	358–9     Rule of St Basil
c.339–97	St Ambrose, bishop of Milan
c.360–after 430	John Cassian, monk, author of the Institutes and the Conferences
353/5–431	Paulinus, founder of the monastery of Nola (southern Italy)
357	Battle of Strasbourg
360–3	Reign of the pagan Emperor Julian the Apostate
	363         Julian killed in the course of a Persian campaign
364–78	Reign of Emperor Valens in the East
	372         Monastery of Marmoûtiers founded
	376         Visigoths cross the River Danube and settle in the Roman province of Thrace
	378         Valens defeated and killed by the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople
	379–88   Ruler in the East
c.375	Arrival of the Huns east of the Roman Empire
379–95	Reign of Emperor Theodosius I the Great
	381         Council of Aquileia
	383         Attempted usurpation from Britain of Magnus Maximus
	388–94   De facto ruler of the whole empire
	391         Prohibited pagan worship
	391/2     Council of Capua
	394         Battle of the Frigidus and defeat of the usurper, Eugenius
	394–5     Sole emperor
354–430	Augustine of Hippo
	395–8     The Confessions
	416–22   The City of God
c.343–420	St Jerome, translator of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate)
	382–85   Secretary to Pope Damasus
	386         Settled as abbot in Bethlehem
395–408	Reign of Emperor Arcadius in the East
395–423	Reign of Emperor Honorius in the West
5th century	Martianus Capella, author of The Marriage of Philology and Mercury
405	The Goths cross the River Rhine led by Radagaisus
406–7	Attempted usurpations from Britain of Marcus, Gratian, and Constantine III
407	The Vandals, Burgundians, and Suebi cross the River Rhine
c.410	Honoratus founds a monastery on the island of Lérins near Marseilles (France)
408–50	Reign of Emperor Theodosius II in the East
	410         Alaric, king of the Visigoths, sacks Rome
	411         Settlement of the Suebi in north-west Spain
417	Orosius, author of History against the Pagans
418	Settlement of the Visigoths in south-west Gaul
425–55	Reign of Emperor Valentinian III in the West
429	The Vandals cross the Straits of Gibraltar to North Africa
437	Code of Theodosiusissued
439	The Vandals capture Carthage
440–61	Leo I, pope
443	Settlement of the Burgundians in Switzerland and neighbouring areas
449	Date given by Bede for the arrival of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in Britain
Mid-/late 5th century	St Patrick evangelises Ireland
451	The Huns invade Gaul under Attila
454	Settlement of the Ostrogoths in Pannonia
c.457–81	Childeric, king of the Franks
c.470–542	Caesarius, bishop of Arles
473–75	Reign of Julius Nepos, emperor at Rome
475–76	Reign of Romulus Augustulus, emperor at Rome
	476         Deposition by Odoacer
476–93	Reign in Italy of Odoacer
c.480–c.550	St Benedict of Nursia
	c.540      Rule of St Benedict
480–524	Boethius, author of The Consolation of Philosophy
481–511	Reign of Clovis, first Christian Merovingian king of the Franks
	496 or 503, 506, 508   Baptised
	507         Victory over the Visigoths at Vouillé
485/90–c.580	Cassiodorus, author of the Variae, History of the Goths (lost), founder of Vivarium
492–96	Gelasius I, pope
493–526	Reign in Italy of Theoderic, king of the Ostrogoths
518–27	Reign of Justin I, emperor of Byzantium
522	Council of Orléans
524	Killing of King Sigismund of the Burgundians
527–65	Reign of Justinian, emperor of Byzantium
	532         Nika Riot
	533         Byzantine conquest of the kingdom of the Vandals
	535–52   Byzantine conquest of Italy
	539         Bulgar attack in the Balkans
	541–42   Arrival of the plague at Pelusium
	551         Byzantine invasion of Spain
	557         Establishment of the Avars in Dacia
	558         Cutrigur invasion of Thrace
532–4	The Franks invade and destroy the kingdom of Burgundy
c.530–c.610	Venantius Fortunatus, author of Latin poetry and a Life of St Martin
c.540–604	Gregory the Great, pope
c.540–94	Gregory of Tours, author of The History of the Franks, and The Lives of the Fathers
543–late 7th century	Plague
	543–6     in the Byzantine Empire
	563         in the Auvergne (France)
	570         in North Italy, Gaul, and Spain
	592         at Tours and Nantes
	Mid- to late 7th century          in England
c.560–636	Isidore of Seville, bishop of Seville, author of the Etymologies, and the Great Chronicle
561–84	Reign of Chilperic I, king of the Franks
	Killing of Queen Galswinth
561–92	Reign of Guntram, king of the Franks (welcomed by Syrians)
	568         Establishment of the kingdom of the Lombards in Italy
c.570–632	Life of the prophet, Muhammad
	622         Hijrah (hegira)from Mecca to Medina
	630         Conquest of Mecca
	632         Death of Muhammad
575–95	Childebert I, king of the Franks
582–602	Reign of Maurice, emperor of Byzantium
	582         Avar capture of Sirmium
	591         Peace treaty with the Persian Empire
	602         Mutiny and murder of Maurice and his family
590–604	Pope Gregory the Great, author of The Pastoral Care, The Dialogues, The Commentary on Job
	597         Pope Gregory the Great's missionary Augustine arrives in Kent
591	Eusebius the Syrian becomes bishop of Paris
7th century	Book of Durrow
602–10	Reign of Phocas, emperor of Byzantium
610–41	Reign of Heraclius, emperor of Byzantium
	626         Avar, Slav, and Persian siege of Constantinople
	627         Byzantine defeat of Persia
613	Killing of Brunhild, regent for Childebert II (575–91), Theudebert II (595–612), and Theuderic II (595–613)
???–615	St Columbanus, abbot, founder of monasteries of Luxeuil and Annegray (France) and Bobbio (Italy)
616	Death of Æthelberht, king of Kent
?? c.620–30	Burial mounds at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, England
619	Life of John the Almsgiver
627	Edwin, first Christian king of Northumbria, baptised at York
	Marriage to Æthelburg of Kent
	627         Baptism
632–61	Rightly Guided Caliphs
	632–34   Rule of Abū Bakr, caliph
	633–44   Rule of ‘Umar, caliph
	635         Capture of Damascus
	637         Capture of Ctesiphon
	642         Capture of Alexandria
	643–4     Conquest of Lybia
644–56	Rule of ‘Uthmān, caliph
	647         Capture of Tripoli
	655         Arab naval victory at the Battle of Phoenix (of the Masts)
656–61	Rule of ‘Alī, caliph
633–42	Oswald, king of Northumbria
	634         Battle of Heavenfield
634–709	St Wilfrid, bishop and abbot
	635         Foundation of the island monastery of Lindisfarne (Holy Island) as the bishopric for Northumbria by the missionary Aidan and King Oswald
635–c.750	Arab military and political expansion
642–70	Oswiu, king of Northumbria
	655         Killing of King Oswine of the southern Northumbrians (Deira)
	642         Battle of the Winwaed
	664         Synod of Whitby
648	Cenwealh, king of Wessex, founds church at Winchester
657–73	Reign of Chlotar III, king of the Franks
662	Emperor Constans II uses the coast-road from Constantinople to Athens
670s	Relics of St Birinus translated to Winchester
687	St Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, dies as a hermit on Inner Farne (England)
??–689	Benedict Biscop
	673/4     founds Monkwearmouth
	681/2     founds Jarrow
688–716	Ceolfrith, abbot of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow
	c.673–735       Bede, monk of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People and The Reckoning of Time
	731         Ecclesiastical History of the English People
	734         Letter to Bishop Ecgberht of York
c.675–754	Boniface (Wynfrith), missionary, archbishop of Mainz
690/720	Dumps at the Crypta Balbi, Rome
	690         First dump
	720         Second dump
8th century	Naranco, palace near Oviedo
	The Franks Casket, Northumbria
Early 8th century	Lindisfarne Gospels
	Ruthwell Cross
	Bewcastle Cross (or monument)
	St Andrews sarcophagus
	Church of Santa Maria, Cividale
Early 8th century	Pippin (from 751 King Pippin III) conquers Frisia
c.700–84	Virgil, missionary, bishop of Salzburg
c.700–c.787	Willibald, English missionary and pilgrim to the Holy Land
c.705–44	Daniel, bishop of Winchester, author of a letter of advice on conversion to the missionary Boniface
661–750	Umayyad caliphs
	661–80   Mu‘āwiya I
	674–78   Siege of Constantinople
	685–705 Reign of ‘Abd al-Malik, caliph
	696         Reform of currency
	698         Capture of Carthage
	705–15   Reign of Al-Walīd, caliph
	711         Muslim invasion of Spain
	712/13   Muslim conquests in the East
665–85	Reign of Constantine IV, emperor of Byzantium
	681         Recognition of khaganate of Bulgaria
711	Moslem invasion of Spain and destruction of the kingdom of the Visigoths
716–57	Æthelbald, king of Mercia
717–41	Reign of Leo III the Isaurian, emperor of Byzantium
	726         Initiates Iconoclasm
c.720–c.800	Paul the Deacon, scholar at Charlemagne’s court, author of the Deeds of the Bishops of Metz, and The History of the Lombards
c.730–802	Paulinus of Aquileia, scholar at Charlemagne’s court
c.740–804	Alcuin of York, scholar at Charlemagne’s court, abbot of St Martin’s, Tours
741–75	Reign of Constantine V, emperor of Byzantium
	End of Iconoclasm
	763         Defeat of the Bulgars
744	Sturm founds the monastery of Fulda (Germany)
750–1258	‘Abbasid caliphs (effective power only until c.900)
	754–75   Reign of al-Mansūr, caliph
	762         Foundation of Baghdad
	786–809 Hārūn al-Rashīd, caliph
751–68	Reign of Pippin III, king of the Franks
	751         Replacement of Childeric III, last Merovingian king of the Franks, by the first Carolingian king, Pippin III, and his anointing by Archbishop Boniface
	754         Anointing of King Pippin III by Pope Stephen
	754         Martyrdom of the English missionary Boniface, archbishop of Mainz, in Frisia
757–96	Offa, king of Mercia
	794         Killing of Æthelberht, king of the East Angles
	Construction of Offa’s Dyke
c.750–821	Theodulf, bishop of Orléans, scholar at Charlemagne’s court, author of The Caroline Books
768–814	Reign of Charlemagne, king of the Franks and from 800 emperor
	770s       Conquest of Lombardy
	778         Expedition to Zaragoza
	782         First Saxon capitulary
	789         General Admonition
	794         Coinage reform (class III to class IV)
	794         Synod of Frankfurt; reform of coins from 1.3g to 1.4g
	799         Deposition of Pope Leo III and his flight to Charlemagne’s court at Paderborn
	c.800      Polyptych of St Germain des Prés
	800         Coronation of Charlemagne as emperor in Rome
	802         Reform of missi dominici
	805/6     Capitulary of Diedenhofen (Thionville)
	806         Capitulary of Nijmegen
Late 8th century	Venice emerges as a trading centre
Early 9th century	Coppergate Helmet, York
c.801–65	Anskar
	829         Mission to Birka (Sweden)
	831         Archbishop of Hamburg
c.806–82	Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims, author of On the Organisation of the Palace
808	King Godefrid of the Danes moves the merchants from Reric to Haithabu
c.810–c.877	John the Scot, Eriugena, author of On the Division of Nature
802–11	Reign of Nicephorus I, emperor of Byzantium
	811         Emperor defeated and killed by Krum, khagan of Bulgaria
813–20	Reign of Leo V the Armenian, emperor of Byzantium
	Re-imposition of Iconoclasm
	813         Bulgarian siege of Constantinople
814–40	Reign of Louis the Pious, king of the Franks and emperor
817–24	Paschal I, pope
829	Jonas of Orleans writes On the Office of the King
831–32	First journey recorded via the Gulf of Corinth
839	Greek ambassadors come to Louis the Pious in company with Rhos
840–43	Civil wars between the sons of Louis the Pious leading to the Treaty of Verdun
840–70	Charles the Bald, king of the Franks and emperor
	841      Oaths of Strasbourg between Louis the Pious's sons, Charles the Bald and Louis the German, and their followers
	844–48   Polyptych of Saint-Bertin
	848         Anointing as king of Aquitaine
	869         Anointing as king of Lotharingia
Mid-9th century	Dorestad ceases to function
846–70	Reign of Ratislav of Moravia
c.850	Swedish campaign in Kurland, south of Baltic Sea
852–89	Reign of Boris I, khagan of Bulgaria
860s	Papal envoys cross the Balkans overland
866	Arrival in East Anglia of the Viking Great Army
867	Bernard the Frank’s journey to Jerusalem
870	Treaty of Meersen absorbs the Middle Kingdom in the kingdoms of East Frankia and West Frankia
870–94	Reign of Svatopluk of Moravia
874	Peace treaty with the Rus
871–99	Reign of Alfred the Great, king of Wessex
	887         Grimbald of Saint-Bertin at King Alfred’s court
	890         John the Old Saxon at King Alfred’s court
	893         Asser of St David’s writes The Life of King Alfred
	Winchester street-plan laid out
10th century	Gosforth Cross, Cumbria, England
893–927	Reign of Symeon, khagan (ruler) of Bulgaria
c.900	Compilation of the Burghal Hidage
902	Death of Hoger, abbot of Werden, author of Musica enchiriadis
911	Peace treaty with the Rus
913	Repopulation of San Juan de las Abbadessas (Spain)
912–59	Reign of Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, emperor of Byzantium
918	Death of Æthelflæd, lady of the Mercians
919–36	Henry I the Fowler, king of Germany
921–22	Embassy of Ibn Fadlan from the caliph of Baghdad to the king of the Bulgars
927–39	Æthelstan, king of England
929	‘Abd al-Rahmān III establishes Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba
936–73	Otto I, king of Germany
	936         Coronation at Aachen
Mid-10th century	Southampton replaces Hamwih
941	Peace treaty with the Rus
c.950–c.1010	Ælfric of Eynsham, author of homilies and saints’ lives in Old English
c.958–c.987	Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark, establishes Christianity in Denmark
961–83	Otto II, king of Germany
	961         Crowned king
	962         Crowned emperor in Rome
	967         Crowned emperor
	972         Married the Byzantine princess, Theophanu
	973         Came to power on Otto I’s death
963–69	Reign of Nicephorus II Phocas, emperor of Byzantium
978	Murder of Edward the Martyr, king England
969–76	Reign of John I Tzimiskes, emperor of Byzantium
976–1025	Reign of Basil II ‘the Bulgar-slayer’, emperor of Byzantium
	1018       Surrender of Bulgaria
978–1016	Æthelred the Unready, king of England
980–1015	Reign of Vladimir (Basil), ruler of the Rus
983–1002	Otto III, king and emperor
	983         Crowned king at Aachen
	996         Crowned emperor in Rome by the pope
991	Battle of Maldon
996–1031	Robert the Pious, king of France
c.987–1014	Swein Forkbeard, king of Denmark (c.987–1014), king of England (1013–14)
995	Foundation of Durham
995–9	Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway, establishes Christianity in Norway
c.995–1022	Olof Skötkonung, king of Sweden, establishes Christianity in Sweden
	999         Initiates conversion of Iceland
1002–24	Henry II, king of Germany, emperor (1014–24)
1014–35	Cnut, king of England, king of Denmark (c.1018–35), king of Denmark (c.1018–35)
1015–28	Olaf Haraldsson, king of Norway
	1024       Christianity made compulsory
1030	Death in battle of King Olaf of Norway
1042–66	Edward the Confessor, king of England
1050	Haithabu abandoned
1073–85	Gregory VII, pope
1086	Domesday Book
1170	Death of St Godric of Finchale

 

 

Narrative histories

• Later Roman Empire
• Byzantine Empire
• Emergence of Islam and the Arab Caliphate
• European kingdoms