#crecganford

[knightofhylia]

Reminder that shamanism is an indigenous Tungusic spiritual practice and therefore if they are not part of that practice they are not a "shaman". Shaman as become an appropriated term for anyone who does trances or magic, completely glossing over that cultures have THEIR OWN TERMS when referring to their spiritual leaders.

[chad-glass]

I just watched a video about myths of death and immortality, and I don't know how to handle the concept that humans might have thought we used to be immortal because we didn't know we could die.

[in-sufficientdata]

I haven't watched these particular videos but I searched the channel of a youtuber I follow who does a lot of videos on mythology and language. There were 3 results.

On the Norse, Indic, and Iranian stories of the origin of the world from the dismembered bodies of a god, from "The Indo-European Myth of Creation", Lincoln, 1975

The general resemblance among these texts is certainly quite clear. In all of them a primordial being is killed and dismembered, and from his body the cosmos is fashioned.28 Yet, there are differences in each account (beyond the petty difference that the body-world homologies do not always match up), and it is evident that certain transformations have taken place within each culture and within each text. The dismemberment is performed by gods intwo of the accounts and by a demon in the third. The victim is accompanied by an ox in one text, a cow in another, and has no companion in the third. The act is treated as a sacrifice once, but as murder twice. Most perplexingly, the names of the victims bear no resemblance to one another. The primordial victim is Ymir in Scandinavia, Gayomart in Iran, and Purusa in India. The question must arise: Are these figures who are structurally so similar really related in any historical way ?

The answer is certainly yes, and it is here that the Old Norse version best preserves the P-I-E heritage. Old Norse Ymir, as Guintert first demonstrated, is derived from Proto-Germanic *yumlyaz, which in turn is derived from P-I-E *ya2m(i)y6s (*Ymr[mi]y6s, as it might be written in a more modern orthography), a term intimately related to P-I-E *yemo- "twin."29 This word corresponds to Lettishjumis, "double fruit"; Middle Irish emuin, "twin"; Latin geminus, "twin"; Avestan yama, "twin"; and, most significantly, to the proper names Avestan Yima = Sanskrit Yama, which literally signify "twin" as well.30 Based on this phonological and semantic correspondence, we hypothesize that there was originally a mythic correspondence and that all are derived from a figure in the P-I-E myth.

Iranian evidence supports this hypothesis, for behind the figure of Gay6mart we may discern the older figure of Yima.3' The way in which this transformation took place is somewhat complex. First, it must be recognized that in pre-Zoroastrian Iran, Yima was not merely king of the golden age, but, as Christensen so skillfully demonstrated, was regarded as first king, first mortal, and first to die.32 This tradition, however, was rejected by Zarathustra, who soundly condemns Yima the only time that he mentions him (Yasna 32.8). There is one verse, however, in which Zarathustra does make an oblique reference to the myth of creation by sacrifice: YASNA 30.4 And when these two spirits first met [the good and evil spirits], they instituted Life (gaem) and non-life, and how life should be at the end.33 Moreover, these two spirits are said to have "appeared in the beginning as two twins (yjmd) in a dream."34

In these verses several eminent Iranists have recognized that Zarathustra attempted to deal with an earlier myth of creation which he found objectionable but which he could not completely ignore.35 Thus, he philosophized the myth, changing its characters into abstract entities, but retaining the essential mythologem that the first living man died at the creation of the world. Ironically, however, a re-mythologization of Zarathustra's version took place in later centuries. In the verse cited above, the Avestan term translated "life" is gaya-, which in the Younger Avesta is often combined with the term maratan-, "mortal"36 to form the name given the first mortal man, who was created and died at the beginning of the world-Gaya maratan.37 This name comes into the Pahlavi (Middle Persian) of our Bundahisn text as Gayomart. Thus, the development is Middle Persian Gayomart < Younger Avestan Gaya maratan < Gathic Avestan gaya < Pre-Zoroaster Yima

In India, too, it seems that the figure of Yama lies behind the Purusa of the Vedic hymn. Most scholars have agreed that Yama is another First Man/First King figure and have also noted that he is the first to die, thus establishing the realm of the dead.45 Several scholars, however, have been willing to go somewhat further and equate his freely chosen death and his abandonment or transcendence (< Skt. pra-Vric-) of his body as in RV 10.13.4 with the sacrifice in Purusa in RV 10.90.46 As Dandekar, who most effectively argued the case, put it, the Purusasuikta is merely a more detailed setting of the Yama myth of RV 10.13.4.47 In light of the comparison to Ymir and Yima, I am inclined to agree. The name Purusa literally means "Man" and seems to be a title born of philosophical and theological speculation. Such speculation changed this figure's name again in the Brahmanas, as Purusa, "Man," became Prajapati, "Lord of Creatures,' but the under-lying story is still the same.48 The morphological and structural features convince us that this is the same figure encountered in Iran and Scandinavia-*Yenlo, "Twin"-first king49 and first sacrificial victim, from whose body the world was made.

honestly the purusa connection seems kind of dubious (although i mean, yama being a first-man figure and purusa just meaning "man" does seem like a strong association) but i love how elaborate and yet imo totally plausible the yima->gayomart transformation is

also if youre curious, lincoln argues that dismembering-god-to-make-the-world stories arent independent even though we see an example that should be independent in china, he argues that's influence from india. he also alludes to a similar polynesian and south american myth which must be independent but he doesnt give any details and i cant find any so no idea whats going on there

[saintzizek]

Accurate Turing test: put a baby computer in front of a mountain and give it some sand to play with. If it can make a little hill and ask if giants created the real mountain then it’s a full person and it will go on to write indo European creation myth. This necessitates interaction with the physical world…. Are we surprised…

[inspofromancientworld]

Myths and Memory

By Bartolomeo di Giovanni - Walters Art Museum: Home page  Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18783132

A myth is typically viewed as a thing of folklore, stories that are somehow religious in nature, but a myth was so much more for our ancestors. Myths were quite often poetic or musical in nature so they'd be easier to remember and pass down. They were also used to build a sense of unity in a group of people as well as help remind members of a group of of when things should be done, where they should be done, what things should be avoided, where people came from, and to make friends.

By Milenioscuro - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3791072

As many of the myths also have components of the night sky in them, with heroes or animals being turned into constellations, we can trace how those stories moved and how people moved. For example, there are stories that involve the constellations of Ursa major and Ursa minor that show up in South America because people who started in the far north moved south and the stories were too important to be forgotten. We can also trace myths by their themes, like how some myths have the creation of land by a creature diving or by a deity-figure calling up land from water. We can trace these ideas, these motifs, through their travels around the world.

By USGS - World Wind (go), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4302322

Myths also moved in ways that we can trace through genetics, but slightly out of sync with genetics. Often, stories would go before genetic mingling occurred through an area. People would join together and share their songs and myths over a meal or while cooperating in a hunt, only later would one group move into an area or have children with each other. One example is that mythology about horses reached parts of Europe before horses did, based on the archaeological record.

By William Wallace Denslow - Library of Congress[2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7640324

We know that mythology was poetry or music not just because the oldest surviving literature we have access to is poetic in form, but also because it's far easier to remember and recite. We enjoy rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, all the poetry vocabulary that we learned in school. We also still use poetry and song to communicate important myths, like how to identify a disease (ring-a-ring of rosies), how to identify dangerous plants (leaves of three), or a tax on wool (baa baa black sheep). While these don't feel sacred to us as the word 'sacred' has come to be limited to religion only, they are passed on through generations both by guardians and educators.

Mythology was sacred, but in a way different to how we use the word today. It would possibly be m ore 'modern' to say that mythology was vital to the life of our elders the way that stories and songs are vital to us today.

Further Resources:

Crecganford YouTube Channel: By researcher Jon Fielder-White

[gravemushrooms]

Tag ppl you wanna know betteeer

Tagged by: @missmassacre

Last song: not songs per se but: Ryuji Takeuchi / Essential Memories EP Part III / Sonoran District; Orbital / In Sides / Dŵr Budr (this has some singing but it's nonsense backwards words); Polygon Window / Surfing on Sine Waves / Polygon Window (it's Aphex Twin, also featured on Warp Records Artificial Intelligence)

Favorite color: i end up back at pink-purple but you'd never know from looking at me

Currently watching:

antiquities/religion MythVision Podcast (mostly critical studies of ancient christianity or related topics) Crecganford (a lot of proto-indo-european th.) Religion for Breakfast Gnostic Informant ESOTERICA (Dr. Justin Sledge) James Tabor Ancient Architects History for GRANITE World of Antiquity Archaeology Now Antiquity for All Crowhag Ancient Americas Jackson Crawford (Old Norse) Lady of the Library Let's Talk Religion toldinstone Simon Roper (English language over time + other topics) Sally Pointer (neolithic fibers + textiles)

experimental archaeology Primitive Technology (with subtitles) Roland Warzecha scholagladiatoria (Matt Easton) Tod's Workshop Malcolm P.L.

urbanism Not Just Bikes Stewart Hicks CityNerd Kirsten Dirksen (not really urbanism but houses, permaculture, DIY)

technology Asianometry

skepticism potholer54 (climate) Mick West AronRa (anti-creationism)

crank bigfoot Bob Gymlan i like to watch a lot of weird crank stuff but this is maybe the only one i think other people could find entertaining

self-actualization (?) Bitsii in Inaka

video game industry Timothy Cain

half a-press memes pannenkoek2012

Last movie: director's cut of The Little Shop of Horrors that has the apocalyptic ending. apparently i haven't really watched a movie since 2019

Currently reading: @eyeofpsyche recommended some books about Jung (Jung - The Key Ideas by Ruth Snowden and The Essential Jung by John Beebe but lately i've been swamped with work + school. earlier this year i was reading Big Dead Place because Antarctica is strange and miserable and Malleus Maleficarum to better understand a Euro-medieval/early modern notion of the supernatural. i skimmed through a bunch of Ekirch's At Day's Close - Night in Times Past for a course over the summer

Sweet/spicy/savory: food isn't really a thing for me. ask me when i have more money

Relationship status: the person i talk to the most online is someone that i don't even use words with

Current obsessions: i had a week where i was looking at weird things to do with Windows 3 and trying out linux distros in a virtual machine

Last googled: i was trying to find a magazine cover from the early/mid 90s that depicted a man wearing unusual shoes in a photo-realistic style and it was intended to illustrate how developments in digital image manipulation had made the notion of "the camera never lies" obsolete

Currently working on: lab report busywork for a microbio course, or i spent nearly all day setting up a biochemistry lab which involved making a lot of 1% solutions of a variety of amino acids

anyone that follows me that wants to do this feel free to have a go at it

[creature-wizard]

Been watching Crecganford's videos on dragons and whatnot, and I gotta say it's nice seeing people seriously considering and researching the possibility that the concept of dragons dates back to the Paleolithic, rather than trying to explain its omnipresence away through some pseudoscientific Jungian nonsense that functionally amounts to Polygenesis Lite.

[lyndaanneshop]

The Indo-European Origins of Genesis by Jonathan Fielder-White

The Indo-European Origins of Genesis by Jonathan Fielder-White

I have been deep in research of late, you might have noticed. While I am waiting on some references, I have been binge watching the topic on “the youtube” with some of my favorite historians. I want to introduce you to Jonathan Fielder-White and his program, Crecganford, named after his hometown or something like that. I am super excited because my new best friend and long time YouTube teacher,…

[steenpaal]

Kingdom of Kent - Wikipedia

The kingdom of the Kentish (Old English: Cantaware Rīce; Latin: Regnum Cantuariorum), today referred to as the Kingdom of Kent, was an early medieval kingdom in what is now South East England. Establishing itself in either the fifth or sixth centuries CE, it continued to exist until being fully absorbed into the Kingdom of England in the tenth century.

Under the preceding Romano-British administration, the area of Kent faced repeated attacks from seafaring raiders during the fourth century CE, with Germanic-speaking foederati likely being invited to settle in the area as mercenaries. Following the end of Roman administration in 410, further linguistically Germanic tribal groups moved into the area, as testified by both archaeological evidence and Late Anglo-Saxon textual sources. The primary ethnic group to settle in the area appears to have been the Jutes, who established their Kingdom in East Kent, which was potentially initially under the dominion of the Kingdom of Francia. It has been argued that an East Saxon community initially settled West Kent, before being conquered by the expanding East Kentish in the sixth century.

The earliest recorded king of Kent was Æthelberht, who as bretwalda wielded significant influence over other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the late sixth century. The Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons began in Kent under Æthelberht's reign with the arrival of the monk Augustine of Canterbury and his Gregorian mission in 597. It was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the so-called Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, but it lost its independence in the 8th century when it became a sub-kingdom of Mercia. In the 9th century, it became a sub-kingdom of Wessex, and in the 10th century, it became part of the unified Kingdom of England that was created under the leadership of Wessex. Its name has been carried forward ever since as the county of Kent.

Knowledge of Anglo-Saxon Kent comes from scholarly study of Late Anglo-Saxon texts such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, as well as archaeological evidence such as that left by Early Medieval cemeteries and settlements, and by the toponymical evidence of Kentish place-names.

Decline of Romano-British Kent[edit]

Roman fort wall at Regulbium

In the Romano-British period, the area of modern Kent that lay east of the River Medway was a civitas known as Cantiaca. Its name had been taken from an older Common Brittonic place-name, Cantium ("corner of land" or "land on the edge") used in the preceding pre-Roman Iron Age, although the extent of this tribal area is unknown.[1]

During the late third and fourth centuries, Roman Britain had been raided repeatedly by Franks, Saxons, Picts, and Scots.[2] As the closest part of Britain to mainland Europe, it is likely that Kent would have experienced many attacks from seafaring raiders, resulting in the construction of four Saxon Shore Forts along the Kentish coast: Regulbium, Rutupiae, Dubris, and Portus Lemanis.[2] It is also likely that Germanic-speaking mercenaries from northern Gaul, known as foederati, would have been hired to supplement official Roman troops during this period, with land in Kent as payment.[3] These foederati would have assimilated into Romano-British culture, making it difficult to distinguish them archaeologically.[4]

There is evidence that over the fourth and early fifth centuries, rural villas were abandoned, suggesting that the Romano-British elite were moving to the comparative safety of fortified urban centres.[5] However, urban centres also witnessed decline; Canterbury evidenced a declining population and reduced activity from the late third century onward, while Dover was abandoned by the end of the fourth century.[6] In 407, the Roman legions left Britain in order to deal with incursions into the Empire's continental heartlands.[2] In 410, the Roman Emperor Honorius sent a letter to his British subjects announcing that they must thenceforth look after their own defence and could no longer rely on the imperial military to protect them.[2] According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, produced in late Anglo-Saxon England and not considered an accurate record of events in the fifth century, in 418 many Romans left Britain via Kent, taking much of their wealth with them. This may represent a memory of a genuine exodus of the Roman aristocracy.[7]

Early Anglo-Saxon Kent[edit]

Anglo-Saxon migration: 410–499[edit]

According to archaeologist Martin Welch, the fifth century witnessed "a radical transformation of what became Kent, politically, socially and in terms of physical landscape".[1] Both literary and archaeological records show the migration of linguistically Germanic peoples from northern Europe into Britain during this century.[8] There nevertheless remains much debate as to the scale of this migration; some see it as a mass migration in which large numbers of Germanic peoples left northern Europe to settle in Britain; others have argued that only a small warrior elite came over, dominating (or even enslaving) the Romano-British population, who then began using the Old English language and material culture of the newcomers.[9] The fate of the Romano-British is also debated; many may have fled to Western Britain or Brittany.[10]

In Kent, it is likely that some the Romano-British population remained, as the Roman name for the area, Cantiaca, influenced the name of the new Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Cantware ("dwellers of Kent").[11]

Hengest and Horsa, from

A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence

by

Richard Verstegan

(1605)

The Germanic migration to Britain is noted in textual sources from the late Anglo-Saxon period, most notably Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; both rely on oral histories from the fifth century, and were attempts to establish origin myths that would justify the politics of the time.[7] According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a "king of the Britons" known as Vortigern invited two Germanic leaders, Hengist and Horsa ("stallion" and "horse"), to Britain to help defend against Pictish raiders. After arriving at Ebba's Creek in Kent in 449, Hengist and Horsa led the defeat of the Picts before turning on the British and inviting more Germanic tribes to colonise Britain. Among these were the Old Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes; the latter settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight, establishing the peoples known as the Cantware and Wihtware.[12]

According to the Chronicle, in 455 Hengist and Horsa fought Vortigern at Ægelesthrep (probably Aylesford in Kent), in which battle Horsa was killed. Hengist succeeded him as king, followed in turn by his son Æsc.[13] In 456 Hengest and Æsc battled the Britons at Crecganford (probably Crayford). The Britons then fled Kent for their London stronghold.[13] A similar account is provided in Bede's Ecclesiastical History: that the people of Kent and Isle of Wight were descended from Jutish settlers, and that Horsa was killed in battle against the Britons, adding that his body was buried in east Kent.[14] The accuracy of these accounts is questioned; S. E. Kelly states that "the legendary details are easy to dismiss".[15] Scholars often view Hengist and Horsa as mythological figures borrowed from folk tradition, to legitimise rulers in the Mid-to-Late Anglo-Saxon period.[16]

The incoming Germanic peoples settled on the prime agricultural land of the Romano-Britons; particularly the foothills to the north of the downs and Holmesdale south of the downs escarpment.[17] It is likely that they complemented agriculture with animal husbandry, but with nearby coasts and rivers it is also likely that they engaged in fishing and trading.[18] The Anglo-Saxons made use of pre-existing prehistoric and Roman road systems, with 85% of cemeteries being located within 1.2km of a Roman road, a navigable river or the coast, and the remaining 15% being close to ancient trackways.[19] Little archaeological evidence of these early settlements exists, but one prominent example is a grubenhaus at Lower Warbank, Keston that was built atop the site of a former Roman villa, adjacent to a Romano-British trackway through the North Downs.[18] Fifth-century ceramics have also been found at a number of villa sites around Kent, suggesting reoccupation of these locations during this period.[20] In East Kent, fifth century cemeteries mostly comprise solely of inhumation burials, with a distinct Kentish character. Conversely, in West Kent cemeteries such Orpington mix cremations with inhumations, which is more typical of Saxon cemeteries north of the River Thames.[21] This suggests that West Kent at this point was independent of East Kent, and part of the Kingdom of the East Saxons north of the Thames Estuary.[22]

Development and westward expansion: 500–590[edit]

In the sixth century the Kingdom of Kent had some relationship with the Merovingian-governed Kingdom of Francia, which was then extending its influence in northwestern Europe.[23] Textual sources suggest that Kent may have been under Merovingian control for part of this century.[24] Archeological evidence of Frankish material culture from this period has been found in Kent, but not in other areas of lowland Britain, suggesting a trade monopoly with the Frankish kingdom.[25]

Sixth century Kentish artefacts have been found in continental Europe, in particular in the areas of modern Charente, western Normandy, the Rhineland, Frisia, Thuringia, and southern Scandinavia. They are relatively absent between the Sein and the Somme across the English Channel from the Saxons in Sussex, suggesting that trade was established between particular tribal or ethnic groups rather than by geography.[26] There is also archaeological evidence of Kentish trade links in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and copies or imitations appearing in cemeteries further afield, in areas such as Wiltshire and Cambridgeshire. [22]

Archaeological evidence suggests that at some point in the sixth century, East Kent annexed West Kent.[22] To the south lay the Weald, a dense forest of no value to the Kentish elite, leaving the fertile area west of the kingdom attractive for conquest, particularly the Darenth Valley and the dip slopes of the North Downs to the west of the Medway.[22]

Established kingdom and Christianisation: 597–650[edit]

A putative early illustration of Augustine

Firmly in the control of an elite class, Kent is the first Anglo-Saxon kingdom to appear in the historical record in 597.[27] The monk Bede refers to Kent as ruled by Æthelberht at this period, making him the earliest reliably attested Anglo-Saxon monarch.[28] Bede states that Æthelberht was a bretwalda who controlled everything south of the River Humber, including other kingdoms.[29] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to wars in sixth-century Britain, but most were in the west and did not affect Kent; the one exception was a battle between the Kentish and West Saxons in 568, during which Æthelberht's forces were pushed back into Kent.[30] Æthelberht's reign also produced the Law of Æthelberht, the oldest surviving text in Old English.[31]

According to Bede, the Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England began in Kent under Æthelberht's reign when the Benedictine monk Augustine arrived on the Ebbsfleet peninsula in 597, bringing the Gregorian mission with him.[28] Æthelberht's Frankish wife, Bertha, was already a Christian, with Æthelberht himself converting a few years later.[28]

During this period, Anglo-Saxon kings moved around their kingdoms continually, subsisting on goods from the local populations and reciprocating with gifts.[32] Various seventh and eighth century documents attest to the fact that Kent was governed by two kings, a dominant one in the east and a subordinate in the west, likely reflecting the earlier divide.[33]

This period witnessed the end of furnished burial, marked archaeologically by less regional distinctiveness of grave goods and more artefacts decorated in the Salin Style II motifs.[34] It also saw the emergence of elite burials with far greater wealth than others; notable Kentish examples have been found at Sarre Anglo-Saxon cemetery and the Kingston Barrow cemetery, while the elite Taplow burial in modern Buckinghamshire also contained Kentish characteristics, suggesting a potential Kentish influence in that region.[35]

Middle and late Anglo-Saxon Kent[edit]

Decline and Mercian domination: 650–785[edit]

In the seventh century, Kent's power waned as that of Mercia and Northumbria grew,[36] but it remained the fourth wealthiest kingdom in England, according to the Tribal Hidage with 15,000 hides of land recorded in the seventh or eighth century.[37] However the period was tumultuous for the Kentish royal family; Kent was ruled by Ecgberht from 664 to 673, but between 664 and 667 two royal cousins, Æthelred and Æthelberht were killed at Eastry royal hall, perhaps because they were a threat to Ecgberht.[38] Ecgberht was succeeded by his brother, Hlothere, who ruled from 674 to 686 before being overthrown and killed by one of Ecberht's sons, Eadric, who had allied with the South Saxons; Eadric then ruled until 687.[38]

In the late seventh century, Kent gradually came to be dominated by Mercia. There had been a Kentish royal hall and reeve in Lundenwic until at least the 680s, but the city then passed into Mercian hands.[36] The loss of Lundenwic probably broke Kent's monopoly on cross-Channel trade and its control of the Thames, eroding its economic influence. [38] According to Bede's later account, in 676 the Mercian king Æthelred I led an attack that destroyed many Kentish churches.[39] Mercia's control of Kent increased in the following decades; by 689–690 East Saxon kings under Mercian overlordship were active in West Kent, and there are records attesting that Æthelred arbitrated on the income of the Christian communities at Minster-in-Thanet and Reculver, indicating strong Mercian control over the east of the kingdom too.[38]

In 686 Kent was conquered by Caedwalla of Wessex; within a year, Caedwalla's brother Mul was killed in a Kentish revolt, and Caedwalla returned to devastate the kingdom again. After this, Kent fell into a state of disorder. The Mercians backed a client king named Oswine, but he seems to have reigned for only about two years, after which Wihtred became king. Wihtred, famous for the Law of Wihtred, did a great deal to restore the kingdom after the devastation and tumult of the preceding years, and in 694 he made peace with the West Saxons by paying compensation for the killing of Mul.

Records of Kent following the death of Wihtred in 725 are fragmented and obscure. For forty years, two or even three kings typically ruled simultaneously. This division may have made Kent the first target of the rising power of Offa of Mercia: in 764, he gained supremacy over Kent and ruled it through client kings. By the early 770s, it appears that Offa was attempting to rule Kent directly, and a rebellion followed. A battle was fought at Otford in 776, and although the outcome is unknown, records of following years suggest that the rebels prevailed; Egbert II and later Ealhmund seem to have ruled independently of Offa for nearly a decade thereafter. This did not last, however, as Offa firmly re-established his authority over Kent in 785.

Many religious centers at this period, minsters containing a church, were often far larger than lay settlements, with access to many resources and trade links;[40] the Minster-in-Thanet was recorded as possessing three trade ships.[41]

The seventh century saw the reintroduction of masonry in Anglo-Saxon England, primarily for churches.[41] The earliest churches in the region have been termed the "Kentish Group" and reflect both Italian and Frankish influences in their design; early examples include St Pancras, St Mary, and St Peter and St Paul, all part of St. Augustine's monastery in Canterbury, as well as St. Andrews in Rochester and St Mary in Lyminge.[42]

In the late seventh century, the earliest charters appear, giving estate boundaries, [43] and showing reclamation of land, for use by livestock, from the Wantsum Channel and Romney Marsh.[44] The Ebbsfleet watermill in West Kent, dated to circa 700, also reflects new uses of the landscape. [44]

Canterbury grew into the economic and political centre of Kent during the seventh century, as evidenced by rubbish pits, metalworking, timber halls, and sunken-feature buildings from the period.[45] Intensive development was also present at Dover,[46] and possibly at Rochester, although archaeological evidence is lacking.[47] It is known that both Canterbury and Rochester were the home to major mints in this period, primarily producing silver sceattas.[47] This suggests that from the seventh century onward, kings in Kent were establishing control over the kingdom's economic structure.[48]

Viking attacks: 785–825[edit]

During the eighth and ninth centuries, a number of fortified earthworks, most notably Wansdyke and Offa's Dyke, were constructed as barriers between the warring kingdoms; the Faestendic passing through the Cray Valley and the routeway that has since become the A25 were likely Kentish earthworks of this period designed to protect the kingdom.[49] Evidence for such militarisation might also be seen in the Rochester Bridge burdens, documented from the 790s, which lay out the obligation for the Roman bridge across the River Medway to be maintained, which would be vital for allowing Kentish troops to cross the river.[49]

After King Ealhmund presumably died shortly after witnessing a charter in 784, his son Egbert was driven out of Kent and into exile by Offa of Mercia, It is clear from charters that Offa was in control of Kent by 785. Rather than just acting as overlord of his new possession, he attempted to annex it or at least reduce its importance by creating a new diocese in Mercia at Lichfield, possibly because the archbishop of Canterbury Jænberht refused to crown his son Ecgfrith. Jænberht resigned a part of his bishopric and the pro-Mercian Hygeberht was chosen by King Offa to replace him "through enmity conceived against the venerable Jænberht and the Kentish people" according to Offa's eventual successor Coenwulf. In 796 Offa died, and in this moment of Mercian weakness a Kentish rebellion under Eadbert Praen temporarily succeeded. Offa's eventual successor, Coenwulf, reconquered Kent in 798, however, and installed his brother Cuthred as king. After Cuthred's death in 807 Coenwulf ruled Kent directly. Mercian authority was replaced by that of Wessex in 825, following the latter's victory at the Battle of Ellandun, and the Mercian client king Baldred was expelled.

825–1066[edit]

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Kent was first attacked by Viking raiders in the late eighth century.[50] Kent and southeast England would have been an attractive target because of its wealthy minsters, often located on exposed coastal locations.[50] In 804, the nuns of Lyminge were granted refuge in Canterbury to escape the attackers, while in 811 Kentish forces gathered to repel a Viking army based on the Isle of Sheppey.[50] Further recorded attacks occurred on Sheppey in 835, through Romney Marsh in 841, in Rochester in 842, Canterbury and Sandwich in 851, Thanet in 853, and across Kent in 865.[50] Kent was also attractive for its easy access to major land and sea routes.[51] By 811, it is recorded that Vikings built fortifications on the Kentish north coast, and over-wintered their armies on Thanet in 851–52 and Sheppey in 854–55.[51] At this point, Canterbury and Rochester still had Roman walls that could have been refurbished,[52] but they were nevertheless attacked by the Vikings; Rochester in 842, Canterbury in 851, and Rochester again in 885, when they laid siege until it was liberated by Alfred's army.[53] The Burghal Hidage lists the construction of the Eorpenburnam fort, possibly Castle Toll.[53] Hoards have been found, particularly around the West Kent coast, that might have been wealth hidden from the Vikings.[54]

In 892, when southern England was united under Alfred the Great, Kent was on the brink of disaster. Alfred had defeated Guthrum the Old and allowed Vikings by treaty to settle in East Anglia and the North East. However, other Danes were still on the move. Haesten, a highly experienced warrior-leader, had mustered huge forces in northern France having besieged Paris and taken Brittany.

As many as 350 Viking ships sailed from Boulogne to the south coast of Kent in 892. Between 5000 and 10,000 men, with their families and horses, came up Limen estuary (the east-west route of the Royal Military Canal in reclaimed Romney Marsh) and attacked a Saxon fort near St Rumwold's church, Bonnington, killing all inside. They moved on and over the next year built a fortress at Appledore. Hearing of this, Danes in East Anglia and elsewhere then rose against Alfred. They raided Kent from Appledore, in razing a large settlement, Seleberhtes Cert (present-day Great Chart near Ashford). They moved further inland and engaged in numerous battles with the English, but after four years they gave up. Some retreated to East Anglia and others went back to northern France as the forebears of the Normans who conquered England in 1066.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

^ a b c Welch 2007, p. 189.

^ a b c d Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 25.

^ Kelly 1999, p. 269; Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 26–27.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 26–27.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 27.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 28, 29.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 32.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 31.

^ Arnold 1997, p. 22; Welch 2007, p. 194.

^ Welch 2007, p. 201.

^ Welch 2007, pp. 189–190; Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 35.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 32–33.

^ a b Welch 2007, p. 190; Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 33.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 34.

^ Kelly 1999, p. 270.

^ Welch 2007, p. 190.

^ Welch 2007, p. 194; Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 37–38.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 38.

^ Welch 2007, p. 197.

^ Welch 2007, p. 195.

^ Welch 2007, p. 209; Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 40.

^ a b c d Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 65.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 46.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 46–47.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 47.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 49.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 44.

^ a b c Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 69.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 70.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 70–71.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 72–73.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 80–81.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 71.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 75.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 76–78.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 93.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 94–95.

^ a b c d Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 95.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 94.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, pp. 107–108.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 108.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 109.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 97.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 101.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 112.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 113.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 115.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 117.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 96.

^ a b c d Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 120.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 122.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 126.

^ a b Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 127.

^ Brookes & Harrington 2010, p. 123.

Sources[edit]

Arnold, C. J. (1997). An Archaeology of the Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (new ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0415156363. 

Brookes, Stuart; Harrington, Sue (2010). The Kingdom and People of Kent, AD 400-1066: Their History and Archaeology. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 978-0752456942. 

Kelly, S. E. (1999). "Kingdom of Kent". The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England. Michael Lapidge, John Blair, Simon Keynes, and Donald Scragg (eds.). Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 269–270. ISBN 978-0631224921. 

Kelly, S. E. (1993). "The Control of Kent in the Ninth Century". Early Medieval Europe. 2 (2): 111–31. 

Welch, Martin (2007). "Anglo-Saxon Kent". The Archaeology of Kent to AD 800. John H. Williams (eds.). Woodbridge: Boydell Press and Kent County Council. pp. 187–248. ISBN 9780851155807. 

Witney, K. P. (1982). The Kingdom of Kent. Phillimore. ISBN 0-85033-443-8. 

External links[edit]

[bicokun]

Love watching Crecganford for explanations of this kind of thing. For example:

GUYS THIS IS AMAZING

SERIOUSLY

6000 YEARS

STORIES THAT ARE OLDER THAN CIVILIZATIONS

STORIES THAT WERE TOLD BY PEOPLE SPEAKING LANGUAGES WE NO LONGER KNOW

STORIES TOLD BY PEOPLE LOST TO THE VOID OF TIME

STORIES

[thylionheart]

Oh boy, do I have a story for you! It goes back to the Proto Indo European creation myth. In the beginning, there were two brothers- twins. One named Man and the other Twin (or two). They decide to create the world/cosmos and in order to do so, Man has to sacrifice Twin and use his body parts to create everything. Crecganford is a history YouTuber who specializes comparative mythology as it applies to PIE. He’s going to be the one who can give you sources.

does anyone know what's up with all the twin killing myths in different cultures? Romulus and remus, cain and Abel? sources? girl help

[tenaciouskittynightmare]

Also HistorywithCy, Stefan Milo, Dan Davis, Trey the Explainer and Crecganford also cover history. Crecganford’s main focus is on Indo-European mythology/history, Cy covers ancient history, Stefan Milo’s main focus is on the Prehistory period but he has made a video on Carthage and Trey…well he used to do a lot of paleontology videos but has since added archaeology videos.

The Welsh Viking is pretty cool!