THE RULER PORTRAITS OF ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND Catherine E. Karkov Anglo-Saxon Studies Anglo-Saxon Studies 3 THE RULER PORTRAITS OF ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND BetweenthereignofAlfredinthelateninthcenturyandthearrivalofthe Normans in 1066, a unique set of images of kingship and queenship was developed in Anglo-Saxon England, images of leadership that centred on books, authorship and learning rather than thrones, sword and sceptres. Focusingontheculturalandhistoricalcontextsinwhichtheseimageswere produced, this book explores the reasons for their development, and their meaning and function within both England and early medieval Europe. It explainshowandwhytheydifferfromtheirByzantineandcontinentalcoun- terparts,andwhattheyrevealaboutAnglo-Saxonattitudestowardshistory and gender, as well as the qualities that were thought to constitute a good ruler.Theauthorarguesthatthisseriesofportraits,neverbeforestudiedasa corpus,createsavisualgenealogyequivalenttothetextualgenealogiesand regnalliststhataresomuchafeatureoflateAnglo-Saxonculture.Assuch theyareanimportantpartofthewayinwhichthekingsandqueensofearly medieval England created both their history and their kingdom. CATHERINE E. KARKOV is Professor of Art, Affiliate in the History and Women’s Studies Departments, Miami University. Anglo-Saxon Studies ISSN 1475–2468 General Editors John Hines Catherine Cubitt Volume 1: The Dramatic Liturgy of Anglo-Saxon England M. Bradford Bedingfield Volume 2: The Art of the Anglo-Saxon Goldsmith: Fine Metalwork in Anglo-Saxon England: its Practice and Practitioners Elizabeth Coatsworth and Michael Pinder ‘Anglo-SaxonStudies’aimstoprovideaforumforthebestscholarship ontheAnglo-SaxonpeoplesintheperiodfromtheendofRomanBritain totheNormanConquest,includingcomparativestudiesinvolvingadja- cent populations and periods; both new research and major re- assessments of central topics are welcomed. Originally founded by Professor David Dumville as ‘Studies in Anglo-SaxonHistory’,theserieshasnowbroadenedinscopeundernew editorshiptotakeinanyoneoftheprincipaldisciplinesofarchaeology, art history, history, language and literature, and inter- or multi- disciplinary studies are encouraged. Proposals or enquiries may be sent directly to the editors or the publisher at the addresses given below; all submissions will receive prompt and informed consideration. Professor John Hines, School of History and Archaeology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK CF10 3XU Dr Catherine Cubitt, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, The King’s Manor, York, England, UK YO1 2EP Boydell&Brewer,POBox9,Woodbridge,Suffolk,England,UKIP12 3DF THE RULER PORTRAITS OF ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND Catherine E. Karkov THE BOYDELL PRESS © Catherine E. Karkov 2004 All Rights Reserved.Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner First published 2004 The Boydell Press, Woodbridge ISBN 1 84383 059 0 The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA website: www.boydellandbrewer.com A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Karkov, Catherine E., 1956– The ruler portraits of Anglo-Saxon England / Catherine E. Karkov. p. cm. – (Anglo-Saxon studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–84383–059–0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Great Britian – History – Anglo Saxon period, 449–1066. 2. Books and reading – England – History – To 1500. 3. Great Britian – Kings and rulers – Portraits. 4. Anglo-Saxons – Kings and rulers – Portraits. 5. Great Britain – Intellectual life – To 1066. 6. Anglo-Saxons – Intellectual life. 7. Authorship – History – To 1500. 8. Portrait painting, English. I. Title. II. Series. DA152.K27 2004 757'.086'21094209021 – dc22 2003024574 This publication is printed on acid-free paper Typeset by Pru Harrison, Hacheston, Suffolk Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press Ltd, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Contents List of illustrations vi Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations viii Introduction 1 1 Alfred 23 2 Æthelstan 53 3 Edgar and the royal women of the monastic reform 84 4 Ælfgifu/Emma and Cnut 119 5 Edward, the Godwines and the end of Anglo-Saxon England 157 Conclusion 174 Bibliography 177 Index 203 Illustrations Fig. 1. Richard Westall,Queen Judith reciting to Alfred the Great, when a child, the songs of the bards Fig. 2. Two Emperorscoin of Alfred Fig. 3. The Alfred Jewel Fig. 4. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 183, fol. 1v, King Æthelstan Fig. 5. Crowned Bustcoin of Æthelstan Fig. 6. British Library, MS Cotton Nero D.iv, fol. 25v, St Matthew Fig. 7. British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian A.viii, fol. 2v, King Edgar offers his charter to Christ Fig. 8. British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian A.viii, fol. 3r Fig. 9. British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian A.viii, fol. 3v Fig. 10. British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian A.viii, fol. 4r Fig. 11. British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian A.viii, fol. 30r Fig. 12. British Library, MS Cotton Galba A.xviii, fol. 120v, Ascension of Christ Fig. 13. British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius A.iii, fol. 2v, King Edgar with Æthelwold and Dunstan Fig. 14. British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius A.iii, fol. 117v, St Benedict Fig. 15. Otto III from Aachen Gospels (Aachen, Cathedral Treasury, fol. 16r) Fig. 16. Seal of Edith of Wilton Fig. 17. British Library, MS Stowe 944, fol. 6, Queen Ælfgifu (Emma) and King Cnut Fig. 18. British Library, MS Stowe 944, fol. 6v, Last Judgement Fig. 19. British Library, MS Stowe 944, fol. 7, Last Judgement Fig. 20. Ivory of Christ crowning Otto II and Theophanu Fig. 21. British Library, MS Additional 33241, fol. 1v Fig. 22. Sovereign-Martletscoin of Edward the Confessor Fig. 23. Seal of Edward the Confessor Fig. 24. Edward the Confessor enthroned, Bayeux Tapestry Fig. 25. Death and funeral of Edward the Confessor, Bayeux Tapestry Fig. 26. Coronation of Harold, Bayeux Tapestry Fig. 27. Halley’s comet and Harold, Bayeux Tapestry Fig. 28. Death of Harold, Bayeux Tapestry vi Acknowledgements Ihaveenjoyedthesupportandencouragementofanumerouspeopleandinstitu- tionsinthetimethatIhavebeenworkingonthisbook,butindividualthanksare duetoMarkBlackburn,MichelleBrown,GillCannell,PatrickW.Conner,Carol Farr,AnnaGannon,MichaelHare,Hilda,JohnHines,PaulHyams,LynnJones, SarahLarrattKeefer,GaleOwen-Crocker,CarolinePalmer,RebeccaRushforth, BillSchipperandDonScragg.IamespeciallygratefultoHelenDamico,Martin Foys,SimonKeynesandPatrickWormaldforgenerouslysharingwithmetheir opinionsandtheirworkinprogress,andforreadingvariousportionsofthemanu- script. They, of course, are not responsible for any mistakes that remain. I would also like to thank the British Library, the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Centre GuillaumeleConquérant,AachenCathedralTreasury,andtheMuséeClunyfor allowing me access to their material and permission to publish works in their collections,andtotheSchoolofFineArts,MiamiUniversityforagenerousgrant towards the cost of their reproduction. vii Abbreviations ASE Anglo-Saxon England ASPR Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records ASSAH Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History BAR British Archaeological Reports CBA Council for British Archaeology CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina CSASE Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England EEMF Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile EETS Early English Texts Society EHD English Historical Documents c. 500–1042, ed. D. Whitelock (London, 1955) EHR English Historical Review FS Frühmittelalterliche Studien HBS Henry Bradshaw Society Hist. eccles. Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, ed. B. Colgrave and R. A. B. Mynors (Oxford, 1969) JEGP Journal of English and Germanic Philology Jnl journal MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica SRM: Scriptores rerum merowingicarum OED Oxford English Dictionary PL Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Latina, ed. J-P. Migne (Paris, 1844–82) Res. Rep. Research Report S P. H. Sawyer, ed.,Anglo-Saxon Charters: an Annotated List and Bibliography(London, 1968) s.a. sub anno viii Introduction Formostofitshistory‘Anglo-Saxon’Englandwasnotakingdombutagroupof kingdoms and sub-kingdoms, the exact number of which fluctuated widely during the seventh and eighth centuries.1 In the year 802, however, Ecgberht (802–39) succeeded to the throne of Wessex and rapidly gained control over muchofEnglandsouthoftheThames.Hisachievementswereconsolidatedand augmented by his immediate successors, who diligently set about transforming thekingshipoftheWestSaxonsintothekingshipoftheEnglish.2Unfortunately, no portrait of Ecgberht survives; in fact outside of coinage no image survives frombeforethetenthcenturythatcanwithoutquestionbedescribedasa‘portrait’ ofaknownruler,andtheportraitsthatdosurviveoncoinsarehighlyformulaic and modelled on Byzantine and continental prototypes.3 Certainly power and leadershipweremanifestedinthematerialrecordinanumberorways,butitwas onlyduringthereignofAlfred(871–99)thatanabidingimageofkingship(and also of queenship) would come to be established. In his 1976 paper ‘Christus rex et magi reges: Kingship and Christology in OttonianandAnglo-SaxonArt’,RobertDeshmanstatedthat‘thereareonlythree survivingAnglo-Saxonmanuscriptswithrulerportraits’.4ForDeshman,a‘ruler’ wasbothmaleandaking,anda‘portrait’wasapaintedimage.Whileitistrue that queens and other royal women remain in the background for much of the periodcoveredbythisbook,therearepointsatwhichtheyemergefromtheirrela- tiveobscuritytoplayasignificant,indeedsometimesprominentroleintheunifi- cationandgovernanceofEngland.Inthisbook,therefore,theterm‘ruler’willbe extendedtocoverboththemenandwomenofthedominantrulingdynasty–for all intents and purposes the West Saxon dynasty. Again, this is not to say that there were not other expressions and images of power; it is simply to 1 Forasurveyoftheearlykingdoms,seeB.Yorke,KingsandKingdomsofEarlyAnglo-SaxonEngland (London, 1990). 2 SeefurtherJ.Campbell,‘TheUnitedKingdomofEngland:TheAnglo-SaxonAchievement’,inUniting theKingdom?TheMakingofBritishHistory,ed.A.GrantandK.J.Stringer(London,1995),pp.31–47; S. Keynes, ‘The Cult of King Alfred’,ASE28 (1999), 225–356, at 354–6. 3 InaforthcomingpaperRosemaryCrampnotesthatitisvirtuallyimpossibletodistinguishimagesof rulersfromimagesoflaypatronsinEnglandbeforethetenthcentury,butwonderswhethertheymight, undertheinfluenceofcoinage,havebeenrepresentedbyheadsalone:R.Cramp,‘TheChangingImage, DivineandHumaninAnglo-SaxonArt’,inAedificiaNova:StudiesinHonorofRosemaryCramp,ed. H. Damico and C. E. Karkov (Kalamazoo, MI, forthcoming). 4 R.Deshman,‘Christusrexetmagireges:KingshipandChristologyinOttonianandAnglo-SaxonArt’, FS10(1976),367–405,at367.DeshmanwasreferringtothededicationminiaturesintheLivesof Cuthbert(Cambridge,CorpusChristiCollegeMS183),theNewMinsterCharter(London,British Library,MSCottonVespasianA.viii)andtheNewMinsterLiberVitae(London,BritishLibrary,MS Stowe 944). 1