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Introduction to Anglo-Saxons in the Vale Before discussing some specific aspects of the Anglo-Saxon era in other entries to this Chronicle here's some sort of overview of early medieval scholarship. Yep, the academics have stopped calling it the 'Anglo-Saxon era' or 'the Dark Ages' and have adopted the term 'early medieval' to describe the centuries between the departure of the Roman army from Britain in AD 410 and the Norman Conquest in 1066. 'Early medieval' gets round several problems. The main one is that as well as people from Anglia and Lower Saxony (on the North Sea coast, not more recent Saxony) coming to England so too were folks from Jutland and Frisia. And by the ninth century a significant number of Scandinavians were settling in northern and eastern Britain. 'Anglo-Saxon' over-simplifies to the point of confusion. But I still use it as it's the term many non-academics are familiar with. And while once very much 'the Dark Ages' for historians, in the last thirty-or-so years scholarship has shed much light. We now know enough about the archaeology and history of those 600-plus years to recognise three different 'phases'. 1: Migration Period (c.AD 410–600) First was the 'Migration Period' from, well, perhaps 410 but in reality the Roman army had been recruiting soldiers from Germanic-speaking parts of northern Europe for at least a century and, when they retired, they were given a 'farm' (colonia). One of the popular places for these colonia was between Newark and Lincoln. The Romans had been trading with Lower Saxony and, it seems, by the second half of the fourth century some Saxons were raiding the south-east coast of England. We know something about burials in the fifth and sixth centuries but very little about how most people were living at that time. There was no pottery production for some time after the Romans left. Coins went out of use. Metals such as iron were so valuable that nearly everything was recycled. Houses were wood and thatch. Even when archaeologists stumble on scant remains there's little to provide close dating evidence. However some of our settlement names were coined during the Migration Period. The main 'survival' from the Migration Period is the English language. OK, it's evolved considerably since then. But the settlers brought with them German dialects which remain the basis of English speech. What happened to the descendants of the Romano-British inhabitants? They spoke Brittonic languages (popularly called 'Celtic languages', but this is way too anachronistic as modern notions of 'Celtic culture' were invented in the early eighteenth century and are a poor fit with actual history – although considerable myth and legend 'smokescreens' this). We know the Germanic settlers refered to Brittonic-speakers as wahls. It's the origin of Wales, the name for the country. Wahl meant two things all at once. You spoke Brittonic. And you were a slave. Everytime you drive through a village called 'Walton' you are driving through a former settlement occupied by walhs. I'm guessing that they were like townships in apartheid-era South Africa. Slaves have a number of uses. Such as doing difficult jobs. The men would be expected to provide agricultural labour. Women would be expected to grind flour by hand (watermills are still a long way in the future, at least in England) and spin and weave cloth. And slaves have a different 'use'. They can be sold to the next passing slavetrader. They would be shipped to the mouth of the Rhine, be bought by a different trader, expected to walk the length of the Rhine into Switzerland using ropes to pull a cargo boat against the current. They would then be sold again, expected to walk over the Alpine passes into north Italy and be sold again in the region that is now Venice. An insatiable demand for slaves in the Levant (some of the modern Middle East) provided enough profits to enable England to import luxury items from the eastern Mediterrean. An eminent historian called Michael McCormick published a very long book in 2001 called Origins of the European Economy in which (on page 798!) he wrote that 'without Muslim demand for slaves there would have been little European wealth'. Makes considerable sense. So most of the wahls either quickly assimilated with the earliest Anglo-Saxon settlers or found themselves in the Levant. The Anglo-Saxon leaders initially set up small 'kingdoms' the size of Rutland, Framland and the Vale of Belvoir. This entry provides more details. We must assume that there was considerable raiding for livestock, slaves and food stocks across the borders. The successful leaders gained more land so tribal territories became the size of counties. Although strictly counties were not formalised until the tenth or early eleventh centuries. 2: Conversion Period (c.AD 597–735) The settlers were pagan and, so far as we can tell, any christianity in late Roman Britain was 'snuffed out'. But christianity thrived in Ireland and missionaries were sent from there to Wales and south-west Scotland. Christianity seems to have been the dominant religion in western England and Northumbria before the Augustinian Mission initiated by Pope Gregory around 595 which resulted in the conversion of Kent in 597 and subsequent missionary activity in south-east England. But one kingdom continued being predominantly pagan until 655. Mercia – the massive kingdom in the middle of England. Northumbrian kings and clergy had been trying to take over Mercia for over thirty years. And when the doughty king, Penda, died in 655 they moved in fast to set up churches. This video provides more insight. Churches brought with them money. Money to invest in heavy mouldboard ploughs and the oxen to power them. Watch this video for details. England, especially agricultural regions like the Vale of Belvoir, became wealthier and populations steadily grew. However the wealth brought unwelcome attention… 3: Scandinavian Settlement Period (c.793–1066) Wealthy churches on the North Sea coast began to be attacked by the crews of Viking ships. The first recorded raid was on Lindisfarne in 793. But academics suspect that this is just the oldest record we have. There may well have been earlier attacks on smaller churches and secular settlements that were never written down at the time, or any written record have been lost. Thankfully the Vale of Belvoir is not near the coast. And even when Vikings came up the Trent in 873 they headed to Repton, then the royal 'seat' of Mercia, and gave the River Devon a miss. So far as we know. The main evidence of Scandinavians in the Vale is not of raiding but of settlement. Numerous villages are either named after someone who had a Scandinavian name and/or the name ends in -by which is Scandinavian for settlement. Aslockton, Granby, Harby, Tithby and Thoroton are the only clear examples in the Vale of Belvoir (see Granby's importance in 1086). In contrast Framland Hundred (more-or-less the same as the modern Melton District) has many villages with names ending -by. -By replaced the Germanic words -tun and -ham which had previously denoted farming settlements. Note I am intentionally not using the word 'village' because nucleated villages were still in the future when tun and ham were in widespread use. We know too little about the dates of settlement nucleation to be sure, but the Scandinavian newcomers may well have created nucleated villages in the tenth and early eleventh centuries. They certainly created 'daughter settlements' called thorps. The Vale has four: Thorpe (to the east of East Stoke), Sibthorpe, Owthorpe and Beckingthorpe (now contiguous with the northern part of Bottesford). Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2025 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/chronicle

Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland