Inter-cultural Relationships in the Early Post-Roman World
By Fiona nic Aoidh
One of the most
challenging aspects of studying the past is understanding
the interplay
of cultures throughout history. There seem to be two separate camps on the issue of
cultural exchange in early period. Either people are believed to be traveling all over
the world with ease, importing delicacies and living much as we do today, or they are seen as living very
proscribed lives, never getting far from
home, and knowing nothing of places far away. Actually, neither idea is
completely wrong. There were probably farmers, who never traveled, were not literate and knew little beyond their fields, but
their lives were influenced by what
happened far away, and some of the things they took for granted were imported from other cultures.
Rome
Although there were
several distinct cultures in Post-Roman Europe, there was much trade and
travel between these cultures and even the most remote people had contact with far
away places. This began with Rome. The roads that Rome is so famous for increased the ease of travel,
and, in order to assure that goods traveled safely to the areas where
they were needed, Rome policed its territory. Also, towards the end
of the empire, Rome conscripted subject peoples, who were often sent far from
home to serve. These troops, at first, often returned home at the end of
their service, bringing a taste for things from far away, as well as stories of
how other people lived.
As the empire became less organized,
especially on the frontiers, Roman soldiers
often married and stayed in the lands in which they served. These new residents brought their tastes and traditions with
them, and fueled a market for exotic
merchandise.
The power of Rome was
not in the things it produced, but instead in an ability to add value to things through processing.
Therefore, wool was produced in one area,
transported to be spun and dyed where this was a specialty, woven in still a third area - gaining value at each stop. This
trade required some people to travel,
and allowed people to be aware of what was available across the channel, over the mountains, or through the forest. Roman
armies also took slaves back to Rome - and although these slaves rarely had the
opportunity to return to their homes,
they increased Rome's contact with the rest of the world.
Rome may also have
paid the peoples living North of the Antonine wall in
Britain,
as well as the Irish for non-aggression. These peoples were obviously very successful
raiders, as they were either taking the very best from the Roman armies in Britain, or
those same armies were willing to pay well to avoid their
depredations. In fact, the Roman
goods found in these areas from this time period are of very high quality - not
cast-offs.
And finally, Rome
contributed to intercultural exchange through military occupation. Roman
troops stationed in Southern Britain and elsewhere wanted wine and other things
from home. The locals seem to have developed a taste for these imports
rapidly!
The Germanic Tribes
After the fall of Rome, Europe did not
lose its taste for the luxuries it had become
accustomed too, and the roads were still making travel easier. However, with the fall of Rome, the balance of
power was disturbed, and a new round
of invasions and conquests began. The Germanic peoples (Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Franks in particular) began a
slow invasion around the year 500 AD.
Trade with the continent continued - all these invaders left family behind, and they imported familiar items. These
Germanic peoples eventually carved
Britain up into small kingdoms -again except for the northern reaches which kept their traditions, and Wales, which was
the recipient of Irish attention. A trade/raid relationship developed with
these areas - and among the kingdoms. There
is little evidence of large-scale battles or executions, however. This invasion seems to have been not exactly peaceful,
as all of these peoples appear to
have loved raiding, but not extremely violent either. The archaeological record shows that Romanized Britons may have lived
next door to Saxons with no obvious
animosity.
As the small kingdoms
developed, occasionally one king was obviously more powerful than the
others, and the Bretwalda, or High King was recognized. The Bretwalda exacted tribute from
the subject kingdoms, and amassed great wealth, which they used to import things that
caught their fancy. Sometimes even northern Britain, or Pictland, paid tribute to
the Bretwalda. The ship burial at Sutton Hoo is believed to have been meant for the Bretwalda named Raedwald. This burial
demonstrates the distance over which items could travel, and the wealth
available in some parts of Northern Europe. The Sutton Hoo
burial included
a Coptic bronze bowl, Byzantine silver bowls, and two silver spoons. One of these spoons
was probably a souvenir from Rome - pilgrims bought spoons even then.
This spoon is inscribed with the name "Paul". The other spoon is
controversial. The inscription on it is of inferior quality. Some investigators
thought that it was a companion to the first spoon, inscribed with the name
"Saul", but others think that it is an inexpert copy, meant to say
"Paul" as well! Additionally, the hanging bowl in the burial has
Irish metalwork on the escutcheons. The helmet is Vendel
in design, and either came from Sweden, or was a copy of a Swedish piece. This one
grave holds artwork from as far away as Byzantium, and Sweden - and these are only
the non-perishable items, heavy and difficult to transport. It is exciting to
wonder what textiles could have been packed around the bowls, what spices could
have made the same trip. Clearly the Anglo-Saxon
nobility had access to things from far away, and may have
traveled to these places
themselves, and the things they brought back were available for local
craftsmen to copy.
Inter-marriage was
another avenue for inter-cultural exchange. Both within Britain, and on the
continent, sisters and daughters were packed off willy-nilly to cement alliances - or just to allay suspicions.
Records of raids do not show that a marriage alliance necessarily stopped raiding!
Brides brought their things with them, as well as their attendants and sometimes
their religions. Families also visited one another especially for occasions like
weddings and christenings.
On a similar vein,
sons and nephews were sometimes fostered in neighboring kingdoms or taken as
hostages, to assure good behavior. Sometimes these sons and nephews were as
young as four when they went to the court of an ally or conqueror. These
children would grow up in a foreign court - and then be returned at
adulthood, sometimes to take the throne of the country they hadn't seen since childhood.
Conquerors also sent the conquered into exile, and exiles would spend long
years in foreign lands, sometimes receiving delegations or family visitors from
home. All of these travelers increased the desire for trade. When far from home,
they wanted familiar things, and when returned, exotic delicacies.
Ireland
The Irish probably traded with Rome fairly early, as Roman coins are regularly found in Ireland. By the 3rd Century, the Irish had an agreement with the Picts from Northern Britain on raiding in Roman Britain, an alliance which was joined by the Germanic Tribes in the 4th Century. These groups weren’t by any means united, however, and raided each other as well as the Romanized Britons - but maybe not as often. By the 7th and 8th centuries, archaeology shows that many items were imported to Ireland. E ware, a type of pottery made in Southwestern France, is often found, along with continental glass vessels. Wine and other luxury goods like silk, silver and spices were imported from as far away as the Mediterranean. Scandinavian styles are seen on local metalwork (not too surprising, as Vikings took and held Dublin for awhile) and there are hoards of Anglo-Saxon coins found. One thing becomes obvious from this - the Irish had money for imports. Irish metalwork is found widely over Europe, so this may be the source of their wealth.
Another source of
inter-cultural exchange in Ireland was Christianity and a tradition of
scholarship. In 431 AD when the bishop Palladius was
sent to Ireland
from Rome, he was sent to an already established Christian community. Ireland had close
ties to Rome, with an exchange of books, which were copied and sent as gifts
both back to Rome and to other parts of Europe for many years. The script developed
by the Irish monastics became the script in general
use in all
of Britain, and influenced scripts throughout Europe. Irish scholars traveled with their books
throughout Europe and to Rome and Byzantium.
Pilgrimages became important before the 7th century and it was not uncommon for Irish Christians to travel to the Holy Land. Some of these travels are recorded for us. Adomnan, an Irish monk, recorded tales of an Anglo-Saxon bishop in the Holy Land, and Dicuil wrote of Fidelis, an Irish monk, whose travels included a trip down the Nile. Fidelis saw the pyramids, which he called Josephs barns. By the 9th Century, Irish scholarship is so renowned, that less learned Irish travelers were sometimes forced to apologize for their lack of learning, On discovering that a traveler was Irish it was assumed that they would have knowledge of Latin, and would be able to discuss learned subjects.
Ireland also had strong ties with Northern Britain. The Irish either took control of, or began to have close contact with (depends on the point of view) what is now Argyll in Scotland in the 4th or 5th century. There was a strong military, religious, and commercial Irish presence in this region, known as Dal Riada, from then on. In the 7th century, the Ui Niell family which ruled in Ireland had a formal alliance with Dal Riada, now a political entity in its own right.
Picts
It is hard to get much information about the Picts, but several hoards containing Mediterranean silver bowls, the presence of Pictish silver chains in what was Northumbria, records of constantly changing borders, and information about alliances with the Irish and the Welsh at various times, usually to battle Northumbria, suggest that Pictland was not isolated. Some sources also suggest that rather than the Irish taking over Dal Riada, they made an alliance with the Pictish tribe already living there, and the people on the Northwestern coast of Britain may have been more Pictish than Irish.
In Pictland as well as elsewhere, the advent of Christianity brought with it cultural exchange. In 563 AD, Columba was sent from Ireland to preach to the heathen Picts. Columba may have been sent to the Picts as a punishment, but was given the Isle of lona, where he built a community which was a tie between Ireland and the Christian churches of Anglo-Saxon England. lona was given to Columba by Brude, the Pictish King. Brude converted to Christianity sometime around 562, either by the Dal Riadan Scots, or while on a visit to Ireland.
"The Book of Kells", which was probably begun in lona (which is in Pictland) in the 8th century and moved to escape Viking raiders in the late 8th or early 9th centuries, shows a Byzantine influence, especially in the dress of the Virgin Mary, but also in the dress of some of the other figures, especially the saints. This may be because the artists were copying from a Byzantine text, or may reflect changing fashion, or both.
Pictland was also a
convenient place for exiles to go - not too far from home, but out of the way.
Exiles from various kingdoms spent time here -and one exile from Northumbria (Oswald) fathered a Pictish King
(Talorgan)
Vikings
In the 8th century, the Vikings began an expansion, settling in places as far apart as Russia, Byzantium, and Dublin, Ireland. As well as settling in new places, Vikings raided widely. In the 9th and 10th centuries much of the world had seen their dragon ships. Many things from this expansion were returned to the Scandinavian countries. Some examples are a 2nd Century Buddha from India, found in Helgo, Sweden in an 8th century context, and Arabic coins, found in a 10th century Swedish grave. In 986, the Vikings made landfall in the New World, and thereafter occupied both Greenland and Iceland. What the Romans had begun with roads, the Vikings continued on the sea.
An Example of
Inter-Cultural Relationships and Travel in Early Period
Events in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and Pictland from 600 AD to the Synod of Whitby in 664 AD serve to demonstrate the tangle of cultural influences in post-Roman Europe. In 600 AD, Ethelfrid, King of Bernicia became ambitious and defeated Aedan mac Gabran of Dal Riada. He then attacked Edwin of Deira and defeated him as well, forming the Kingdom of Northumbria. Edwin of Deira fled southward, and went into exile with the Bretwalda Raedwald. Raedwald, perhaps fearing for his High King status with this ambitious upstart to the North, assembled an army with Edwin, and together they defeated Ethelfrid. Edwin was crowned King of Northumbria in 617. Edwins reign was a golden time for Northumbria. He became Bretwalda upon Raedwalds death and the land was peaceful and prosperous until Cadwallon of the Welsh and Penda, King of Mercia, allied to defeat and kill him in battle in 633.
Meanwhile, Ethelfrids nephews Eanfrid, Oswald and Oswy were exiled to Pictland with the death of their Uncle Oswy is only 5 at the time of their exile, which is to last 17 years, and so grew up with more Pictish than Anglo-Saxon influence. While among the Picts, the brothers converted to Christianity. After Edwins death, Eanfrid returned to Northumbria to contest Cadwallons claim to the throne there. Eanfrid was crowned King of Northumbria by his supporters, reverted to paganism, and was killed by Cadwallon in less than a year. He was considered an embarrassment, so his year of reign is often assigned to his successor, his brother Oswald. Oswald, who married into the Pictish royal family, and fathered Talorgan, a future Pictish King, returned to Northumbria after Eanfrids death. He was eventually successftil in ridding Northumbria of the Welsh, and was acknowledged Bretwalda by most English kings, until Penda, King of Mercia, kills him in battle in 643. He was succeeded by his brother Oswy, who finally defeated the Mercians in 655 and was named Bretwalda in his turn.
Oswys first order of business was to convert Northumbria to Christianity. To that end, he asked lona for help Bishop Aidan was sent, and Oswy granted him the land that became Lindisfarne. Aidan spoke little English, and Oswy himself sometimes translated for him. When Aidan died, his successor was sent from lona, and upon his successors death, Colman was sent from lona to continue
Aidans work. At this time all the kingdoms of England received their Bislhops from Rome, and agreed with Roman doctrine, except Northumbria, and Pictland, which adhere to the Irish doctrine. Therefore, although Oswy held political sway over Pictland and probably received tribute from them as Bretwialda, Pictland and the Irish held spiritual ascendancy over Northumbria and the Bretwalda.
However, Oswy found himself in a tricky position, as the Irish Church, and lona, differ in doctrine from the Church of Rome, which held sway in the rest of Anglo-Saxon England. Therefore, Oswy decided that he must hear argument from both sides on what is the correct doctrine, and decide which shall hold sway in England - he is Bretwalda after all. This meeting where the argument was heard is the Synod of Whitby, and representatives were sent from Rome: and lona, each to argue their doctrine before the Bretwalda of England. After three days of argument, Oswy declared his wholehearted support for the Roman Church, rather than the Irish Church in which he was raised. The might of Rome stretched across half a world and changed the lives of people living if Britain in 664 AD and Colman returned to lona, taking with him the Aidaffs bones. The Irish church continued to differ from that of Britain and Rome for some time, but gradually the power of Rome gained ascendancy even there.
It seems that those affiliated with the Christian church and the nobility had some opportunity to travel even in the so called Dark Ages, the lives of everyone living in this time were influenced by far away people and events, and some exotic luxuries were available in even the most remote places if you could afford them.
Bibliography
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Bruce-Mitford, Rupert (1975-83). The Sutton Hoo Ship Burial, 3, I&II. British Museum, London.
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