Kinship and Power in Mercia in the Long Eighth Century

我的项目使用跨学科的方法来调查如何亲属关系，地位和权力是在麦西亚皇家家庭在漫长的8世纪（从彭达，d。655，to Ceolwulf I，821-3）.这些现象在8世纪的麦西亚很少被研究，尽管当时麦西亚王国在英国占据统治地位，而且关于中世纪皇家家族的史学也很成熟。我的项目将通过分析广泛的当代文本，包括宪章、信件（特别是Boniface/Alcuin收藏）、圣徒传文本（例如：Vita埃塞尔伯赫蒂）、家谱和麦西亚国王的王朝政策及其家庭影响。物质文化（硬币、手稿、雕塑和建筑）。早期英国王权的王朝和家族基础已经被研究过了。然而，对麦西亚国王的王朝政策研究甚少。在不同的时期，历史或半历史的祖先人物，如彭达，Icel或Pybba的后裔是重要的，奥法（757-96）试图建立一个严格正规化的和排他性的王权，借鉴了君士坦丁堡的王权实践，如涂油礼。我的项目将调查这些政策如何在理论和实践中定义皇家。为此，麦西亚王朝的家谱代表将是一个主要的焦点，特别是“盎格鲁收藏”（伦敦，大英图书馆，MS棉花维斯帕西安B.vi，fols 104-9）。早期的英语家谱已被审查为政治主张，然而，“盎格鲁收集”缺乏最近的审查和新的工作，对岛屿Mannipts打开更多的调查路线。麦西亚皇家妇女，尤其是王后的政治和家庭角色是一个中心主题。女王在前维京麦西亚的作用已经调查和中世纪早期皇家妇女的影响进行了研究。然而，每一位麦西亚女王的地位都没有被适当地置于背景之中，他们与更广泛的家族身份的关系仍然没有被探索。我的研究将使用相关的法兰克和盎格鲁-撒克逊比较，性别理论，并从妇女的历史见解，以丰富早期英语女王和权力的女性表达的理解。该项目还将探讨宗教房屋（例如：雷普顿，布里登山，贝德福德，库克汉姆）作为麦西亚王朝身份的表达的重要性。盎格鲁-撒克逊宗教房屋的社会政治力量已经研究过，包括麦西亚的宗教房屋。建筑和新编目的雕塑记录已经成熟，可以重新评估精英对麦西亚修道院的赞助，特别是在内内山谷（北安普顿，布里克斯沃思，布里格斯托克），以及与彼得伯勒的盎格鲁-撒克逊修道院相关的网络。宗教房屋，王朝政策，和女王身份都是麦西亚皇家家族身份的相互关联的表达，通过研究和比较他们与邻近的盎格鲁-撒克逊和欧洲的传统，我希望都增加我们的整体了解麦西亚政体和中世纪早期王朝和家族身份。

My project uses an interdisciplinary methodology to investigate how kinship, status and power was expressed within Mercian royal families in the long eighth-century (from Penda, d. 655, to Ceolwulf I, 821-3). These phenomena have been little studied in eighth-century Mercia, despite the contemporary dominance of that kingdom in Britain, and a well-established historiography on the medieval royal family. My project will investigate dynastic policies of Mercian kings and their familial implications, through analysis of a wide range of contemporary texts including charters, letters (especially the Boniface/Alcuin collections), hagiographical texts (eg: Vita Æthelberhti), genealogies and Mercian material culture (coins, manuscripts, sculpture and architecture). The dynastic and familial underpinnings of early English kingship have been studied. Nevertheless, there has been little research on the dynastic policies of Mercian kings. At varying times, descent from historical or semi-historical ancestral figures such as Penda, Icel or Pybba was important, and Offa (757-96) attempted to create a tightly formalised and exclusive kingship, drawing upon Carolingian kingmaking practices such as anointing. My project will investigate how these policies defined the royal family, in theory and practice. To this end, the genealogical representation of Mercian dynasties will be a major focus, especially the 'Anglian Collection' (London, British Library, MS Cotton Vespasian B.vi, fols 104-9). Early English genealogies have been examined as political assertions, however, the 'Anglian Collection' lacks recent scrutiny and new work on Insular Manuscripts opens more lines of inquiry. The political and familial roles of Mercian royal women, particularly queens, is a central theme. The roles of queens in pre-Viking Mercia have been surveyed and the influence of early medieval royal women has been studied. However, the position of each Mercian queen has not been properly contextualised and their relationships to wider familial identities remains unexplored. My study will use relevant Frankish and Anglo-Saxon comparanda, gender theory, and insights from Women's History, to enrich understanding of early English queenship and female expressions of power. This project will also explore the importance of religious houses (eg: Repton, Breedon-on-the-Hill, Bedford, Cookham) as expressions of Mercian dynastic identity. The socio-political power of Anglo-Saxon religious houses has been studied including those in Mercia. The architectural and newly-catalogued sculptural record is ripe for re-evaluating elite patronage of Mercian monasteries, especially in the Nene Valley (Northampton, Brixworth, Brigstock), and the network associated with the Anglo-Saxon abbey at Peterborough.Religious houses, dynastic policies, and queenship were all interlinked expressions of Mercian royal familial identity and by researching and comparing them to neighbouring Anglo-Saxon and European traditions I hope to both increase our overall understanding of the Mercian polity and early medieval dynastic and familial identity.