Landscapes of Monastic Foundation: The Establishment of Religious Houses in East Anglia, c.650-1200 (Anglo-Saxon Studies)

296 Pages·2004·2.96 MB·English

by  Tim Pestell

LANDSCAPES OF MONASTIC
FOUNDATION
The Establishment of Religious Houses in
East Anglia, c.650-1200

Tim Pestell

Anglo-Saxon Studies
Anglo-Saxon Studies 5
LANDSCAPES OF
MONASTIC FOUNDATION
The Establishment of Religious Houses in
East Anglia c.650–1200
Monasterieslieattheheartofthemedievallandscape–physical,socialand
spiritual.InthisvolumeTimPestellchartstheirevolutionfromtheearliest
period of the Anglo-Saxon conversion to the end of the twelfth century,
drawingonhistoricalandarchaeologicalevidence,andemphasisingtherole
of landscape and politics in religious practice. Basing his study on East
Anglia, he first addresses the Middle Anglo-Saxon period of monastic
foundation, with a look at the likely appearance of early monasteries or
minsters. The traditional assumption of monastic collapse in the face of
Viking raids is subjected to critical scrutiny, and the emergence of the
reformed Benedictine monasteries, and the influence of geography and
politicsintheirfoundation,isexplored(asisdocumentaryevidencefortheir
dating). This early history of monastic settlement underpins the author’s
claim that the Normans largely established new monasteries where there
werealreadycommunities–acontradictionoftheusualviewofthenatureof
Norman monastic ideology and reform.
DrTIMPESTELLcompletedhisPh.D.attheUniversityofEastAnglia;heis
Curator of Archaeology at Norwich Castle Museum.
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
Volume 3: The Ruler Portraits of Anglo-Saxon England
Catherine E. Karkov
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Victoria Thompson
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3DF

Iken church, Suffolk, standing on a peninsula jutting into the Alde estuary. The site is
probably that of Botolph’smonasteriumofIcanho, founded in 654.
LANDSCAPES OF
MONASTIC FOUNDATION
The Establishment of Religious Houses in
East Anglia c.650–1200
Tim Pestell
THE BOYDELL PRESS
© Tim Pestell 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
The right of Tim Pestell to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2004
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN 1 84383 062 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
Pestell, Tim.
Landscapes of monastic foundation : the establishment of religious
houses in East Anglia c.650–1200 / Tim Pestell.
p. cm. – (Anglo-Saxon Studies, ISSN 1475–2468 ; 5)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–84383–062–0 (alk. paper)
1. Monasticism and religious orders – England – East
Anglia. 2. Monasteries – England – East Anglia. 3. East Anglia
(England) – Church history. I. Title. II. Series.
BX2592.P47 2004
271'.009426'09021 – dc22 2003026254
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 viii
Acknowledgements xi
Abbreviations xv
1 Introduction: Past and present approaches to monastic studies 1
2 Monasticism in Middle Anglo-Saxon East Anglia 18
3 The First Viking Age and its consequences for monasticism in East Anglia 65
4 Monastic reform and religious life in the Later Anglo-Saxon period 101
5 The establishment of monasteries in the Norman landscape 152
6 Conclusions 218
Bibliography 233
Index 265
Illustrations
PLATES
Frontispiece: Iken church, Suffolk
1. Dr Syntax inspecting some ecclesiastical ruins. From a watercolour by 3
Thomas Rowlandson of c.1809, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
London
2. The hilltop ‘productive’ site of Bawsey from the north-west 32
3. Late eighth- or early ninth-century gold plaque inlaid with niello 36
depicting the symbol of St John the Evangelist. Recovered in excava-
tions at Staunch Meadow, Brandon, Suffolk
4. Metal finds from Attleborough, Norfolk 71
5. St Wihtburgh’s well to the west of East Dereham church, Norfolk 90
6. Aerial photograph showing the ploughed-out linear earthwork originally 139
cutting off the peninsula of land upon which Holm St Benet’s Abbey,
Norfolk, was sited
7. Lead plaque or plate bearing a Norse runic inscription, found at St 141
Benet’s Abbey, Norfolk
8. Wallpainting of c.1250 from the refectory of Horsham St Faith Priory, 156
Norfolk, showing the foundation story of the monastery
9. The marshland island forming Hickling Priory precinct, Norfolk 204
10. Possible tokens of cast lead-alloy depicting the head of Christ on one 216
side, and the Rood of Bromholm on the other
11. The first site of Leiston Abbey 229
FIGURES
1. Blythburgh Priory, Suffolk, from an engraving of c.1780 5
2. Map showing the underlying solid geology of East Anglia 13
3. Map showing the landscapepaysof East Anglia 14
4. Map of Middle Anglo-Saxon East Anglia, showing important sites 19
mentioned in the text
5. The Iken cross shaft 24
6. Examples of Ipswich ware pottery 29
7. The distribution of Ipswich ware pottery findspots in England 30
8. Map showing the location of ‘productive’ sites in East Anglia 35
9. The distribution of Anglo-Saxon styli 42
10. An iron stylus from the Buttermarket cemetery, Ipswich, and a plan of 44
grave 4269 in which it was found
viii
Illustrations
11. Examples of Anglo-Saxon styli with attached decorative panels 46
12. Excavation plan of the settlement site at Brandon, Suffolk 51
13. Excavation plan of the settlement site at Bramford, Suffolk 53
14. Map showing the topographical setting of Wormegay, Norfolk, showing 54
its Middle Anglo-Saxon ‘productive’ site and surrounding medieval
foundations
15. Distribution of Scandinavian place-name forms in Norfolk 68
16. Map showing bequests of land made in the will of Theodred, bishop of 82
London (942×951)
17. Groundplan of Horningsea church, Cambs. 87
18. Eighth-century carved whalebone plaque found near Blythburgh church 92
19. The distribution of church dedications with saints important to East 95
Anglia
20. Late eighth-century carved whalebone panel found near Larling church, 96
Norfolk
21. The distribution of Benedictine monasteries in England in 1066 102
22. Distribution of Benedictine monasteries founded before 970, c.970, and 104
subsequently by leading protagonists of the Reform movement
23. Map showing the geography of the Fenland Benedictine monasteries 105
24. Map showing landholdings of the Benedictine monasteries as recorded 111
in Domesday Book
25. Map showing the boundary of South Elmhamferding, Suffolk, and its 126
surrounding parishes
26. Distribution of tenth-century Benedictine monasteries, showing their 129
founder allegiance
27. Map showing the topographical setting of Crowland Abbey in the Late 134
Anglo-Saxon period
28. Map showing the topographical setting of Thorney Abbey in the Late 135
Anglo-Saxon period
29. Map showing the Anglo-Saxon topography of Holm St Benet’s Abbey, 140
Norfolk, and its environs
30. Map showing parish boundaries in the vicinity of North Walsham and 143
Horning, Norfolk
31. Map showing the topographical setting of Horningsea and the Fleam 144
Dyke, Cambs.
32. Lead plate from Bawburgh, Norfolk, probably from a Late Anglo-Saxon 148
burial
33. Map of the medieval diocese of Norwich showing also the abbatial 154
liberties of St Edmund (Bury) and Etheldreda (Ely)
34. Graph showing the monasteries of East Anglia arranged according to 159
foundation date
35. The distribution of Cistercian monasteries in England 160
36. Graph illustrating the rates of monastic foundation over time in the 162
diocese of Norwich 1066–c.1200
37. Map showing monastic foundations in the diocese of Norwich 164
1066–c.1200
38. The distribution of free men and sokemen in Norfolk in 1066 from 165
Domesday Book
39. Maps showing the evolution of monastic settlement in East Anglia 166
ix