While the Anglo-Saxon medical text corpus has received increasing scholarly attention over the past few decades, no in-depth study of the Anglo-Saxon understanding of the diseases that are known...Show moreWhile the Anglo-Saxon medical text corpus has received increasing scholarly attention over the past few decades, no in-depth study of the Anglo-Saxon understanding of the diseases that are known today under the umbrella term “cancer” has yet been conducted. The Anglo-Saxon text corpus contains a substantial number of texts that deal with the diagnosis and treatment of various cancers. This thesis examines what materials were available to the Anglo-Saxon læce [leech] when encountering cancer. Using both literary and medical texts as sources, my thesis explores the understanding the Anglo-Saxons had of different types of cancer, what remedies they used, and how effective these remedies can be said to have been in light of today’s medical knowledge.Show less
This thesis analyses ‘odd deposits’ from the early medieval Low Lands coastal area (modern Netherlands and Belgium) and Anglo-Saxon England. ‘Odd deposits’ are deliberately placed in settlement...Show moreThis thesis analyses ‘odd deposits’ from the early medieval Low Lands coastal area (modern Netherlands and Belgium) and Anglo-Saxon England. ‘Odd deposits’ are deliberately placed in settlement context. They can be ritual or religious, but mundane as well. The deposits played a role in the several processes that sustained the early medieval settlement. The data for this thesis originates from official published archaeological reports and grey literature. This is ordered by material, date and context feature, to create a comparable overview. A variety of materials were used for ‘odd deposits’. Material categories include animal burials, animal skulls, human inhumations, pottery, stone artefacts, building material and plants/ wooden material. ‘Odd de-posits’ were placed at several settlement features. They are found within or in close association with earthfast buildings, enclosure ditches, sunken-featured buildings, wells and water pools. The data show us the great variety of objects and contexts used for ‘odd deposits’ in the early medieval Low Lands coastal area. There was a high local preference. Anglo-Saxon England was more homogenous when it concerns the deposition practice. Deposition took place in single or multiple events. Single event deposits were often associated with the construction or demolishing of features. ‘Odd deposits’ associated with the renewal phases of features often happened in multiple episodes. ‘Odd deposits’ could also have been part of a reciprocity system, where the deposition was used as a gift to ask the gods or ancestors for favours. The deposits can be analysed by object in combination with their context of deposition. Animal deposits of cattle, horse and dog had a high domestic value and are mostly found close or on the domestic area of the farmyard. This also counts for infant burials. Deviant burials, on the other hand, are mostly deposited at the edges of the settlements.Show less
Inspiration drawn from the Middle Ages can be found in many forms of modern pop culture. In fact, so-called ‘neomedievalism’ has emerged onto the global scene, and has become almost as widespread...Show moreInspiration drawn from the Middle Ages can be found in many forms of modern pop culture. In fact, so-called ‘neomedievalism’ has emerged onto the global scene, and has become almost as widespread and as often referenced as when the Roman and Greek cultures were rediscovered during the Italian Renaissance. Neomedievalism is described as the postmodern ‘use’ of medieval cultures which often deliberately denies historical accuracy and is usually a nostalgic or romanticized version - or a crude representation - of medieval culture. This way of appropriating medieval themes and stories is possible because it is still “productive in the contemporary imagination”. This claim is substantiated by the popularity of countless medieval-inspired TV-series, films, medieval-styled ‘role playing games’, books such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book and TV series - and of course music containing neomedievalist themes. This thesis will explore the role of neomedievalism in Viking Metal, Anglo-Saxon Metal and Neofolk, to find out how neomedievalism fits in with the counter-culture of these music subgenres.Show less
The Early Anglo-Saxons did not split Middle-Earth in continents like we divide the earth now. This thesis will attempt to answer the question of how the influx of Christian and Greco-Latin...Show moreThe Early Anglo-Saxons did not split Middle-Earth in continents like we divide the earth now. This thesis will attempt to answer the question of how the influx of Christian and Greco-Latin literature influences the representation of Africa and Asia in Anglo-Saxon England.Show less
In this thesis the difference in fracture pattern between women and men are investigated. The material originates from 10 early Anglo-Saxon settlements situated in the United Kingdom (Alton, Butler...Show moreIn this thesis the difference in fracture pattern between women and men are investigated. The material originates from 10 early Anglo-Saxon settlements situated in the United Kingdom (Alton, Butler’s Field, Kingsworthy, Chichester, Great Chesterford, Castledyke South, Blacknall Field, Mill Hill, Norton and Buckland). This research relies on the analysis of the osteologist reports of these cemeteries. The early Anglo-Saxon period is a transitional phase from the Late Roman to the Anglo-Saxon period and dates from AD 450-650. We do not know much about the social and economic change that happend in this period. We see the abandonment of urban settlements from the Roman period to adaption of small rural settlements in the early Anglo-Saxon. This research is interesting because this research has not been done before and will hopefully give us new insights in the early Anglo-Saxon period. The results from this thesis show that there is a significant difference between fractures of men and women in the cranium, clavicle and fibula. However, as most of the fractures did not contain a proper description of the fractures, an explanation could not be given to the clavicular and fibular fractures. The cranium could be analysed. Eighty-four per cent of the cranial fractures could be appointed to interpersonal violence. These cranial fractures occurred significantly more often in males than in females.Show less
