SHIPS AND CONQUESTS IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND: TEXTS AND CONTEXTS

During the scholarly discussion about the complex relationship between the Anglo-Saxons and the sea, scholarship approached this relationship from a variety of perspectives including debates about the role of the sea for Anglo-Saxon culture, religion and identity. A closer examination of both the archaeological evidence of Anglo-Saxon seafaring and the use of ship terminology in writings from the Old English period indicates a possible relationship between a change of material culture in Britain during the Germanic invasions in the fifth and sixth century and the use of specific ship terminology in Old English. The exemplary discussion of the use of ceol, arguably the oldest Old English term for ships, indicates the continuing importance of ships, seafaring and conquests for an Anglo-Saxon identity throughout the Old English period. Approaching the relationship between the Anglo-Saxons and the sea from these different perspectives indicates the interconnectedness between their material culture, their literary traditions and their dealing with their own heroic past during the Old English period.