SAXON & VIKING ERA
460-1000 AD
The end of the Roman administration in the British Isles is commonly known as the Dark Ages, however it was a time of intricate jewellery, poetry and other art works. The myth began because of the lack of written records. Early on in the period, Welsh, Scots, Pictish and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established across Britain. The history of these times was kept alive orally through song, poetry and folk history. The following centuries saw kingdoms rise and fall and rise again until only a few large political bodies dominated all the islands. Most claimed the right to rule over the others. |
These stronger, larger kingdoms eventually attracted the attention of the Vikings who then became part of the power play of this remote corner of Europe. Finally, Wessex, the largest kingdom of Anglo-Saxon Britain defeated the Vikings and came to dominate modern England. Yet Vikings cotnued to play a part in English history until 1066, when King Harold defeated King Harald of Norway at Stamford Bridge, in Yorkshire. The crafts illustrated here were practised during this ancient period and are reconstructed by us in an attempt to shine a torch into that 'Dark Age'. |