Conclusion

CONCLUSION

This thesis has come a long way from its first object, which was to examine the settlement in the East Midlands during the early Anglo-Saxon period. The literary evidence showed how difficult it is to examine the early Anglo-Saxon period. Most of the documents were written 200 or more years after the initial settlement phase. Bede gives us the best history of the Conversions and the wars which occurred between the kingdoms. Charter evidence gives us an understanding of the estate system of the later period but it is difficult to take this information and apply it to the early period. Because of this, it was necessary to turn to other types of evidence, primarily the cemetery evidence and place-names. From the distribution maps of the area in the Gazetteer, the areas of settlement appear clearly with settlements of the Middle Angles in the valleys draining to the Wash (the Nene, the Welland, and the Soar) and the Lindisfari of Lincolnshire. Other groups of settlements are along the Icknield Way and in the Peak District, which may represent the smaller tribes of the Tribal Hidage. Apart from the Tribal Hidage, the existence of these groups of people is found in the one or two remaining place-names which contain their tribal element. But place-names are difficult to understand since the names were constantly changing and the place-names were only finalized when written documents came into use in the 700s. What about the earlier names? We have no firm evidence of these-only that a place was called by that name in the 700s. When examining the relationship between the archaeological sites and the place-names, it is interesting to note that the highest percentage of association comes not from -inga- or -ham but from -tun. This could be because of many different factors but more research needs to be done in this area to properly understand the relationship.

The sites which appear to show routes of entry to the different areas of the region may show evidence for communication of another kind. The evidence suggests that the settlement of this region was haphazard and that each group was finding its own way into the area. They also show how Mercia was forged from the other tribal areas; down Watling Street to the Middle Angles, up the Foss Way to Lindsey or down the Foss Way and down Ryknild Street to the Hwicce. The main communication routes which were constructed and used by the Romans, such as these main roads, continued to be used as communication lines between the centre and the provinces of Mercia.

The Domesday Book provides information on the estate pattern, the economy and estimates the population in the later Anglo-Saxon period. This information has very little to do with the early Anglo-Saxon period but some assumptions can be made. The economy was primarily a rural one based on farming and fishing and that the estate pattern of the late Anglo-Saxon period was probably based on a pattern from the early Anglo-Saxon period or possibly earlier. We can also make the assumption that most large-scale production of goods ceased and that towns diminished in size but probably were still inhabited. The Anglo-Saxons recognized the Roman towns as centres of trade and political control of an area and settled on or near them.

The examination of the detailed maps in the Gazetteer demonstrates that burial sites should be regarded as the earliest reliable evidence for early Anglo-Saxon settlement. We should also include place-name evidence but this evidence should be examined more closely in relation to the archaeological sites. A distribution map of place-names superimposed on one of burial sites would show the beginning of the real settlement of England by the Anglo-Saxons. The burial sites show the invasion period settlement and the place-names demonstrate the colonisation phase and outward expansion. Many of the earliest sites were still inhabited, up to and through the conversions, as shown by the seventh century dates for some burial sites but the colonists do not appear to have conformed in their burial practices when they founded their new settlements, for which the main evidence is therefore place-names.

The conclusions are not final since more work still needs to be done in the relevant disciplines. Also, scholars of the various disciplines must continue to pool their knowledge so that a better understanding of the early Anglo-Saxon period in Britain can be gained.

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