animals and animal husbandry 43writing in the chronicles not surprisingly varies from sec-
tion to section. In general they are written in a traditional
plain style. These chronicles were later used by historians
of the 11th to the 13th centuries such as Henry of Hunt-
ingdon (ca. 1088–ca. 1157), Florence of Worcester (d.
1118), Simeon of Durham (d. 1129/30), WILLIAM OF
MALMESBURY, and Hugh Candidus (fl. 1120).
Further reading:G. N. Garmonsway, trans. and ed.,
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle(London: Dent, 1953); Janet
Bately, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Texts and Textual Rela-
tionships(Reading: University of Reading, 1991); Thomas
A. Bredehoft, Textual Histories: Readings in the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001).
Anglo-Saxon language and literature SeeALFRED
THEGREAT; ANGLO-SAXONS.
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England
initially appeared in the sixth century. Then groups of
invaders arrived and actually homesteaded. Their leg-
endary and tribal chiefs were later given royal status. The
early kingdoms were territorial entities divided into gov-
ernmental units, which imposed fiscal and military obli-
gations on subject populations. The first historical
kingdoms are those of the seventh century. After the
arrival of missionaries from Rome, such as AUGUSTINEof
Canterbury in 594, the church sanctified the character of
kingship and thus certain dynasties. There existed a mul-
tiplicity of kingdoms, sometimes seven. Many of these
had more than one ruler at a time. Successful kings cre-
ated larger states such as Mercia, from the early eighth
century, followed by the kingdom of WESSEXunder King
ALFRED.VIKING aggression and the establishment of
Anglo-Scandinavian kingdoms in the north and east led
in the ninth and 10th centuries to almost constant war-
fare. Temporary unification was achieved by King Æthel-
stan of Wessex between 924 and 939, and under King
Edgar between 959 and 975 as kings of the English. In
the 11th century the Scandinavian CANUTE exercised
hegemony between 1016 and 1035 and EDWARDthe Con-
fessor tenuously between 1042 and 1066.
WEALTH AND CULTUREDespite political uncertainty during the Anglo-Saxon
period, ENGLANDbecame one of the wealthiest countries
of Europe. This wealth was employed for the commission-
ing of numerous and varied works of art and literature.
The skill and wealth of Anglo-Saxon art was in many
media of expression, including metalwork, EMBROIDERY,
IVORY, stone and wood sculpture, manuscript decoration,
wall painting, and architecture, as well as literature in Old
English and LATIN. Among the most impressive survivals
of artistic work from Anglo-Saxon England are the SUT-
TONHOOjewelry from the seventh century; ivory carving
such as the Franks Casket; stone carving such as the
Ruthwell Cross; illuminated manuscripts, such as the
Book of Durrow, the LINDISFARNEGOSPELS, the Codex Ami-
atinus, the Vespasian Psalter, and the Benedictional of
Saint Æthelwood; and churches, most notably at Jarrow,
Brixworth, Bradord-on-Avon, Deerhurst, and Escomb.
Anglo-Saxon England had the richest vernacular lit-
erature of early medieval Europe. Among some 30,000
lines of poetry, there are such works as BEOWULF,a mas-
terpiece of medieval literature; poems such as The Wan-
dererand The Seafarer;as well as biblical, hagiographical,
and other varieties of verse. Old English prose survives in
translations from Latin of saints’ lives and homilies. Of
the learned Latin literature produced in Anglo-Saxon
England, there is that by prominent authors such as Ald-
helm, BEDE, and ALCUIN.
Further reading:F. M. Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England,
3d ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971); James Campbell,
ed., The Anglo-Saxons(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University
Press, 1982); Stephen Bassett, ed., The Origins of Anglo-
Saxon Kingdoms (Leicester: Leicester University Press,
1989); H. M. Taylor and J. Taylor, Anglo-Saxon Architec-
ture,3 vols. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1965–1978); John Beckwith, Ivory Carvings in Early
Medieval England(London: Harvey, Miller and Medcalf,
1972); J. J. G. Alexander, Insular Manuscripts 6th to the
Ninth Century(London: H. Miller, 1978).animal husbandry SeeANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY.animals, attitudes to SeeANIMALS AND ANIMAL
HUSBANDRY; BEAST EPICS; BESTIARIES.animals and animal husbandry Archaeology serves
as a vital informant, complementing the impressionistic
views concerning medieval animals and animal hus-
bandry portrayed by texts and images. Archaeology
explains which animals were reared, what were their pro-
portions of use in that husbandry, how that husbandry
was carried out, and for what purposes besides food they
were used. There is little question about human exploita-
tion of animals for food and labor.
Recent excavations carried out on hundreds of
medieval European sites demonstrate the evolving size
and morphological characteristics of domestic animals. In
general, we see a version of most animals smaller than
their earlier Roman counterparts. Less obvious among
cattle and horses, the size difference is particularly pro-
nounced among bovines or oxen. Their mean height at
the withers becomes hardly more than four feet, much
smaller than the five and one-half feet common in the
Roman period. Horses, too, follow this pattern, which
does not seem to reverse itself until the 15th century.
The decline in size seems a product of the contraction
of pastoral space during the high Middle Ages, when