Market and fortress in England in the reign of Offa

This paper puts forward a dual hypothesis of the formation of a system of public fortifications or burhs in Mercian England by King Offa in the later 8th century, with which were associated a series of new 'urban' markets. These defended enclosures, each linked with a defended bridge, formed a systematic defence of the kingdom by preventing penetration up the major rivers by Viking warships. It is argued that the associated markets were a development from the royally created and controlled emporia or wics, and were formed in response to the general increase over Northern Europe of local, regional and international trading in the 8th century. Both burh and market systems can be seen as essential aspects of a wider episode of state formation by King Offa, which parallels developments in Carolingia which are archaeologically and historically rather better evidenced

Ancient history · Economic history · Economics · Economy · Fortress (chess · Kingdom · Parallels · Political science · Reign · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History

• The Danelaw Reconsidered

  Ben Raffield•Viking and Medieval Scandinavia•2020

  Añadir item

• Divide and rule? The military infrastructure of eighth‐ and ninth‐century Mercia

  Open Access•Steven Bassett•Early Medieval Europe•2007

  Añadir item

• Lincoln and the Anglo-Saxon see of Lindsey

  Open Access•Steven Bassett•Anglo-Saxon England•1989

  Añadir item

• Palaces or minsters? Northampton and Cheddar reconsidered

  Open Access•John Blair•Anglo-Saxon England•1996

  Añadir item

• Towns and Town Hierarchies in Saxon England

  Open Access•Grenville Astill, G G ASTILL•Oxford Journal of Archaeology•1991

  Añadir item

• Excavations on the Site of the Early Norman Castle at Gloucester, 1983–84

  Timothy Darvill, P A Greatorex et al.•Medieval Archaeology•1988

  Añadir item

• Governance at the Anglo-Scandinavian Interface

  J N L Baker, John Baker et al.•Journal of the North Atlantic•2013

  Añadir item

• The Early St. Albans Endowment and its Chroniclers

  Open Access•Pamela Taylor, PAMELA J TAYLOR•Historical Research•1995

  Añadir item

• People and Things

  Open Access•Kathleen Biddick•Comparative Studies in Society…•1990

  Añadir item

• Analytical Archaeology

  David L Clarke•Analytical Archaeology•2014

  Añadir item

• Kings and Vikings

  P H Sawyer•Kings and Vikings•2013

  Añadir item

• A New Theory of the Origins and Early Growth of Northampton

  Alderman Frank Lee•Archaeological Journal•1953

  Añadir item

• From ‘palace’ to ‘town’

  Open Access•John H Williams•Anglo-Saxon England•1984

  Añadir item

• Archaeology, Economics and Early Medieval Europe

  Open Access•Grenville Astill•Oxford Journal of Archaeology•1985

  Añadir item

• England in the Ninth Century

  Open Access•Nicholas Brooks, N P Brooks•Transactions of the Royal…•1979

  Añadir item

• A Middle Saxon Iron Smelting Site at Ramsbury, Wiltshire

  Jeremy Haslam, L Biek et al.•Medieval Archaeology•1980

  Añadir item

• Late Saxon Planned Towns

  Open Access•Martin Biddle, David Hill•The Antiquaries Journal•1971

  Añadir item

• A Probable Mercian Royal Mausoleum at Winchcombe, Gloucestershire

  Open Access•S Bassett, S R Bassett•The Antiquaries Journal•1985

  Añadir item

• The topography of Anglo-Saxon London

  Open Access•Tim Tatton-Brown•Antiquity•1986

  Añadir item