Denis Sukhino-Khomenko
Hello,
My name is Denis Sukhino-Khomenko, I obtained a Ph.D. in History at the University of Gothenburg (Department of Historical Studies) under the supervision of prof. Henrik Janson and prof. Lars Hermanson.
I originally graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2013, having spent a semester abroad at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (2012/13), and began my doctoral studies at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
From 2015 to 2017, I worked as a guest researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Nordic Research under the supervision of Prof. Michael Lerche Nielsen.
My main interest lies within but is not limited to the field of Anglo-Saxon and Viking studies.
Supervisors: Henrik Janson, Lars Hermanson, Elena Melnikova, Michael Lerche Nielsen, Zoya Metlitskaya, Igor Filippov, and Steffan Patzold
Address: Sweden
My name is Denis Sukhino-Khomenko, I obtained a Ph.D. in History at the University of Gothenburg (Department of Historical Studies) under the supervision of prof. Henrik Janson and prof. Lars Hermanson.
I originally graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2013, having spent a semester abroad at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (2012/13), and began my doctoral studies at the Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
From 2015 to 2017, I worked as a guest researcher at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Nordic Research under the supervision of Prof. Michael Lerche Nielsen.
My main interest lies within but is not limited to the field of Anglo-Saxon and Viking studies.
Supervisors: Henrik Janson, Lars Hermanson, Elena Melnikova, Michael Lerche Nielsen, Zoya Metlitskaya, Igor Filippov, and Steffan Patzold
Address: Sweden
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Abstracts by Denis Sukhino-Khomenko
The paper is the announce of a future translation of Ælfric's "Colloquy." The centrepiece of our enterprise, unlike our Russian predecessors, is assessing "Colloquy" as a source for its own sake. We are going to try preparing a new full translation of the Latin text, OE glosses, and a Russian translation in accordance with both.
В докладе рассматриваются историографический поиск и выделение высшего слоя нетитулованной англо-саксонской светской элиты накануне Нормандского Завоевания (1066 г.) по материалам XII века. Последовательно разбираются и критикуются попытки в рамках конституционной истории (Р. Рид и Д. Рофф) и аграрной истории (У. Стаббс и П. Кларк). Докладчик приходит к выводу, что данные гипотезы не подтверждаются известными источниками (Книга Страшного Суда и нормандские переводы англо-саксонского права XII в.) при непредвзятом анализе и требуют насильного прочтения известных текстов. В заключении делается предположение, что подобные построения – это отражение современных представлений об устройстве общества (в том числе и английского), где относительно чётко выделяются имущественные классы.
A presentation at the 24th international academic student and young researcher's conference "Lomonosov-2017".
The presentation analyses the historiographical search for an upper layer of the titleless Anglo-Saxon lay elite on the eve of the Norman Conquest (1066). The presentation's consecutive study reveals the flaws in the constitutional (by R. Reid and D. Roffe) and agrarian (W. Stubbs and P. Clarke) approaches to the problem. The author finds that such hypotheses do not find support from the extant sources (the Domesday Book and Norman translation of the Anglo-Saxon law) when reading without any preconceived notions. The conclusion supposes that this kind of search might be a reflection of the modern-day view of the society (including the English one) as composed of more or less clearly defined classes.
This paper analyses skald Sighvat Thordarson's stanza "karlfolk ok sva jarla" from his "Bersoeglisvisur" in connection with the Anglo-Saxon formula "ge ceorle ge eorle". It appears that there's a need for further research on the mutual influences of the Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians in the sphere of the social views.
In this paper, a principal question is raised of whether it is possible to use the extant Anglo-Saxon diplomatic corpus as a statistical source.
This is a review of the article ‘Earl's Godwine ship’ by S. Keynes and R. Love (Anglo-Saxon England. Vol. 38, December 2009, pp 185-223).
This paper analyses a Norseman Ottar/Ohthere's first journey's geography. The conclusion has it that Ohthere most likely visited the Arkhangelsk region, not the Kola Peninsula.
Articles by Denis Sukhino-Khomenko
- Page 9: "of Malmsbury", read: "of Malmesbury".
Page 10: "The early Épinal-Erfurt Glossary use", read: "The early Épinal-Erfurt Glossary uses".
- Page 15: "See also the references in footnote 54", read: "See also the references in footnote 55".
- Page 18: "See also references in footnote 79", read: "See also references in footnote 80".
- Page 28, footnote 28: "see footnote 70", read: "see footnote 71".
- Page 28, footnote 28: "Scandinavian mitigation", read: "Scandinavian mediation".
This article spotlights the thrymsa (OE þryms/trimsa/tryms) as a supposed monetary unit in pre-Norman England and the importance this individual case study may hold for research in early medieval English social history. In the main, Anglo-Saxon monetary system was meticulously reconstructed by Henry Chadwick (1905), but in it the thrymsa appears an anomaly, as it gets only a few mentions in independent sources over the whole documented Old English period. Due to various correspondences in the texts (as, dragma, ¼ stater, (⅓?) solidus, three pence) establishing the thrymsa’s exact value stops at the etymological stage (< Lat. trēmis(sis)). On the face of its marginality, numismatists are for most part little interested in the thrymsa. Nevertheless, its presence in the so-called Norðleoda laga («The Laws of the Northern People», element in York archbishop Wufstan’s (d. 1023) «Compilation on status» believed to contain older material) as the expression of the sums of wergilds has given rise to interpretations of these wergilds with far reaching implications. The article offers an original explanation of the reasons for the thrymsa’s presence and function in the Norðleoda laga. Departing from modern textual analysis of Wulfstan’s works, the author arrives at two consecutive conclusions: first, as an early loan from Latin thrymsa never assumed a stable value in the English monetary system likely due to the quick disappearance of coins of this name from circulation; second, Wulfstan deliberately used this term for stylistic reasons and archaization of the text as part of his ideology of an «orderly society». Some immediate consequences of this interpretation can be, first, a reappreciation of the Norðleoda laga’s source potential, and, second, retiring this text as a primary source at face value for studies in social history. This particular case study may further illustrate the ever-present necessity for a textual and source criticism in monetary history when the latter is taken as a steppingstone for broader historical conclusions and interpretations.
(размещено с письменного согласия редакции издания).
The article aims at summarizing the recent debate concerning the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ in the academic discourse. Following the resignation of Dr Mary Rambaran-Olm from the (former) International Society of Anglo-Saxonists in September 2019, the English-speaking medieval scholarly community split into critics of the continuous use of ‘Anglo-Saxon’ and its defenders. The former appeal to the term’s racist connotations and misuse, the latter point out the historical adequacy and long-standing tradition. The divide has a lot to do with geography and regional public discourses. No reconciliation seems likely in the nearest future.
L’interprétation du lexème þegn donne lieu à une ancienne polémique dans l’étude des pierres runiques de la fin de l’ère Viking. Il est retrouvé dans 46 inscriptions commémoratives au Danemark et en Suède occidentale, dont 34 qui suivent un modèle précis. Le débat s’est construit autour de deux articles-phare, l’un écrit par Svend Aakjær en 1927 et l’autre par Karl Martin Nielsen en 1945. Le premier auteur avance que le lexème devrait être entendu comme « vassal du roi ». Le deuxième trouve cette interprétation infondée et lui préfère une signification retrouvée ultérieurement, celle de « citoyen libre », qui se retrouve d’ailleurs souvent confirmé, par exemple dans le vers scalde. Puisque les pierres runiques sont notre seule source écrite autochtone et contemporaine sur les structures sociales de l’ère Viking, il serait très souhaitable qu’on puisse résoudre la question de la signification du lexème þegn. Malheureusement, en l’absence de sources plus récentes, le débat n’a cessé de ressasser les mêmes arguments, avancés il y a déjà plusieurs décennies. Bien que réticent à exercer un jugement final, je plaide pour que la nature polysémique du lexème soit acceptée. Une possible voie de sortie des ces débats stériles pourrait se trouver d’abord en accordant moins d’importance aux textes en vieil anglais, peu cités jusqu’alors, consacrés à la partie scandinave de l’Angleterre. S’ils venaient à être confirmés, ces renseignements pourraient aussi être utilisés dans l’études d’autres sources du patrimoine littéraire vieux norrois.
The suggested paper aims at presenting one of the possible typologies of the post-Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian urban centres and communities up until the beginning of the High Middle Ages. The expected framework, built on the firm chronological principle, shall categorise them on the basis of:
1. origins: (post-)Roman settlements, early Anglo-Saxon wīcas/emporia, later Scandinavian fortresses, West Saxon burhs, etc.;
2. functions: royal centres, territorial capitals, commercial hubs, etc.;
3. regionality: Southern England, Western Mercia, and the Danelaw.
Of a special interest is the integration of the pre-existing urban settlements in the Danelaw into the West Saxon administrative system, particularly when compared to the parallel process in English Mercia to the west.
It is anticipated that the resultant analytical scheme can find application beyond the British Isles and can contribute to the multidisciplinary Scandinavian research just as much.
This PDF was uploaded courtesy to Rosalie F. Baker
The paper is the announce of a future translation of Ælfric's "Colloquy." The centrepiece of our enterprise, unlike our Russian predecessors, is assessing "Colloquy" as a source for its own sake. We are going to try preparing a new full translation of the Latin text, OE glosses, and a Russian translation in accordance with both.
В докладе рассматриваются историографический поиск и выделение высшего слоя нетитулованной англо-саксонской светской элиты накануне Нормандского Завоевания (1066 г.) по материалам XII века. Последовательно разбираются и критикуются попытки в рамках конституционной истории (Р. Рид и Д. Рофф) и аграрной истории (У. Стаббс и П. Кларк). Докладчик приходит к выводу, что данные гипотезы не подтверждаются известными источниками (Книга Страшного Суда и нормандские переводы англо-саксонского права XII в.) при непредвзятом анализе и требуют насильного прочтения известных текстов. В заключении делается предположение, что подобные построения – это отражение современных представлений об устройстве общества (в том числе и английского), где относительно чётко выделяются имущественные классы.
A presentation at the 24th international academic student and young researcher's conference "Lomonosov-2017".
The presentation analyses the historiographical search for an upper layer of the titleless Anglo-Saxon lay elite on the eve of the Norman Conquest (1066). The presentation's consecutive study reveals the flaws in the constitutional (by R. Reid and D. Roffe) and agrarian (W. Stubbs and P. Clarke) approaches to the problem. The author finds that such hypotheses do not find support from the extant sources (the Domesday Book and Norman translation of the Anglo-Saxon law) when reading without any preconceived notions. The conclusion supposes that this kind of search might be a reflection of the modern-day view of the society (including the English one) as composed of more or less clearly defined classes.
This paper analyses skald Sighvat Thordarson's stanza "karlfolk ok sva jarla" from his "Bersoeglisvisur" in connection with the Anglo-Saxon formula "ge ceorle ge eorle". It appears that there's a need for further research on the mutual influences of the Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians in the sphere of the social views.
In this paper, a principal question is raised of whether it is possible to use the extant Anglo-Saxon diplomatic corpus as a statistical source.
This is a review of the article ‘Earl's Godwine ship’ by S. Keynes and R. Love (Anglo-Saxon England. Vol. 38, December 2009, pp 185-223).
This paper analyses a Norseman Ottar/Ohthere's first journey's geography. The conclusion has it that Ohthere most likely visited the Arkhangelsk region, not the Kola Peninsula.
- Page 9: "of Malmsbury", read: "of Malmesbury".
Page 10: "The early Épinal-Erfurt Glossary use", read: "The early Épinal-Erfurt Glossary uses".
- Page 15: "See also the references in footnote 54", read: "See also the references in footnote 55".
- Page 18: "See also references in footnote 79", read: "See also references in footnote 80".
- Page 28, footnote 28: "see footnote 70", read: "see footnote 71".
- Page 28, footnote 28: "Scandinavian mitigation", read: "Scandinavian mediation".
This article spotlights the thrymsa (OE þryms/trimsa/tryms) as a supposed monetary unit in pre-Norman England and the importance this individual case study may hold for research in early medieval English social history. In the main, Anglo-Saxon monetary system was meticulously reconstructed by Henry Chadwick (1905), but in it the thrymsa appears an anomaly, as it gets only a few mentions in independent sources over the whole documented Old English period. Due to various correspondences in the texts (as, dragma, ¼ stater, (⅓?) solidus, three pence) establishing the thrymsa’s exact value stops at the etymological stage (< Lat. trēmis(sis)). On the face of its marginality, numismatists are for most part little interested in the thrymsa. Nevertheless, its presence in the so-called Norðleoda laga («The Laws of the Northern People», element in York archbishop Wufstan’s (d. 1023) «Compilation on status» believed to contain older material) as the expression of the sums of wergilds has given rise to interpretations of these wergilds with far reaching implications. The article offers an original explanation of the reasons for the thrymsa’s presence and function in the Norðleoda laga. Departing from modern textual analysis of Wulfstan’s works, the author arrives at two consecutive conclusions: first, as an early loan from Latin thrymsa never assumed a stable value in the English monetary system likely due to the quick disappearance of coins of this name from circulation; second, Wulfstan deliberately used this term for stylistic reasons and archaization of the text as part of his ideology of an «orderly society». Some immediate consequences of this interpretation can be, first, a reappreciation of the Norðleoda laga’s source potential, and, second, retiring this text as a primary source at face value for studies in social history. This particular case study may further illustrate the ever-present necessity for a textual and source criticism in monetary history when the latter is taken as a steppingstone for broader historical conclusions and interpretations.
(размещено с письменного согласия редакции издания).
The article aims at summarizing the recent debate concerning the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’ in the academic discourse. Following the resignation of Dr Mary Rambaran-Olm from the (former) International Society of Anglo-Saxonists in September 2019, the English-speaking medieval scholarly community split into critics of the continuous use of ‘Anglo-Saxon’ and its defenders. The former appeal to the term’s racist connotations and misuse, the latter point out the historical adequacy and long-standing tradition. The divide has a lot to do with geography and regional public discourses. No reconciliation seems likely in the nearest future.
L’interprétation du lexème þegn donne lieu à une ancienne polémique dans l’étude des pierres runiques de la fin de l’ère Viking. Il est retrouvé dans 46 inscriptions commémoratives au Danemark et en Suède occidentale, dont 34 qui suivent un modèle précis. Le débat s’est construit autour de deux articles-phare, l’un écrit par Svend Aakjær en 1927 et l’autre par Karl Martin Nielsen en 1945. Le premier auteur avance que le lexème devrait être entendu comme « vassal du roi ». Le deuxième trouve cette interprétation infondée et lui préfère une signification retrouvée ultérieurement, celle de « citoyen libre », qui se retrouve d’ailleurs souvent confirmé, par exemple dans le vers scalde. Puisque les pierres runiques sont notre seule source écrite autochtone et contemporaine sur les structures sociales de l’ère Viking, il serait très souhaitable qu’on puisse résoudre la question de la signification du lexème þegn. Malheureusement, en l’absence de sources plus récentes, le débat n’a cessé de ressasser les mêmes arguments, avancés il y a déjà plusieurs décennies. Bien que réticent à exercer un jugement final, je plaide pour que la nature polysémique du lexème soit acceptée. Une possible voie de sortie des ces débats stériles pourrait se trouver d’abord en accordant moins d’importance aux textes en vieil anglais, peu cités jusqu’alors, consacrés à la partie scandinave de l’Angleterre. S’ils venaient à être confirmés, ces renseignements pourraient aussi être utilisés dans l’études d’autres sources du patrimoine littéraire vieux norrois.
The suggested paper aims at presenting one of the possible typologies of the post-Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian urban centres and communities up until the beginning of the High Middle Ages. The expected framework, built on the firm chronological principle, shall categorise them on the basis of:
1. origins: (post-)Roman settlements, early Anglo-Saxon wīcas/emporia, later Scandinavian fortresses, West Saxon burhs, etc.;
2. functions: royal centres, territorial capitals, commercial hubs, etc.;
3. regionality: Southern England, Western Mercia, and the Danelaw.
Of a special interest is the integration of the pre-existing urban settlements in the Danelaw into the West Saxon administrative system, particularly when compared to the parallel process in English Mercia to the west.
It is anticipated that the resultant analytical scheme can find application beyond the British Isles and can contribute to the multidisciplinary Scandinavian research just as much.
This PDF was uploaded courtesy to Rosalie F. Baker
The material of this paper, presented at the 28th Pashuto conference (Institute of world History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow), is the primary results of the processed statistics of the Anglo-Saxon royal diplomas. The three key points for analysis were the groups of the grantees, production dynamics and geographical distribution of the charters.
This paper deals with the real or seeming decline in the production of the Anglo-Saxon royal diplomas in the 11th century in the light of recently acquired statistical data.
The article presents an analysis of the transformation of the Anglo-Saxon cate-gory of “thegns” during the 10th century. The main emphasis is placed on authentic sources work. A special stress is put on the heterogeneity of the ‘thegns’ as a social group and their unequal position in early English society both in time and space.
John Niles’ monograph under review is not the first but, as it stands, by far the most coherent historiographical overview of the Anglo-Saxon studies up until the beginning of the 20th century. Starting off from the medieval chroniclers’ narratives, over the next 350 pages the author introduces his readers to the major stages in the development of the said studies and concludes in the year 1901. Easily read and well-written, the book follows the chronological principle, hence the scope of the surveys naturally broadens by the final chapters. A major achievement of Niles’ work are the colourful vignettes at the end of each chapter that highlight individual matters and curiosities in the history of the discipline. Despite a certain monotony of the main text, the latter does not read as a lifeless encyclopaedic enumeration of the authors’ names and works. On the contrary, professor Niles singles out general topics and problematises his material, which lends the book some narrative features, though not strictly teleological. A less strong side of his research, we believe, is Niles’ implicit adherence to the common among the English-speaking academics treatment of the Anglo-Saxon studies as primarily a branch of philology, and for this reason the text to a certain extent downplays the historical component in its exposition. In spite of this criticism, John Niles’ book is undoubtedly a profound contribution to the historiography of early medieval England, especially in light of the generally timid interest for this subject
Here is a little answer I gave for thequestion.ru
Here is an answer I gave for www.thequestion.ru
Across modern Denmark (province of Jutland, islands of Funen, Lolland, and Bornholm) and Sweden (provinces of Väster- and Östergötland, Småland, Skåne, and Södermanland) are scattered half a hundred of runic commemorations of certain thegns (ON þegn). The personal designation þegn has hitherto been translated both as a high-ranking officer in the king’s retinue and as a landholding yeoman. In the absence of a satisfactory context, when interpreting those inscriptions scholars had to largely rely on the external evidence, such as contemporary circulation of the same lexeme in Old English, the skaldic verse, and later Old Norse literary and legal prose.
The current contribution to the heldagsrunråd avoids bringing forward new explanations of who or what the runic thegns were, as this shall be an integral part of the author’s future PhD thesis, but instead aims at raising a number of more fundamental questions surrounding the relevant corpus. These include but are not limited to:
1. Are the previous datings of the rune stones in question (very often established in the first half of the 20th century but for the Swedish corpus improved by Anne Sofie Gräslund’s stylistic datings) still valid?
2. Are there contextual or linguistic features in the þegn-stones corpus which can reinforce these datings?
3. What can be deduced from the surrounding runic context of the individual þegn-inscription, such as the names of the rune-carvers, family members, and other textual content, artistic features etc., in the modern research?
4. Finally, are there any caveats in quoting the Samnordisk runtextdatabas on these inscriptions?
In my talk, I should like to point out some peculiarities and puzzles I have found as a non-runic scholar, but I hope heldagsrunråd’s contribution can help me improve this section in my PhD thesis, scheduled to be defended here in Göteborg in autumn 2021. My presentation will be in English but the dissussion may also be in Danish or Swedish.
The suggested paper aims at presenting one of the possible typologies of the post-Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian urban centres and communities up until the beginning of the High Middle Ages. The expected framework, built on the firm chronological principle, shall categorise them:
1. on the basis of origins: (post-)Roman settlements, early Anglo-Saxon wīcas/emporia, later Scandinavian fortresses, West Saxon burhs, etc.;
2. on the basis of functions: royal centres, territorial capitals, commercial hubs, etc.;
3. on the regional basis: Southern England, Western Mercia, and the Danelaw.
Of a special interest is the integration of the pre-existing Danelaw urban settlements into the West Saxon administrative system, particularly when compared with the parallel process in Eng-lish Mercia to the west.
В докладе рассматриваются историографический поиск и выделение высшего слоя нетитулованной англо-саксонской светской элиты накануне Нормандского Завоевания (1066 г.) по материалам XII века. Последовательно разбираются и критикуются попытки в рамках конституционной истории (Р. Рид и Д. Рофф) и аграрной истории (У. Стаббс и П. Кларк). Докладчик приходит к выводу, что данные гипотезы не подтверждаются известными источниками (Книга Страшного Суда и нормандские переводы англо-саксонского права XII в.) при непредвзятом анализе и требуют насильного прочтения известных текстов. В заключении делается предположение, что подобные построения – это отражение современных представлений об устройстве общества (в том числе и английского), где относительно чётко выделяются имущественные классы.
A PowerPoint presentation at the 24th international academic student and young researcher's conference "Lomonosov-2017".
The presentation analyses the historiographical search for an upper layer of the titleless Anglo-Saxon lay elite on the eve of the Norman Conquest (1066). The presentation's consecutive study reveals the flaws in the constitutional (by R. Reid and D. Roffe) and agrarian (W. Stubbs and P. Clarke) approaches to the problem. The author finds that such hypotheses do not find support from the extant sources (the Domesday Book and Norman translation of the Anglo-Saxon law) when reading without any preconceived notions. The conclusion supposes that this kind of search might be a reflection of the modern-day view of the society (including the English one) as composed of more or less clearly defined classes.
The topic I touched upon deals with the Anglo-Saxon charters (royal diplomas) of the 10th and 11th centuries. I intended to pay special attention to the political and cultural circumstances of their production, as well as to raise some thought-provoking questions, concerning the statistics.
You can also find a simplified visualisation of the royal lineage of the period at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nZiBfwDFXs
This talk addresses the problem of the possible social interraction between the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavians. It is a development of the author's previous pursue of the topic, presented at the Student Symposium on Viking and Medieval Scandinavian Subjects 2016 (Aarhus University) in March of that same year.
Compared to the talk in Aarhus, this presentation puts an emphasis on the historiographical situation and suggests a novel methodological approach. Additionally, it touches on the possibility of the Old English influence upon the Old Norse in the usage of the word "thegn". Finally, following the further research, carried out since March, it proposes the Danelaw as a possible contact zone rather than a region of a confined Scandinavian influence.
http://vikingoldnorse.au.dk/activities-and-events/student-symposium/
Эта презентация - доклад на студенческом симпозиуме в г. Орхус (Дания), посвящённом исследованиям эпохи викингов и средних веков в Скандинавии, прочитанный 18 марта 2016 г.
This presentation was delivered at the "Lomonosov-2015" conference at the Lomonosov State University of Moscow (History Faculty) on April 14th 2015.
Текст тезисов доступен по ссылке / The full abstract is available here https://www.academia.edu/17345436/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C_%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%BE-%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85_%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BE%D1%82_X-XI_%D0%B2%D0%B2._%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8B_%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%84%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%9B%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2-2015_Representativeness_of_the_royal_Anglo-Saxon_charters_of_the_10-11th_century
PhD-student at Department of Historical Studies, the University of Gothenburg (Sweden)
denis.sukhino-khomenko@gu.se
Historiographical Wishful Thinking and Debates on Some Early Medieval Social Phenomena in the North Sea Region
This article interrogates certain historiographical trends of constructing self-sufficient models of explanation for essentially unrelated data in the primary sources. For a case study the essay spotlights the protracted examination of the early medieval social group of thegns (OE/ON þegn). Attention is drawn to the influential articles by SvendAakjær, Rachel R. Reid, and David Roffe. Aakjær’s main thesis was that Viking-Age thegns and drengs (ON drengr) known from the Scandinavian runic inscriptions used to be members of royal retinue(s), just like they were strata of landed nobility in England. Rachel Reid drew an institutional parallel between the Anglo-Saxon king’s thegns and medieval barons, and David Roffe augmented this later view by suggesting a continuity in 11th-century landholding patterns. The author hypothesises that the inherent flaw of such models lies in an unconscious confirmation bias when dealing with the source material. By addressing the primary sources directly, the author seeks to demonstrate that some of these views suffered from a lack of empirical data already at the inception. Though contextualising his polemics in modern historiography, in his criticism the author relies on the ad fontes method rather than the wisdom of hindsight. The article also aims to tackle the circulation of the self-sufficient models of this sort in subsequent historiography, as well as to identify plausible origins of prominence and consequences. The author hopes to relate this individual case study to a broader context of medieval research, thereby offering a feasible model of its application to further topics.
Key words: Baron; Historiography; King Cnut; Runic Inscriptions; Thegn.
Сухино-Хоменко Денис Владимирович
PhD-студент Института исторических исследований, Университет Гетеборга (Швеция)
denis.sukhino-khomenko@gu.se
Проблема принятия желаемого за действительное в историографии и споры о некоторых социальных явлениях в раннесредневековой Англии и Скандинавии
Статья посвящена разбору отдельных историографических тенденций, связанных с конструированием самодостаточных объяснительных моделей для описания внутренне не связанных между собой сведений в первоисточниках. В качестве иллюстрации в центре исследования стоят три примера изучения раннесредневековой социальной группы тэнов (др. англ. / др. сканд. þegn) в историографии XX в. Отмечается, что главная проблема подобных моделей заключается в неосознанном когнитивном искажении (англ.confirmationbias) при работе с оригинальными текстами: предвзятом прочтении, игнорировании противоречащих фактов, недостаточном внимании к происхождению памятников. Обращаясь напрямую к первоисточникам и минуя сложившуюся историографическую традицию, автор стремится показать, что некоторые из подобных далеко идущих выводов страдали от недостатка эмпирических доказательств уже на момент публикации. При активном вовлечении наработок современной историографии предлагаемая критика высказывается не с позиций «послезнания», а исходя из принципа adfontes. В статье предпринята попытка исследования бытования такого рода самодостаточных моделей в последующей историографии с указанием на его возможные причины и последствия. Автор выражает надежду, что подобное частное исследование может найти более широкое применение в современной медиевистике.
Ключевые слова: барон; историография; Кнут Великий; рунические надписи; тэн.
CHAPTER 1 presents the problem and research questions on: 1) social structures communicated through OE/ON þegn; 2) power distribution illuminated by thegns’ socio-economic and political conditions; 3) interactions between England and Scandinavia that follows from the answer to the former two questions. The chapter also charts the historical and theoretical background, methodology, and study design. It emphasises the need to sidestep the few and potentially problematic sources and to instead use digital language corpora for a maximum range of contextualised meanings of OE/ON þegn.
CHAPTER 2 outlines the historiographical background, summarising previous scholarship and potential hurdles in interpretation of primary sources: Archbishop Wulfstan of York’s texts in England; post-Viking-Age English sources and native toponymic material in Scandinavia.
CHAPTER 3 establishes that OE þegn always connoted non-humiliating service by a free man to a lord, usually a king. Through royal co-optation during the studied period, the term evolved to denote lay landowning aristocratic elites. This process involved tenurial and interpersonal relationships, which in the monarchocentric discourse attracted the name “bookland” for the landed property and “thegn” for its owner. The chapter wavers to definitively pronounce if such elites internalised the thegnly identity as a master status and became a historical ontology. With that, the chapter concludes by offering a new possible reading of Wulfstan’s writings.
CHAPTER 4 shows that ON þegn rarely meant “servant” and instead denoted lay elites and/or kings’ junior partners, and that Scandinavian kings sought to turn the former into the latter. The chapter argues that their common trait was an economic powerbase in ancestral landed property, the “odal”. The chapter explores the hǫldar status group associated with “odal” and the thegnly elites’ transition from royal liegemen to subjects through an expanding royal lordship. The chapter concludes by interpreting runic thegns as local magnates rather than immediate royal agents.
CHAPTER 5 summarises the conclusions, positing that pre-Conquest England’s social order was strongly affected by a monarchocentric discourse, unlike in Scandinavia. The chapter emphasises recognising the bias in the term “thegn”, especially in England, and that in Scandinavia, senses imbued in ON þegn appear independent of each other and irreducible to one “core” meaning, unlike in England. The chapter harmonises these conclusions by suggesting that thanks to a closely knit socio-conceptual space, social ideas traversed the North-Sea region. A possibility is entertained that due to significant interactions at the turn of the 9th–10th and 10th–11th centuries, Old Norse inherited late OE þegn senses in received forms and adapted them to local social conditions, the results of which, among others, got engraved in the 45 runic inscriptions in question.
NOTICED ERRATA:
155 printed: "western third of the “Greater” Wessex" read: "western third of “Greater” Wessex"
158 printed: "six historical counties" read: "six historic counties"
165 printed: "Darlington in favour of must" read: "Darlington in favour of Styrr must"
170 printed: "9201" read: "920"
170 printed: "yields no addition information" read: "yields no additional information"
171 printed: "hēafodman" [×2] read: "hēafodmann"
172 printed: "who pointed Dr Blair’s article to me" read: "who pointed out Dr Blair’s article to me"
172 printed: "reiterating (Sukhino-Khomenko and Guimon" read: "reiterating: Sukhino-Khomenko and Guimon"
274 printed: "Rättegångsbalken, V" read: "Rättegångsbalken V"