The movie "The Dig" on Netflix is an opportunity to learn more about the Dark Ages, the 5th and 6th centuries of Great Britain which still remain mysterious today. Explanations by historian Alban Gautier, professor of medieval history at the University of Caen.
Ralph Fiennes plays Basil Brown in The Dig, on Netflix.
The film “The Dig”, visible on Netflix, tells the incredible discovery of the ship-grave of Sutton Hoo, in the United Kingdom. One of the “most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century” , to use the title of the article by our journalist Bernadette Arnaud, to be read on the website of Sciences et Avenir . This dig has turned scientists' understanding of Britain's "Dark Ages" upside down. The historian Alban Gautier, professor of medieval history at the University of Caen, tells us more about these troubled times... Also find Sutton Hoo, the Dark Ages and "The Dig" in the show La Scientific method of France Culture on March 19, 2021, one of whose guests was Olivier Lascar, editor-in-chief of the digital division of Sciences et Avenir - La Recherche.
Sciences et Avenir:What is the historical period covered by the expression “Dark Ages”?
There are two uses for defining these “Dark Ages”. One is wide, it goes from 400 to the year 1000:this corresponds to the period of what we call the High Middle Ages. The other usage is that the “Dark Ages” is that period from 400 to 600 - the 5th and 6th centuries. It seems more relevant to me, because it corresponds to these 200 years of which we have practically no written text left. Two centuries of which our understanding is based almost exclusively on archaeology.
"The discovery of Sutton Hoo dates from the end of the Dark Ages"
What characterizes entering the “Dark Ages”?
The departure of the Roman army and administration in 410. The entire state apparatus then left Great Britain, which had been a province of Rome for 3.5 centuries. This presence in the "Isle of Brittany" has been marked by important achievements - Hadrian's Wall, for example. From this date, and for about 200 years, then begins this period which has left us almost no text.
How to explain it?
In the British societies of this time, the use of writing was really linked to the operations of the State - taxation, the army, the administration of cities. Once the Romans withdrew, we observe a collapse of these structures, and therefore a very strong decline in writing, which was one of its components. It was also the time of major migrations and barbarian invasions. A troubled time, precisely "obscure" for historians who have trouble reconstructing the thread. Several explanatory models have nevertheless been proposed; they depend on archaeological finds and are redesigned as they come to light, approximately every 20 years.
What about the discovery of Sutton Hoo more specifically?
It dates from 620 or 630, that is to say the end of the Dark Ages in the strict sense. That of Staffordshire (which saw the discovery of hundreds of objects and fragments of gold and silver, Ed) dates from the second half of the 7th century. In other words, a period for which written documentation reappears, but rather slowly. This again allows a confrontation with archeology, and gives a chronological framework.
"A mosaic of kingdoms of very variable sizes"
What explains the return of writing to this release of Dark Ages?
This is one of the consequences of the Christianization of the eastern part of the island, which was evangelized by envoys from the Pope from 597. These missionaries wrote letters to him, in which they explained what they were doing. These documents are important sources of information. A name often comes up, as an informant of the Dark Ages, that of Bede the Venerable. He is a monk historian who writes around 730, after the Dark Ages. Someone serious, who cites his sources. He is the first to have tried to tell the story of the island since the time of Caesar, striving to bridge this 200-year-old gap. It is he who tells the whole story of the 7th century, the return of Christianity, trade between the island and the continent, but also the clashes between the different kingdoms.
What lessons can be drawn from this?
At the time of the Dark Ages, Great Britain seemed to be a mosaic of kingdoms of very variable sizes. The smallest of the order of the canton, the largest being equivalent to 2 or 3 departments, no more. These kingdoms are more or less powerful, the stronger ones vassalizing the smaller ones. To simplify, let's say that there are the so-called Breton kingdoms in the west, in which Celtic languages are spoken - this gives today Cornwall and Wales. To the east are the Anglo-Saxon regions, where the ancestor of present-day English is spoken. The kingdoms of the west are Christian, not those of the east, which practice religions of pagan traditions, say polytheists. They gradually became Christianized during the 7th century. Notably, this “transition effect” is seen in the tomb of Sutton Hoo, where there are objects completely foreign to Christianity and others of Christian inspiration.
"Two spoons marked with the cross"
Why this mix?
It is quite likely that this tomb is that of Raedwald, a king who died around 625 (this is impossible to say:the soil of Sutton Hoo is so acid that practically all organic material, and therefore the body, has disappeared). Nevertheless Raedwald is not totally unknown to us. Bede the Venerable explains that he had converted to Christianity - he had been baptized in Canterbury - before returning to the worship of his ancestors. This is reflected in the tomb of Sutton Hoo, where we find non-Christian objects, but also two spoons marked with the cross and bearing the name of Saint Paul, with which we gave communion. According to some experts, the helmet discovered at Sutton Hoo bears a reference to Odin...
Strange mention in the Scandinavian pantheon, when the Viking invasions of Great Britain have not yet taken place, right?
There is no incompatibility:Anglo-Saxon paganism had the same Gods as the Scandinavians. Odin being called Woden, that's all.
These Dark Ages are given as an important source of inspiration for Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings”, and the fantasy inspired by them, such as “Game of Thrones”.
Yes, it is in particular because of the warlike dimension of these kingdoms, which greatly inspired these authors. The small kingdoms I was telling you about form an unstable and competitive mosaic. Each region is led by a leader who controls a band of warriors:these men must be paid, rewarded, and this is done through loot and military successes. War is then the main economic activity. The general movement sees the large kingdoms gradually absorbing the small ones. As a result, in the 8th century - the time of Charlemagne in France - Great Britain was made up of 4 to 5 kingdoms. Around 500, in the heart of the Dark Ages, there were several dozen.