An Exiled Voice From the Depths of Dark Age England
Exploring 'The Wife’s Lament', an Old English poem
Hello there! I’m currently studying for a PhD in Archaeology at Oxford, researching the role of women in the social and political developments of 6th- and 7th-century England and France. With a worldwide readership of over 4,700 PLUS featuring regularly in Substack’s top 100 fastest-growing history publications, I open up the world of early medieval England to all who are ready to learn more about this much-misunderstood time. Ready to dive in? Hit subscribe at the button below and if you’re serious about early medieval history consider joining our paid membership, where you’ll unlock deep dives based on my academic work.
An Exiled Voice From the Depths of Dark Age England
Exploring The Wife’s Lament, an Old English poem
The emotional world of the Dark Ages, that mysterious period lying somewhat intangibly between the fall of Roman rule in Britain and the dawn of Norman kingship, is almost completely lost to us.
It is our emotional response to the ups and downs of life that, perhaps, make us most human and yet it is this that our ancestors so often neglected to record.
The pages of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History, supplemented for the later period by annalistic records such as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and legal charters, law codes, and wills, were never designed to reveal the innermost secrets of an Anglo-Saxon’s heart.1
And so they don’t.
This is where the collection of Old English poetry known as The Exeter Book provides a uniquely precious insight. It’s within the pages of this precious manuscript that we see the first few glimpses of human emotion in the Dark Ages - and it won’t surprise you to learn that they are remarkably relatable.