Anglo-Saxon polities of the sixth century: chiefdom or state?
The purpose of the article is to prove that the Anglo-Saxon polities of the sixth century (Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Kent, East An-glia, Northumbria, Mercia) were chiefdoms of a complex type, not early states. The proof is based on the anthropological theory of chiefdom developed in the 1960s-1970s and on archaeological material that reflects the criteria specific to complex society types: 1) the hierarchy of settlements which shows the division of society into rulers and the ruled; 2) the availability of high-quality goods in the burials; 3) the presence of a constant power of the leader who controls elements of redistribution and performs common religious practices; 4) monumental public and religious buildings (terraces, temples, boroughs). The analysis of the Anglo-Saxon settlement hierarchy of the sixth century showed the presence of a three-level (village, emporia, chief s manor) graduation of settlements, as well as a three-level ranking of the society: 1) the aristocracy (eorl); 2) community members - producers and artisans (ceorl); 3) unequal categories of the population (teow). The study of the archaeological material of the luxuries found in the burial mounds of Anglo-Saxon leaders of the turn of the seventh century revealed most of its accumulation in the graves of military leaders (chiefs), which captures the rise and consolidation of their power over the rest of the polity, and the focus of attention on burials of the top of society is an indicator of a more complex organization. The study of the redistributive function of control over resources in the sixth century recorded three sources of redistribution of surplus product by the leader: 1) gafold; 2) tribute; 3) emporia. The monumental public and religious buildings of the Anglo-Saxon polities are represented by the Chapel of St. Martin (597), St Augustine's Abbey (598) and hillforts - fortresses on hills surrounded by shafts and designed for leader's residences. Thus, one could argue that the Anglo-Saxon barbarian kingdoms of the sixth century are a complex chiefdom, but not an early state. The latter is a socio-political organization of power characterized by: 1) a written code of laws; 2) the existence of a special apparatus of judges that settles most of the legal issues 3) the appearance of officials to help stewards withdraw surplus product in a fixed time (which is not observed in the chiefdom).
Keywords
chiefdom,
political anthropology,
origin of theory of state,
early state,
social contract,
state,
политогенез,
politogenesis theory,
раннее государство,
англосаксонские политии,
теория вождестваAuthors
| Pertsev Dmitry M. | The Far Eastern Federal University | dima.percev.91@mail.ru |
Всего: 1
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