Editing Northumbria (section)

==Culture==
[[File:LindisfarneFol27rIncipitMatt.jpg|left|thumb|220px|upright|Page from the [[Lindisfarne Gospels]], {{circa|700}}, featuring zoomorphic knot-work.]]
[[File:DurhamAII10_folio_3v.png|thumb|250px|The colophon to the [[Gospel of Matthew]] from the Durham Gospel Fragment, featuring non-zoomorphic interlace patterns.]]
[[File:KellsFol292rIncipJohn.jpg|thumb|The Book of Kells, (folio 292r), {{circa|800}}, showing the lavishly decorated text that opens the [[Gospel of John]]]]

===Golden Age of Northumbria===
{{main|Northumbria's Golden Age}}
The Christian culture of Northumbria, fuelled by influences from the continent and Ireland, promoted a broad range of literary and artistic works.

===Insular art===
The Irish monks who converted Northumbria to Christianity, and established monasteries such as [[Lindisfarne]], brought a style of artistic and literary production.<ref>{{harvnb|Neuman de Vegvar|1990|}}</ref> [[Eadfrith of Lindisfarne]] produced the [[Lindisfarne Gospels]] in an Insular style.<ref>{{harvnb|Rollason|2003|pp=140}}</ref>

The Irish monks brought with them an ancient Celtic decorative tradition of curvilinear forms of spirals, scrolls, and doubles curves. This style was integrated with the abstract ornamentation of the native pagan Anglo-Saxon metalwork tradition, characterized by its bright colouring and [[zoomorphic]] interlace patterns.<ref>{{cite web
    |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Anglo-Saxon-art
    |title=Anglo-Saxon art
    |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online
    |year=2016
    }}</ref>

Insular art, rich in symbolism and meaning, is characterized by its concern for geometric design rather than naturalistic representation, love of flat areas of colour, and use of complicated interlace patterns.<ref>{{cite web
    |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Hiberno-Saxon-style
    |title=Hiberno-Saxon style
    |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online
    |access-date=13 May 2016
}}</ref> All of these elements appear in the Lindisfarne Gospels (early eighth century). The Insular style was eventually imported to the European continent, exercising great influence on the art of the [[Carolingian art|Carolingian empire]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pächt|1986|pp=72–73}}</ref>

[[File:Sword Pommel from the Bedale Hoard YORYM 2014 149 1-1.jpg|right|thumb|Sword pommel from the [[Bedale Hoard]], inlaid with gold foil.]]
Usage of the Insular style was not limited to manuscript production and metalwork. It can be seen in and sculpture, such as the [[Ruthwell Cross]] and [[Bewcastle Cross]]. The devastating [[Lindisfarne#Vikings|Viking raid on Lindisfarne]] in 793 marked the beginning of a century of Viking invasions that severely limited the production and survival of Anglo-Saxon material culture.<ref>{{harvnb|Owen-Crocker|1986|p=28}}</ref> It heralded the end of Northumbria's position as a centre of influence, although in the years immediately following visually rich works like the [[Easby Cross]] were still being produced.

===Literature===
The Venerable [[Bede]] (673–735) is the most famous author of the Anglo-Saxon Period, and a native of Northumbria. His {{lang|la|[[Ecclesiastical History of the English People|Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum]]}} (''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'', completed in 731) has become both a template for later historians and a crucial historical account in its own right,<ref name=Worm29>{{harvnb|Wormald|1999|p= 29}}</ref> and much of it focuses on Northumbria.<ref>{{harvnb|Goffart|2005|p=238}}</ref><ref name=Bede69>{{harvnb|Bede|1969}}</ref> He's also famous for his theological works, and verse and prose accounts of holy lives.<ref name=Goffart245>{{harvnb|Goffart|1988|pp= 245–246}}</ref> After the [[Synod of Whitby]], the role of the European continent gained importance in Northumbrian culture. During the end of the eighth century, the scriptorium at [[Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey|Monkwearmouth–Jarrow]] was producing manuscripts of his works for high demand on the Continent.<ref>{{harvnb|Lapidge|2006|p=44}}</ref>

Northumbria was also home to several Anglo-Saxon [[Christian poetry|Christian poets]]. [[Cædmon]] lived at the [[double monastery]] of Streonæshalch ([[Whitby Abbey]]) during the abbacy (657–680) of [[Hilda of Whitby|St. Hilda]] (614–680). According to Bede, he "was wont to make religious verses, so that whatever was interpreted to him out of [[Bible|scripture]], he soon after put the same into poetical expressions of much sweetness and humility in [[Old English|English]], which was his native language. By his verse the minds of many were often excited to despise the world, and to aspire to heaven."<ref name=Bede69Caedmon>{{harvnb|Bede|1969}} Book 4 Chapter 24</ref> His sole surviving work is [[Cædmon's Hymn]]. [[Cynewulf]], prolific author of ''[[The Fates of the Apostles]]'', ''[[Juliana (poem)|Juliana]]'', [[Elene (poem)|''Elene'']], and [[Christ II (poem)|''Christ II'']], is believed to have been either Northumbrian or [[Mercia]]n.<ref>{{harvnb|Gradon|1958|pp= 9–14}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Woolf|1955|pp= 2–6}}</ref>
[[File:Gosforth cross.jpg|left|thumb|472x472px|Gosforth Cross, view from the north-west]]

===Scandinavians and the Danelaw===
From around 800, there had been waves of Danish raids on the coastlines of the British Isles.<ref name="asc865"/> These raids terrorized the populace, but exposure to Danish society brought new opportunities for wealth and trade.<ref name=fleming213>{{harvnb|Fleming|2010|pp=213–240}}</ref> In 865, instead of raiding, the Danes landed a large army in East Anglia, and had conquered a territory known as the [[Danelaw]], including Northumbria, by 867.<ref name="asc865"/><ref>{{harvnb|Roger of Wendover|1842|pp=298–299}}</ref> At first, the [[Scandinavia]]n minority, while politically powerful, remained culturally distinct from the English populace. For example, only a few Scandinavian words, mostly military and technical, became part of [[Old English]]. By the early 900s, however, Scandinavian-style names for both people and places became increasingly popular, as did Scandinavian ornamentation on works of art, featuring aspects of Norse mythology, and figures of animals and warriors. Nevertheless, sporadic references to "Danes" in charters, chronicles, and laws indicate that during the lifetime of the Kingdom of Northumbria, most inhabitants of northeast England did not consider themselves Danish, and were not perceived as such by other Anglo-Saxons.<ref>{{harvnb|Hadley|2002}}</ref>

The synthesis of Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian and Christian and Pagan [[Motif (visual arts)|visual motifs]] within the Danelaw can be illustrated by an examination of stone sculpture. However, the tradition of mixing pagan and Christian motifs is not unique to the Danelaw, and examples of such synthesis can be seen in previous examples, such as the Franks Casket. The [[Franks Casket]], believed to have been produced in Northumbria, includes depictions of Germanic legends and stories of the founding Roman and the Roman Church and is dated to the early eighth century.<ref>{{harvnb|Karkov|2011|pp=149–152}}</ref> The Gosforth Cross, dated to the early tenth century, stands at {{convert|4.4|m|order=flip}} and is richly decorated with carvings of mythical beasts, Norse gods, and Christian symbolism.<ref>{{harvnb|Berg|1958|pp=27–30}}</ref> Stone sculpture was not a practice of native Scandinavian culture, and the proliferation of stone monuments within the Danelaw shows the influence that the English had on Viking settlers. On one side of the Gosforth Cross is a depiction of the Crucifixion; whilst on the other are scenes from Ragnarok. The melding of these distinctive religious cultures can further be seen in the depiction of Mary Magdalene as a valkyrie, with a trailing dress and long pigtail.<ref>{{harvnb|Richards|1991|pp=121}}</ref> Although one can read the iconography as the triumph of Christianity over paganism, it is possible that in the process of gradual conversion the Vikings might have initially accepted the Christian god as an addition to the broad pantheon of pagan gods.<ref>{{harvnb|Richards|1991|pp=123}}</ref> The inclusion of pagan traditions in visual culture reflects the creation of a distinctive [[Anglo-Scandinavian]] culture. Consequently, this indicates that conversion not only required a change in belief, but also necessitated its assimilation, integration, and modification into existing cultural structures.<ref>{{harvnb|Carver|2005|pp=36}}</ref>