Figural Stone Sculpture in Anglo-Saxon England: networks, agency and cross-cultural contacts, c. 700- 900

This project proposes a close examination of Anglo-Saxon sculptures made between c. 700-900, specifically non-narrative, icon-like representations of the human form. Written sources that discuss figural art will be examined alongside extant figural stone sculpture, in order to understand Anglo-Saxon reception of classical Roman artistic heritage as well as contemporary debates around icons and iconoclasm.

Figural images are rare in Anglo-Saxon England before the conversion during the seventh century. Early manuscript art and textual descriptions offer one means of understanding Anglo-Saxon experience and use of figural art. Stone sculpture offers another contemporary source, surviving in large quantities and revealing great skills in carving, in both Roman and Insular style. Iconoclast debates in eighth-century Byzantium made the use of figural art a topic of intense debate in Italy and Francia. But Anglo-Saxon artists never ceased to carve figures in stone, creating both narrative and non-narrative scenes. Icon-like representations, as at Breedon-on-the-Hill (Leicestershire) which shows a veiled figure of the Virgin giving the blessing normally reserved for images of Christ Logos, or the arcades of figures on the Masham column, may reveal more about image perception and worship in early medieval England, and possibly about the use of images during the conversion process.

The project aims to assess the influence of "Roman" art and iconographies, and how much Anglo-Saxon artists relied on classical and contemporary models from Francia, Rome, and Byzantium. We cannot be sure if painted wooden panels were really used to support the Anglo-Saxon conversion like Bede suggests in his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum. However, we can investigate if the strong connections established with Rome influenced the way images were viewed and made in England: part of the project will be to understand if wooden panels made in Rome had some sort of counterparts in Anglo-Saxon England and if icon-like sculptures somehow reflected the role in worship of similar objects.

In the course of the eighth century, debates around the use and worship of religious images spread across the Christianised world from Byzantium, where the hostility towards images eventually led to iconoclasm. Consequently, the role of images in worship was debated at the Frankish and papal courts, and in 792 advice was sought from Alcuin, then based in York. This project will examine the impact of the iconoclasm debate on Anglo-Saxon England, particularly how it affected figural art and theology. Textual evidence will be studied to understand the Anglo-Saxon perspective on this particular subject matter; this includes analysis of Frankish and Italian texts and their transmission to England.

The role played by Francia in the transmission of romanitas, and its influence on the Anglo-Saxon perception of images, will also be investigated in order to understand the artistic networks between Anglo-Saxon England, Francia and Italy. Comparisons between sculptures produced in Anglo-Saxon England, Francia and Italy will be fundamental in the attempt to understand the early medieval approach to the making of figural art. Here, anthropological theories will help discern the role of Roman artworks as active agents in early medieval Europe.