Britain in the Age of Bede

[V1G1LANC3]

Minimal Medieval Map of Britain in the age of Northumbria's great monk Historian, Bede the Venerable. The map shows England and Whales around the seventh and eight century just before the Viking invasions, the development of high medieval feudalism and the establishment of the Danelaw. These are the kingdom as they were before Alfred the Great and after the fall of Rome. The most challenging part of this map was researching where the wooded areas were at this time. The forest shown here are not a 100% accurate as they are based off a map that showed the forested areas around the time of Alfred the Great, which means after the Viking invasions and it was the Vikings, not the Anglo's, who were responsible for most of the deforestation of England. If I revisit this map and edit it, I'd need to add a forest throughout central Mercia and around the Severn River on the Eastern edge of the kingdom of Northern Whales. Bede's Britain.jpg

[michaelgo]

very interesting map.I am biased as I am from Jarrow. What was the inspiration behind making it?

[V1G1LANC3]

Thanks Michaelgo! It's cool that you have some resonance with this map as it is kind of obscure!
I did a medieval style world map earlier this year based on how a monk might see the world from an English perspective. Doing the research for that map I did a lot of reading about the scholarship and cultural developments of early English monasteries and as such read a lot about Bede and the fascinating kingdoms which existed before the Scandinavian migrations and after the fall of Rome. The Pre Viking, Post Roman world of Britain is largely forgotten and so I thought I'd do this oft looked over period in English history justice but attempting a map.
I found it kind of interesting that the first Historian of Britain didn't live in the hub of Britain down in Wessex and Essex but up in Jarrow and Lindisfarne, in what was back then, Northumbria; a fairly remote and sparse kingdom.

[mapmage]

No way! Do you live near the monastery?

[mapmage]

I'm a huge fan of the Venerable Bede's work, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Five stars on this one.