Anglo-Saxon Art.  A New History. 
Leslie Webster
The British Museum Press 2012

One of the very puzzling things about the more prominent pieces of Anglo-Saxon Art – the jewellery, the weapons, the manuscripts etc. – are their intricate character and their invitation to close-up inspection.

The Anglo-Saxons – not least the early bands of warriors of the 5th century and their ancestors up until mid 9th century – must have presented themselves as close-knit elites, bands of brothers.  How else explain the fact that you nearly would have had to sit on the lap of a chieftain or a kinglet to get a glimpse of his brooches; or stand close to the altar at mass to get a glimpse of the book-craft and miniatures.

Of course there were stone sculptures to entice the public to enter the churches and marvel at the wall-paintings, the glittering textiles and the tabernacles of shrines and imported icons. And we might believe that at some point there existed a carved wooden sculpture-tradition, now completely lost except for a few fragments. In general though, the art of the Anglo-Saxons was best consumed close up.

Accordingly the art of the Anglo-Saxons is no easy matter to tackle head on, as is very well documented by a new introduction to the various art forms, written by archaeologist and art-historian, Leslie Webster.

Following this insight – that each piece of art – must be read carefully, the book very appropriately opens with an introductory chapter, which shows what might be gained from a close reading of the images, and seeing the text.

One of the more fascinating examples of this is a silver gilt pommel from the Woodeaton area in Oxfordshire. Seen from the wearer’s point of view it has the form of  a horned animal. Seen from the enemy’s point of view it looks like a stinging bee or a winged bird, where the blade might have presented the sting or the beak. Indeed, very cheeky… (seen on page 36).

Having “learned” to read the artistic language, we are treated to a numer of well-written chapters outlining the heavy Roman influence, both the ancient and Christian. The final chapters present a more secular perspective and introduce the reader to the connections between “Art and Power” and the “Viking Impact”. Illustrated with more than 200 colour and black-and-white illustrations the book gives us ample opportunity to get close to this very close-knit social world, its mentality and world-view.

If one wishes to explain the entangled and obviously complex mythic stories of fabulous birds or crouching dogs, twisting in shaman-like transcendence, this is a good start. And where else learn to properly appreciate the artistic merits of the miniatures in the manuscripts?

There is always room for some quibble. Does it make sense to publish an introduction to Anglo-Saxon Art and leaving out an introduction to another of the major art-forms, poetry? Especially as the deep layers of storytelling found in many of the art-pieces seem to be echoed in literature and poetry – as may be witnessed by the visual program of Franks Casket, which is discussed in some detail in the book, while the inscriptions are only cursorily touched upon.

Maybe, however, this will be remedied in the next publication from the pen of Leslie Webster: a monograph of the said casket and to be published in the autumn.

Until then we have to be content with this fascinating and tho-roughly enjoyable introduction; as with all good reads it invites us to further explorations, museum visits and detailed examination of the many pieces of arts presented here.