In popular culture and heritage interpretation, Offa’s Dyke is often perceived as synonymous with King Offa and the ‘Anglo-Saxons’ more broadly as oppositional to ‘the Welsh’. So as well as considering how the monument and its maker are perceived along the monument and in the Welsh Marches more broadly, a further aspect of considering Offa’s Dyke’s cultural and social significance in the present is to address how it is referred to elsewhere. In this regard, I was struck by a recent visit to Criccieth Castle, originally a native Welsh fortification that captures the story of the Welsh princes, English kings and Welsh rebellion between the mid-13th and early 15th centuries.
Here, as part of the broader heritage interpretation of the region, we find a timeline from the late 4th century when the Roman ‘leave Wales’ up to the early 15th century and the Owain Glyndwr ‘rises against the English’.
Because of this timeline design, the deserve is to reduce time-spans down to precise dates.
Hence, I was surprised to see Offa’s Dyke’s construction as not only the single event of the 8th century included on the timeline for Wales, but also a precise date afforded to its construction: 784.
It is notable to observe the prominence of Offa’s Dyke: considered a century-defining moment in the history of Wales (above the line). It is contextualised in relation to broader historical events and processes, the closest of which was the ‘Rise of Islam in Europe’ (632-750) and the ‘Death of Charlemagne’ (814) (below the line).
Why AD784? Does this correlate with a specific event that might be inferred as associated with building Offa’s Dyke? I honestly cannot think of one that pertains to the history of Mercia and explicitly might be taken as a start-date or end-date for the construction of Offa’s Dyke!
AD 784 is determined by Stenton to be earliest date at which Offa might have gained ascendancy and the Annales Cambriae records Offa harrying the Welsh in the summer of 784 and once again in 795. As a result, he suggests the closing 11 years of Offa’s reign were a ‘peaceful interval … for the building of the Dyke’ (Stenton 1955: xviii-xix). However, as Williams reviews (2019: 47), if the Annales Cambriae is being utilised to refer to combat between the British and the Mercians, the range of options for using this to infer the construction of Offa’s Dyke include 760, 778, 784 and 795! None of these dates can be connected with any certainty to the monument’s commissioning, construction, completion or use! Erik Grigg clearly states: ‘Although two entries record Offa attacking the Britons (in 778 and 784), the earliest texts make no mention of dykes’ (Grigg 2018: 97).
Does it simply stand for a point where Offa was nearing the height of his reign and powers and thus a ‘likely’ date? Maybe! But there are implications for creating such false precision from our sketchy sources.
Or is it just a random date plucked from the late 8th century for brevity and only accidentally thus affording a false sense of historical security for the viewer/reader of the heritage interpretation panel?
It goes without saying that, in archaeological terms, we lack precise confirmed scientific dates for the building of Offa’s Dyke as wholly or exclusively built by King Offa who (reigned from 757 to his death in 796) in the late 8th century (although it remains a strong likelihood at present) (Belford 2019). All studies to date have been extremely circumspect as a result (Hill and Worthington 2003; Ray and Bapty 2016; Grigg 2018). Certainly, we lack the evidence to pin its construction down to a precise half century, quarter century or decade, let alone a single year!
Whether deliberate, casual or purely random, I’m stumped regarding how AD 784 was fixed upon exclusively rather than a span of years pertaining to Offa’s entire reign or the last decade of his rule.
It either means the date was selected at random, as a shorthand for a span of years in the latter stage of Offa’s reign, or else I’m missing something glaringly obvious! Help me out boffins!
What I would contend, however, is that this level of precision is a form of misinformation in itself for the public to uncritically consume without clarification.
References
Belford, P. 2019. Hidden earthworks: excavation and protection of Offa’s and Wat’s Dykes, Offa’s Dyke Journal 1: 80–95.
Grigg, E. 2018. Warfare, Raiding and Defence in Early Medieval Britain. Marlborough: Robert Hale.
Hill, D. and Worthington, M. 2003. Offa’s Dyke: History and Guide. Stroud: Tempus
Ray, K. and Bapty, I. 2016. Offa’s Dyke: Landscape and Hegemony in Eighth-Century Britain. Oxford: Windgather Press.
Stenton, F. 1955. Foreword, in C. Fox. Offa’s Dyke. London: The British Academy.
Williams, A. 2019. Offa’s Dyke. ‘The stuff that dreams are made of’ Offa’s Dyke Journal 1: 32-57.
Dear Howard I rose a little to the challenge about AD784, see below. cheers Robin Robin Grayson washplant@rocketmail.com Being born lost? The cultural and institutional dimensions of Welsh identityW Parsons – A question of identity, 2019 – taylorfrancis.com… the border between Cymru and Saeson, Wales and the English, became well defined. Somuch so that the boundary constructed by Offa of Mercia at around AD 784 constitutes a … [BOOK] The History of Great Britain: From the First Invasion of it by the Romans Under Julius Caesar. Written on a New PlanR Henry – 1789 – books.google.com… Brihtric, who became king of Weffex on the murder of Cynewlf, AD 784, being confcious that… In the mean time it may be proper to bring down the hiftory of Wales and North-Britain, from … [BOOK] A question of identityAJ Kershen – 2019 – books.google.com… the border between Cymru and Saeson, Wales and the English, became well defined. Somuch so that the boundary constructed by Offa of Mercia at around AD 784 constitutes a … Welsh Castles at War – Page 14books.google.co.uk › books John Norris · 2004 · Snippet viewFOUND INSIDE – PAGE 14It is known to have been excavated between AD 784 and AD 796 , following a particularly fierce cross – border attack mounted by the Welsh in AD 784. However , the work can be viewed as being a cross between the two purposes because some … The Rise and Progress of the Laws of England and Wales – Page 102books.google.co.uk › books Owen Flintoff · 1840FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 102The death of Cynewulf , one of the kings of Wessex , who died AD 784 , deserves , says our authority , to be preserved as illustrative of two great features of the Saxon character – devotedness of attachment , and fero- city of … Folens Ordnance Survey World Atlas – Page 27books.google.co.uk › booksPatricia Harrison, Steve Harrison · 1992FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 27Only Wales remained unconquered . From AD 784 to AD 796 a great ditch was dug on the orders of King Offa of Mercia . It marked the order between Wales and Mercia . You can still visit parts of Offa’s Dyke today .
An Historical Atlas of Wales: From Early to Modern Times – Page 20books.google.co.uk › booksWilliam Rees · 1951 · Snippet viewFOUND INSIDE – PAGE 20Northumbria was thus able to re – establish its hold over the whole of the Chester district and the Welsh of north Wales were … which is said to have been constructed after the last Welsh attack in AD 784 ( Plates 21 ( b ) , 22 ) . Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to …books.google.co.uk › books1869FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 363“ Oed Crist 784 y diffeithiwyd y Mers gan y Cymry , ac Offa a wnaeth glawdd yr ail waith yn nes ato , a gadael lle Gwlad rhwng Gwy a Hafren lle mae Llwyth Elystan Glodrudd , lle ydd aethant yn un o bum Brenhinllwyth Cymru . ” ( A.D. 784 … Weapons and Armor – Page 22books.google.co.uk › books Rupert Matthews · 2014FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 22English warriors patrol the great dyke built by King Offa of Mercia to define the border with Wales in AD 784. English cavalry were lightly armed. Britain was invaded and settled by Germanic tribes from around AD 450, and by around AD …
Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to …books.google.co.uk › booksPowys-land Club · 1869FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 363Oed Crist 784 y diffeithiwyd y Mers gan y Cymry , ac Offa a wnaeth glawdd yr ail waith yn nes ato , a gadael lle Gwlad rhwng Gwy a Hafren lle mae Llwyth Elystan Glodrudd , lle ydd aethant yn un o bum Brenhinllwyth Cymru . ” ( A.D. 784 …
A History of Wales: From the Earliest Period – Page xvibooks.google.co.uk › booksOwen Morgan · 1911 · Snippet viewFOUND INSIDE – PAGE XVIOn the west of Shrewsbury , Powys was divided from Deheubarth , or south – western part of Wales , which most misleadingly … In Caradoc of Llancarvan’s valuable chronicle , under the date AD 784 , he states : ” This year Mercia was … Archaeologia Cambrensis: the journal of the Cambrian …books.google.co.uk › books 1864FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 9… they were necessitated to kill the king in the summer season , which was from thence called the bloody summer ; and never after that was the word of the king of the S. Wales men allowed to be paramount in the country . A.D. 784. The Naturalist in Wales – Page 11books.google.co.uk › books Ronald Mathias Lockley · 1970 · Snippet viewFOUND INSIDE – PAGE 11So much so that about AD 784 the Saxon leader Offa of Mercia constructed a broad tall earthen dyke to contain the Welsh . The line of Offa’s Dyke is still plain , and may be walked today along much of its length , as it follows very [BOOK] Coronation Anecdotes G Gossip – 2012 – books.google.com… A striking instance of the romantic and desperate courage to which it gave rise occurs asearly as the reign of Cynewulf, king of Wessex, AD 784. Sigebircht, the deposed predecessor of … [BOOK] The Beginning of Tomorrow: Call to the North–Churches Working Together in Mission JG Hunter – 2019 – books.google.com… venerable gathering, dating back to AD 784, was the nearest thing the North of England hasever had to its own parliament. The Convocation meeting on 9 October 1968 now presented … [BOOK] The Rise and Fall of the Mounted KnightC Hart – 2023 – books.google.com… It is relevant that the Carolingians and Saxons were described as fighting a ‘cavalry battle’52in AD 784 in the Revised Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks. The Repton Stone from …
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