Writing Power in Anglo-Saxon England: Texts, Hierarchies, Economies

Examines the role of written texts in shaping power dynamics during the Anglo-Saxon period (c. 5th–11th centuries) in England. Clarke explores how writing served as a tool for social, political, and economic control, reflecting and reinforcing hierarchies within this early medieval society.

The book analyzes a range of texts—charters, laws, wills, and ecclesiastical documents—demonstrating how they were used by kings, nobles, and the Church to assert authority, define land ownership, and regulate economic relationships. Clarke highlights key examples, such as the charters of King Alfred and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, to show how literacy became a marker of elite status and a means of legitimizing rule. She also investigates the material contexts of writing, including the production and dissemination of manuscripts, and their role in local and regional power structures.

The study emphasizes the interplay between oral and written traditions, arguing that writing supplemented rather than replaced oral authority, particularly in legal and economic spheres. Clarke integrates archaeological evidence and literary analysis to reveal how texts were performative, shaping social identities and economic networks. The book offers a nuanced perspective on Anglo-Saxon governance, challenging views of it as purely oral or decentralized, and underscores the centrality of writing in consolidating power before the Norman Conquest.