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a wealth of evidence:

The Identity of the Man Commemorated at Sutton Hoo

dimitri phillips

the history of england did not begin with the industrial revolution and

not everything supposed about the anglo-saxons reduces to the myth of

king arthur and the round table. contrary to commonly held beliefs, the

dark ages of the north were full of splendor and brilliance; the only

thing dark about them is their enshrouded history, but that only makes

them all the more fascinating. the great burial mound at sutton hoo in

east anglia, discovered just before world war ii, shines as one of the most

grandiose sepulchers in history, yet the identity of its occupant remains

a mystery. was it a wealthy merchant, a warrior from overseas, or a great

king? this paper gathers, presents, and scrutinizes the evidence and ar-

guments from ancient records, opulent grave-goods, and contemporary

investigations in an attempt to determine the most likely candidate for

the individual interred in mound 1 at sutton hoo.

introduction

From the very moment of the gravefield’s discovery in 1938,

sparks of controversy have surrounded the identity of the

person commemorated in what was to be named Mound 1

of the Sutton Hoo cemetery, the most lavish and magnifi-

cent burial mound yet uncovered in Anglo-Saxon England.

On their visit to the site in 1939, Hector Chadwick said to

Charles Phillips, “It’s the grave of King Rædwald you know.

I’ve no doubt of that.” i Chadwick may have had no doubt—

shortly thereafter he wrote a paper defending his posi-

tion ii —but others after him have doubted this assertion,

and it is still an unresolved question appearing at the head

of most considerations of Sutton Hoo. While some claim

the question to be inconsequential, iii the reconstruction of

history, art, and culture depends on such pivotal questions

as much as on anything else. The development of a more

precise chronology, an understanding of the culture of

kingship and of pagan religious practices, and, of particular

significance to the period under scrutiny, an appreciation of

the meeting point of paganism and Christianity, are all

spheres of study that may benefit from a more precise iden-

tification of the person honored in the greatest grave at

Sutton Hoo. At the same time, these areas must actually as-

sist in the very task we undertake, and one must carefully

sift through the literary and archeological evidence accu-

mulated since its discovery to see in what ways the evidence

complements and augments, supports and is supported by,

our understanding of these key areas of investigation.

would allow for a latest mint date as early as 615-16. v

The far end of the date range is more difficult to determine.

Some have argued that the burial could not have taken

place more than 30 years after the lower limit, 615 AD, be-

cause coins more fresh from the mint would certainly have

been utilized. A more complex investigation, however,

must take into account the state of Christianity in Anglo-

Saxon England around the time in question.

St. Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory, arrived in England in

597 AD vi and was drastically effective in converting, or

rather re-converting, its heathens. By 601, after Augustine

had baptized King Æthelberht, churches were established

in Kent, which led to the conversion of Saberht of the East

Saxons in 604. While both of these kingdoms relapsed for

a short time into paganism after the deaths of their mon-

archs, Christianity was quickly revived. Æthelberht also

made attempts in East Anglia, but the Anglian king

Rædwald is said to have accepted Christianity only half-

heartedly. It was not until his son, Sigeberht, came to

power as early as 631 AD that East Anglia was fully opened

to the Christian life. Northumbria was effectively con-

verted by 630, though it, too, suffered ephemeral relapses

into paganism. Overall, Christianity had a fairly tight hold

on most of Anglo-Saxon England by 635-40 AD.

It is unlikely that the newly-Christian kings would have re-

ceived an extravagant funeral containing so many grave-

goods and a ship, a horse, or a cart buried in the ground

with them. While there are examples of Christian kings

having lavish funerals, even—or more accurately,

especially—in Rome, as one moves north, Christian burials

tend to be plainer, with few, if any, grave-goods. The discov-

ery of the great Christian burial at Prittlewell may be a

strong argument for extending the prevalence of Christian

burials sharing in previous pagan traditions further into

the 7th century. The goods at Prittlewell, however, were of

far more simple and even meek design and embellishment,

distinguishing that site decisively from Sutton Hoo. More

important, however, is that the advent of Christianity

dating the mound: christian or

pagan?

First, we must establish a chronology of the mound, and

the most useful find for this task is the horde of 37 coins of

Merovingian origin and three unstruck blanks, as well as

two ingots. That they are all of foreign origin should not be

surprising, as there is no evidence of coinage amongst the

Anglo-Saxons from so early a period. iv Five of the coins

bear the name of a ruler, the latest of whom is the Frankish

Theodebert II, who died in 612 AD. Although most

archeologists favor a date in the 620s for the coins,

individual study of the gold content of the four latest coins

elements :: spring 07

brought with it the tradition of burying the faithful dead in

consecrated ground in or near a church. Mound 1, besides

being a very rich barrow, was located in the cemetery of

Sutton Hoo, which was most definitely not consecrated

ground in the early 6th century.

further investigation. The first is a more valid and relevant

question that cannot be ignored. Many arguments have

been proffered to prove that Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo is a

“royal” burial, the most famous being Rupert Bruce-

Mitford’s three-volume study of Sutton Hoo, particularly

his 10th chapter. A summary review of the evidence is

obligatory, and it may even help develop the case in unex-

pected ways. For example, while some say that the small

number of coins is a hint that this was the burial not of a

king but of a merchant or soldier, others note that the 40

coins are just part of the total riches of the grave.

A complication, however,

is the inclusion in the bur-

ial of artifacts like the

Anastasius dish and the

spoons marked with

“Paulus” and “Saulus”

that carried Christian

overtones. One possible

solution is that the pagan

king or his family hoped to derive some benefits from

them, just as some pagan kings like Rædwald had done

when they maintained the altar to Christ alongside those of

the pagan gods. vii Another answer appeals to psychology:

even if the pagans perceived the Christian connotations of

the artifacts, there is little reason to believe they would have

refrained from adding these rich and valuable objects to the

burial mound. They probably gave little thought to the ac-

tual claims of the Christian religion. If so, they would not

have feared, loathed, or even thought twice about the

Christian symbolism in the objects, but used them solely

because of their splendor. Just as people today wear

Halloween costumes of vampires, Zeus, or Pallas Athena

because they do not believe them to be real (while even a

skeptic today would think twice of dressing up like Jesus

Christ for Halloween), in a like manner, those left to

arrange the funeral did not believe in Christ and would

have had no problem dressing up their fallen king with

some Christian artifacts.

The gold and silver content alone, Shoenfeld points out,

puts Sutton Hoo at the forefront of late antique and early

medieval precious metal hordes in all of Europe, including

Byzantium. viii The shield has elements, such as gilded fit-

tings, that point toward a ceremonial use. According to lit-

erary sources, only noblemen and warriors supported by

the king were fortunate enough to have the protection of

byrnies (long, sleeveless chain mail tunics) like the one

found in the burial chamber. ix Legal evidence confirms

that gold-hilted swords were considered the property of

great lords; men of lesser rank rarely acquired them. x

According to the Ripuarian Laws, a normal helmet was

worth six solidi. This particular helmet, however, adorned

with crest, nasal, moustache and eyebrow attachments

made entirely of gold, was certainly more valuable (see

Figure A on next page). One may claim that the presence

of a mail shirt or a sword is not enough to declare it a king’s

grave, but the presence of a mail shirt and a gold-hilted

sword, as well as a half-dozen other fantastic military sup-

plies should put the matter to rest. A man of lower rank

might have been able to acquire a distinguished sword, but

that the same man also acquired a shield, byrnie, and hel-

met, and all the other great artifacts, is, to say the least, dif-

ficult to believe. Finally, the lack of any signature female

grave-goods and the profusion of military implements

show it to be a man’s burial.

a royal burial?

It must, therefore, be concluded that Mound 1 honored one

of the Anglo-Saxon kings who died between 615 and 640

AD. But why must it be a king? Indeed, why even someone

mentioned in literary record? The second question, though

perhaps valid, leads us to a skepticism that precludes any

Objects of foreign origin or influence further upgrade the

status of the man buried at Sutton Hoo. The Hanging

a wealth of evidence: the identity of the man commemorated at sutton hoo

figure a

elements :: spring 07

Bowls with running spirals and peltas, along with zoomor-

phic terminals, may be found in both Celtic and Anglo-

Saxon traditions, but the red enamel and millefiori inlay

work, rather than Germanic cloisonné, seem to point to

Irish craftsmanship and indicate heirloom value. xi Michael

Ryan has demonstrated a number of other connections that

can be drawn between objects found at Sutton Hoo and

Irish metalwork. xii The purse lid is embellished with sev-

eral figural plaques, two of which depict a figure, flanked by

two beasts, that associate the purse with La Tene and Asian

traditions, and may in fact be traced all the way back to the

Master of Beasts motif born most likely in Mesopotamia.

The heavy bronze bowl from the Coptic region in Egypt and

the Anastasius dish from Byzantium are excellent exam-

ples of the travel of goods through trade and gift-exchange.

Furthermore, as Edward Schoenfield and Jana Schulman

have noted, “in addition to sentimental value, an aestheti-

cally pleasing object has a great deal of ‘snob’ value.” xiii

Possession of extravagant items both foreign and native

and valued by others, is an impressive show of wealth and

power.

was furnished with aids like a horse, riding equipment,

food for the journey to Valhalla, and weapons for entertain-

ing battle games in Odin’s Hall. xvi These graves never con-

tained helmets or mail shirts. The regal burials, on the

other hand, were far more splendid, often containing a

number of horses, and possibly even men, who were con-

ceivably the king’s entourage, such as cupbearers and mar-

shals. These graves would also contain a ship, along with

riches, goods, and unusually fine weapons. xvii

Finally, we must address

the so-called standard and

the whetstone. Many

have attempted to associ-

ate this 1.5-meter-long

iron stand with the tufa ,

or standard, that the

Venerable Bede says King

Edwin of Northumbria

carried before him in bat-

tle and might have left

with Rædwald during his

exile, but recent finds

make this unlikely. No

traces of fabric or textile

can be found on the stand,

and a critical examination

of the design reveals that

it does not fit the requi-

sites for attaching a stan-

dard. The whetstone, on

the other hand, is far

more promising, espe-

cially after the correction

that placed the ring and

stag on its extremity,

rather than on the long

iron stand. The persistent

belief first that this object was a scepter was first argued by

Bruce-Mitford. xviii The strongest argument against this is

posed by Michael Wallace-Hadrill in connection to the

Furthermore, one cannot but marvel at the amount of skill

and labor necessary to construct and transport the 89-foot

ship, the largest from that era unearthed in Northern

Europe to date. As Gillmor has estimated, “twelve men

working together could finish [such] a war ship in three

months if all the building materials had been gathered in

advance,” xiv but, of course, they would not have been, and

the cutting of trees and digging up of ore would have taken

years. Indeed, the use of a ship burial of any kind almost

certainly indicates a regal burial. The second great East

Anglian cemetery at Snape, just north of Sutton Hoo and

overlooking the Alde, also boasts a number of ship burials,

the greatest of which begs comparison with Sutton Hoo:

“the Snape ship was of clinker build and riveted construc-

tion, identical to that used in the Sutton Hoo Mound 1

ship.” xv Looking further afield to Denmark, with its plenti-

ful written records, one finds two distinct levels of burial

customs: the upper class and the regal. The former would

most likely be a lower lord or noble warrior, whose burial

a wealth of evidence: the identity of the man commemorated at sutton hoo

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