Political Friendship in Wessex

Description

In its eulogy for the English king, Edgar (d.975), the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle E text describes him as Westseaxena wine ⁊ Myrcene mundbora (friend of the West Saxons and protector of the Mercians). The word wine is interesting; though translated as ‘friend’, it implies a degree of subordination or obligation to protect. The annalist chose this word carefully – the only instance of it occurring in the Chronicle – to suggest Edgar was a friend of his people due to his ability to protect them. More common are the words freond (friend) and freondscipe (friendship) – as seen in the annals for 937, 943 and 1016 – the meanings of which words are more akin to their modern cognates. Nonetheless, their contextual usage is similar to wine: friendship is here connected to ideas of kingship. Using the Chronicle and related texts, this paper will examine this connection and offer some conclusions around how friendship was conceptualised in West Saxon political thought.

Period	3 Dec 2025
Event title	Australian and New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies Conference: Possibilities
Event type	Conference
Location	Melbourne, Australia, VictoriaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National