Welcome to Dr Sam Newton’s Wuffings’ Website Website, which aims to provide a focus for the study of Sutton Hoo and the history and culture of the Wuffing Kingdom of East Anglia and beyond.
Please scroll down for information about (1) Wuffing Education study-days, study-mornings, and other events (2) my weekly seminars, (3) available lectures, (4) about me and my works, (5) my books and other publications, and (6) some old but still occasionally useful resources for Wuffing & Sutton Hoo Studies.
1. Wuffing Education Online Study-Days, Study-Mornings (Live and Online), and Lectures
Friday 29th November 2024: The Children of Athena: Greek Intellectuals in the Roman Empire – an online study-morning with Charles Freeman (specialist on the ancient world and its legacy) on the remarkable story of how Greek-speaking writers and thinkers sustained and developed the intellectual legacy of Classical Greece under the rule of Rome. These include Plutarch the historian and Ptolemy the Alexandrian geographer and astronomer. The story extends from the second century BC to the fifth century AD and helped to shape the intellectual landscape of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Friday 6th December 2024: Yuletide to Nativity: Christmas in Early England – an online study-morning with Dr Sam Newton FSA rekindling the old magic of Christmas with a look at the significance of the midwinter festival and how it was celebrated in early England.
Friday 13th December 2024: The Battle of the Holme (13th December 902) – an online study-morning with Dr Sam Newton FSA on the anniversary of the battle which ended the West Saxon cousins’ war which nearly destroyed the achievements of King Ælfred following his death in 899. We shall see how his nephew Æthelwald challenged his Will with the help of the Danish army. We shall also look at the clues provided in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle pointing to the site of the battle somewhere in Cambridgeshire.
Friday 17th January 2025: The Viking Great Armies in England of the Ninth Century (postponed from 22nd Nov. 2024) – an online study-day with Dr Gareth Williams following the fourteen-year progress of the micel here, or ‘great heathen army’ which landed in East Anglia in 865. Re-examining the historical sources in the light of recent archaeological discoveries, we shall see how this coalition of Viking raiders was able to confront the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms on equal terms, and ultimately to conquer and settle a large portion of England for themselves.
Friday 24th January 2025: King Rædwald and the Temple of the Two Altars – an online study-day with Dr Sam Newton FSA An online study-day with Dr Sam Newton FSA on the wisdom of King Rædwald and commendable attempt at finding a way to reconcile the Christian and pre-Christian cultural forces in early seventh-century England.
Friday 7th February 2025: Old English Goddesses Lost and Found – an online study-day with world-class language-history specialist Stephen Pollington on the evidence in Anglo-Saxon and related sources for the belief in goddesses in early English culture, beginning with extraordinary description of the Mother Goddess Nerthus by the late first-century Roman historian Tacitus.
Friday 14th February 2025: The Origins of the St Valentine’s Day – an online study-day with Dr Sam Newton FSA on the ancient Roman origins of this romantic holiday still celebrated every year. The feast of St Valentine appears to have been established between 492 and 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who also abolished the Bacchic rites of the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which were observed annually in Rome from 13th to 15th February. The rites of Lupercalia are described by the famous poet Ovid (died c. 18 AD) and beautifully illustrated in the treasure-hoards from Mildenhall and Thetford from late Roman Britain.
– more events to be announced soon –
– click here for the full programme on Eventbrite –
– please note that these events are not recorded –
2. Weekly Morning Seminars in Sutton Hoo Studies 2024-2025, live and online
3. If you wish to book me to deliver a lecture or study-day, click here for a selection of titles.
4. About Me and My Works
5. My Books:
1. The Reckoning of King Rædwald (2003)
2. The Origins of Beowulf and the pre-Viking Kingdom of East Anglia (1993)
My more recent published papers, such as “The Forgotten History of St Bótwulf (Botolph)” (2016), can be downloaded from my page on Academia .
Above: Dawn over Iken Hoo, where St Bótwulf (Botolph) founded his famous minster in 654. Thanks to Dominic for this picture ©Iken Canoe Hire (the best way to view Iken Hoo is from a canoe).
6. Resources for Wuffing Studies:
Wuffings’ Who Was Who (genealogical & historical information)
Sutton Hoo: Burial-Ground of the Wuffings (some of the wonders of the royal ship-burial)
Wuffing and Related Places of Interest (sites where the Wuffings walked; and more) – work in progress
In Defence of the Wuffings (Book Review) – my response to some of Professor Martin Carver’s theories about Sutton Hoo and the kings of East Anglia.
Sutton Hoo: Burial-Ground of Dissidents? – further thoughts on Professor Martin Carver’s theories about Sutton Hoo.
Some Wuffing Studies’ reading lists
Some Old Links to related Websites
