• This 5-week course includes live sessions with the instructor each week

  • Sessions run for 90 minutes with presentation and Q&A

  • All sessions are recorded so you can watch them at your convenience

Week 1

Romans after Rome

This first lesson untangles the myriad artistic and ideological links between Late Roman costume and what we nowadays refer to as ‘Anglo-Saxon’ or ‘Celtic’ dress accessories, highlighting that the idea of Rome persisted through new forms and new lenses well into the 6/7th centuries.

Week 2

Little Kingdoms

This week, an overview of 20-30 early petty polities across England, Wales, and Scotland between the 5-7th centuries, showcasing how different geographical environments and coastal regions reshaped Roman rural districts into early kingdoms. The main themes explored this week will be identity and kinship formation.

Week 3

Big Kingdoms

This week we explore notions of overlordship: the premier kingdoms of Wessex, Northumbria, and Mercia formed out of the shells of smaller realms, which is a narrative that can be followed between the 6-7th centuries relying on archaeology and textual records.

Week 4

The View from Afar

With 5-7th century Britain placed in its own national context, the trick now is to examine the island from afar, to assess to what extent the international links between it and the rest of Europe changed between the Roman Period and the Viking Age. This lesson will largely follow the journeys of monks, moneyers, and diplomats to disprove notions that ‘Dark Age’ Britain was isolated.

Week 5

Vikings before Vikings

The final session charts a journey towards the first raid on Lindisfarne in 793, following acts of piracy in the North Sea since the first century. This will place several of the topics explored previously within an international context and move against the notion of neat historical periodisation. ‘Viking’ raids before 793 will be assessed, alongside a summary of how Britain changed between 410 and the infamous raid at Lindisfarne.

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    Contact us for information about when this course will be offered next

  • Access

    Course materials are available for 30 days after the last course session

Meet your Instructor

Alex Harvey

Alex is an author and archaeologist published with the University of Cambridge, Sidestone Press, Amberley, Pen & Sword, and Five Leaves Publications, specializing in the Early Medieval Period (350-1100 CE). His work revolves around disseminating complex academia into accessible formats. He has given dozens of public talks around England, alongside podcast interviews and talks for museums. He also works as the Collections Manager for a museum in Pocklington (East Yorkshire) and is training to be a teacher in North Yorkshire.

“Alex Harvey’s classes were clear and had enough narrative structure to keep me engaged. His slides had just enough text and good images. His maps were amazingly good. I learned a lot and would be interested in taking any other classes he teaches.”

“I can’t tell you how much I loved the sessions I attended - primarily because of your very interesting approach and style. “Dark Ages” England is one of my favorite interests and you really added to that for me. I hope you will do more sessions soon. ”

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course for numerous reasons. The lectures were excellent, a clear culmination of the amount of time, thought, preparation, knowledge, and expertise that went into them. The secondary materials were helpful and enhanced the content of the lectures. The third reason is that the course was so well taught that it kindled my curiosity and I'm delightedly exploring the period in more detail. Alex Harvey is very approachable and helpful, and I would wholeheartedly recommend any further courses taught by him. ”