Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Monday 5 October 2020

The Marlow Warlord


The discovery of a significant sixth century burial of a chieftain in the mid-Thames Valley has made its way onto the Internet. Dubbed the ‘Marlow Warlord’ the remains of the six foot tall muscular warrior and his weapons came to light as the result of responsible metal detectorists notifying the British Museum Portable Antiquities Scheme of their initial discovery, followed by academic excavation this summer. 

As the reports point out the area in which the burial was found was a border region and maybe the burial overlooking the valley was designed to assert a right of possession.

It will be of interest to see what further research on the skeletal remains and the grave goods reveals about the man and the life he led.



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