Thynghowe was an important

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

open-air assembly place or , located at

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is the remnants of an ancient royal forest, Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, within the East Midlands region in England. It has association with the legend of Robin Hood. The forest was proclaimed by William the Conqueror and ...

, in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, England. It was lost to history until its rediscovery in 2005 by the husband and wife team of Stuart Reddish and Lynda Mallett, local history enthusiasts. The assembly mound is at Hanger Hill, close to a parish boundary stone. As a result of continued research, Thynghowe is now included on the English Historic England Archive. ''Archaeologists to probe Sherwood Forest's Thing'' (BBC)
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Name

Toponym

* The mound where the assembly meet Thynghowe: (''Thyng..howe'') The first element '' 'Thyng' '' is from

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

' Þing ' - (''"thing"'') (''"assembly place"''). The next element '' ' howe ''' is from

' haugr ' (''"mound" or "grave-mound"'' ).

Name history

The name changed and evolved over time : * Þing-haugr - (

) c. 9-10th century * Thing-haugr * Thynghowe * hynger howe * Hanger Hill - c. 17th century * Thynghowe - rediscovered 2005

History

The site lies amidst the old oaks of an area known as the Birklands in Sherwood Forest. Experts believe it may also yield clues as to the boundary of the ancient

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to Ge ...

kingdoms of

Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...

and

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

. It functioned as a place where people came to resolve disputes and settle issues. The name Thynghowe is of

origin, although the site may be older than the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, ; ; ) was the part of History of Anglo-Saxon England, England between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danes (tribe), Danish laws applied. The Danelaw originated in the conquest and oc ...

, perhaps even

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. The word '' howe'' often indicates the presence of a prehistoric

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

. The ''thyng'' or '' thing'' was historically the governing assembly in

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

and was introduced into some

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

societies as well. It was made up of the free people of the community and presided over by law-speakers.

Notes

Citations

Sources

Online

*Gaunt, Andy (Jun. 30, 2011)
A Topographic Earthwork Survey of Thynghowe, Hanger Hill, Nottinghamshire
NCA-016.
Stuart Reddish & Lynda Mallett: ''According to Ancient Custom: Research on the possible Origins and Purpose of Thynghowe Sherwood Forest''

Books

* * * * *

External links

The News, History, and Archaeology of The Real Sherwood Forest
(archived)
Aerial scanned map outline
at '' Notts TV'' {{coord, 53, 12, 31.71, N, 1, 6, 6.51, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title 2005 archaeological discoveries Buildings and structures in Nottinghamshire Anglo-Norse England Archaeological sites in Nottinghamshire Thing (assembly) Sherwood Forest