Medieval Lincoln

The Lindum Colonia fell into decline after the departure of Roman Legions from Britain, but remained a viable community with a church dedicated to St. Paul. In fact, it became its own kingdom, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Lindsey. Its presence on the east coast made it a landing spot for generations of Angles.

It had about a dozen and a half kings until it was absorbed into the Kingdom of Mercia in the 8th century. We have only a series of names for them, and none can be verified. There is a curious note about one of them, however. Jacob Grimm, the linguist and philologist older brother of Wilhelm of Brothers Grimm fame, claimed that the 7th century saint Benedict Biscop was the son of one of those kings, named Beda Bubbing.

By the 10th century, Lincoln was thriving to the point where it had its own mint. Archaeological evidence shows new timber-framed houses being erected in parts of the town deserted since Roman times. Lincoln expanded greatly with the arrival of the Danes. Two years after the arrival of William the Conqueror Lincoln Castle was being built.

By the middle of the 12th century Lincoln was one of the most prosperous towns in England. A weavers guild in 1130 was producing woolen cloth to export to Flanders; especially valuable were cloths died scarlet and green. (Note that Robin Hood is sometimes referred to as wearing Lincoln green.)

One of the reasons Lincoln became prosperous was no doubt being home to one of the five main Jewish communities in England at the time. The Jewish community was mentioned as early as 1154. Unfortunately, the antisemitism that led to the Massacre at York in 1190 spread to Lincoln. The Jewish community was protected by taking refuge with royal officials, but their houses were plundered.

In 1255, an even graver anti-Jewish incident took place, involving blood libel. I'll remind you of that story tomorrow.

Lincoln Colony

After 1066 there was more fighting to do. Once William the Conqueror took over England, he had to go about the island defeating various resistance groups. Part of his strategy was to build castles and fortresses from which his people could control rebellions and manage the counties for him.

Lincoln Castle was built on top of a previous Roman fortress. The name "Lincoln" comes from the Roman  Lindum Colonia, founded during the reign of Nero or later, and garrisoned originally by the Ninth Legion. The Lindum part of the colony's name was probably from an earlier Briton name, "lindon" meaning pool or lake.

The castle is unique in England (but for one other) in that it has two mottes as part of its defenses. (The illustration shows the remains of a Roman wall in Lincoln.) Lincoln had a very sophisticated water supply, fed by a spring in the northeast and run through ceramic pipes that ranged from 7.5" in diameter to 4". The spring itself is in a lower elevation, so there must have been some structure (long since vanished) that raised the water up about 70 feet to create enough pressure to let it flow into and throughout the town. There was also a Roman bath house.

Lincoln Colony also became known for its pottery production. It produced something called Dales ware in the 3rd and 4th centuries that has been found widely distributed across northern Britain. Dales ware is a brown-gray color with a distinctive wide rim, distinguished also by the addition of shell fragments into the clay. Dales-type jars were used as funerary urns in Roman York.

More on medieval Lincoln tomorrow.