Byzantine Treasures at Sutton Hoo: Chronology

What? An icon of Bede? A Byzantine representation of an Anglo-Saxon saint? Verily, 'tis doubly topical!

Hopefully this may help orient you to the the information within the main blog post.

Chronology

410- Rome abandons Britain

450- The traditional, but by no means the only or earliest, adventus Saxonum: the coming of the       Anglo-Saxons to Britain, as reckoned by the monk Bede in the early-8th century.

476- The so-called fall of the Western Roman Empire, as Odoacer deposes the Western Emperor.

The 6th century proves a Dark Age indeed: our sources for Britain are few. We must infer that a period of Anglo-Saxon settlement and migration, probably along river systems, occurred throughout the century. At some point, a period of kingdom formation began. By the end of the century at least, Kent was formed, since it was here that the Roman mission landed and recorded information about. It probably had geographic origin in a Roman administrative unit.

535-The start of the Gothic War in Italy, waged by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I

552: The general Narses recaptures Rome for the Byzantines. Rome will remain generally Byzantine in its orientation.

550s: The later books of The Wars and The Secret History are written by Procopius

560: Alboin leads the Lombards, a Germanic tribe, into Italy. Rome and Ravenna remain under Byzantine control. Rome thus answers to Constantinople, but warily looks for other allies, should the Eastern Roman Empire fail to protect it.

The period from the Gothic Wars, c. 540, until the iconoclasm movement in Constantinople, c. 730, which caused a break between the Roman Pope/patriarch and the Eastern Patriarchs, is thus referred to as the Byzantine Papacy. All Roman popes, though elected by cardinals, submit themselves to the confirmation of the Emperor in Constantinople. It is of the utmost importance not to think too diametrically of Rome and Constantinople within this period (c. 540 - c. 730)

597- Pope Gregory I of Rome sends the Benedictine monk Augustine on a mission of conversion to the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Kent. The King of Kent, Æthelbert soon after is baptised a Christian.

616- According to Bede, Rædwald of the East Angles assumes an imperium over the Anglo-Saxons. Bede says he is ostensibly baptised, while maintaining many of his heathen beliefs.The Sutton Hoo site lies well within the boundaries of his homeland.

620s- This is the earliest possible date of the Sutton Hoo mound 1 burial, as indicated by the dating of fairly worn (thus the date confusion) Merovingian coins therein. Rædwald's death is recorded as occurring in 624 by Bede. Many researchers identify mound 1 as Rædwald's tomb accordingly.

(Note the 100 year difference!)

c. 735: Bede writes The Ecclesiastic History of the English People