Suffolk in the Middle Ages

Norman Scarfe begins his exploration of aspects of medieval Suffolk by looking at place names; a close study of medieval records leads him to believe that place names indicate a greater degree of British survival and British-Saxonoverlap than traditional historians have allowed. He sees possible clues to Sutton Hoo in the place names of the district, and, turning to the great ship burial itself, he looks closely at the conversion of East Anglia to Christianity and suggests new reasons for the selection of some of the grave goods. [East Anglian] Norman Scarfe's exploration of aspects of medieval Suffolk covers place names in particular detail; he also examines the Sutton Hoo ship burial, the coming of Christianity and Edmund and the abbey at Bury St Edmunds, concluding with an evocative study of five Suffolk places -Southwold, Dunwich, Yoxford, and Wingfield and Fressingfield, bringing into sharp focus their medieval origins.