Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum with the Internationales Sachsensymposion
Abstract
By definition, liminal spaces exist outside the sphere of normal everyday activity — they form ‘thresholds’ of or between different structures and behaviours; but there are many instances in Anglo-Saxon England where liminal locations can be recognised as important loci of social, political and legal interaction, as gateways that simultaneously divide and unite. This function is very clearly displayed in the positioning of sites of public assembly on major regional or national boundaries. This paper uses historical, archaeological and toponymic evidence to examine this ‘liminal centrality’ and the importance of thresholds in defining political groups and the geography of Anglo-Saxon England
