Some of the treasures from Sutton Hoo shows significant connections with those from the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks – for example, the sophistication of the gold and garnet jewellery found aboard the great ship-burial is anticipated by the rich finds from the barrow of the early Merovingian king Childeric I (died c. 481), discovered in Tournai in 1653. His descendant, Chlothar II (ruled 613-629), appears to have been the king who gathered the unique assemblage of 37 gold coins from the Sutton Hoo purse.

Also contemporary is the work of the famously skilled artist St Éloi (also known as Eligius), the royal goldsmith of Chlothar II (died 629), treasurer of Dagobert I (died 639), and Clovis II (died 656), and counsellor to the formidable queen-regent, St Baldhild (died 30th January 680).* What can be seen of Éloi’s work in gold and garnet is directly comparable to some of the masterworks from Sutton Hoo and his history may provide insights into the kind of high-culture artists who created it.

This study-day aims to examine the artistic and historical connections between the Wuffings and the Merovingians and to reappraise Anglo-Frankish history during the early seventh centuries.

* St Baldhild may have been a former Anglo-Saxon slave-girl who later became the queen of Clovis II, king-mother, regent, and saint, whose extraordinary career and possible East Anglian connections were highlighted by the discovery of part of her gold seal-ring near Norwich in April 1998. 

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