HAVING looked at the Anglo-Saxon goldsmith through contemporary references, through traces of his activity on archaeological sites, and above all through an examination of his products, we should ask: is this figure any less shadowy than he was before this study was begun? With respect to his achievements, we may say with some confidence that he is, but it is still necessary to pull all the evidence together in respect of his social position. In the period covered by this book, Anglo-Saxon England itself changed and developed, from a collection of kin-based units of diverse origin into a single political entity with a small but growing urban market economy. It might be argued that technological studies per se can reveal nothing of the social standing or economic function of the goldsmith. This has not, however, been the position of many archaeologists or social and economic historians, who have used the material remains of metalworking in their discussions of issues such as the development of craft specialisation, the relationship of this to the growth of towns, whether (and when) people with craft skills worked at their craft full-time or part-time, were fixed at one site or itinerant, free or unfree, ecclesiastics or laymen.

The documentary sources laid out in the last chapter provide a partial answer for goldsmiths working for the ecclesiastical and secular elites, but only for southern England and only for the tenth and eleventh century. This leaves the question as to the status of goldsmiths (and, indeed, all smiths) in the centuries before the tenth, and particularly the status of those in towns. In the case of the early centuries, this begs the further question of what is meant by a town. Arguments for the development of towns, and indeed about what constitutes a town, and the physical evidence for specific working practices all impinge on, and are sometimes held to define, the social role and status of craftsmen. Some of the discussion around these issues has concentrated on the period from the fifth to the seventh or early eighth centuries. This is because the bulk of the surviving products of the fine metalworker comes from grave finds of this period. Grave finds can be compared with finds from other cemeteries of comparable or other dates to provide evidence for period or regional groupings, and with the contents of other graves in the same cemetery to give indications of gender and social distinctions.