David Miles pays fulsome tribute to the late Jean Manco and reviews her last book probing the roots of the Anglo-Saxons, which is also the subject of a landmark exhibition on show at the British Library.
I am sorry that I never met Jean Manco. Like the goddess Minerva, she seemed to spring full formed from nowhere, with the publication of her book Ancestral Journeys in 2015. This was rapidly followed by Blood of the Celts, and now her latest and regrettably last work The Origins of the Anglo Saxons. Sadly, she died in March this year at the age of 72.
Her books read like the work of a dynamic and talented young researcher, energised by the discoveries of genetics and their potential for casting light on history. This was an author preternaturally well-read, scientifically literate and capable of transforming complex data into a compelling narrative. So I was surprised to discover that Jean was in her late 60s, with no formal training in genetics. Of course, she had a backstory: born in Boston (Lincolnshire) in 1948, she moved to London, married and had children while quite young. She later divorced and took a degree in psychology at Sussex University. In her forties she trained herself to become a seriously good buildings historian – working mainly in Bath and the West Country. She was an avid communicator, writing for a local newspaper and broadcasting on local radio. She also discovered the potential of the internet.
So far so good. But then in about 2000, she discovered genetics and moved up a gear. Jean semi-retired from buildings work to concentrate on her new obsession. It required awesome intelligence and focus to deal with the avalanche of genetics papers, sometimes ill-digested, often contradictory, even self-aggrandising. Yet she made sense out of it.
Denne historien er fra November/December 2018 Volume 29 Number 6-utgaven av Minerva.
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Denne historien er fra November/December 2018 Volume 29 Number 6-utgaven av Minerva.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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ROMAN DISCOVERIES AT ANCIENT AUGUSTODUNUM
More than 230 graves have been uncovered at a necropolis in the French city of Autun, revealing a diverse mix in burial practices over a period of nearly 200 years, as well as luxury grave goods from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD that highlight the wealth of some of its ancient inhabitants.
SHAPING THE WORLD: SCULPTURE FROM PREHISTORY TO NOW
The sculptor Antony Gormley and the art historian and critic Martin Gayford have been talking about sculpture with each other for 20 years.
Amelia Edwards (1831-1892)
“I am essentially a worker, and a hard worker, and this I have been since my early girlhood.”
THE GREAT BEYOND
The ancient Greeks thought much about the dead – how their remains should be disposed of, how their spirits might be summoned, how malignant they could be if unavenged. Classicist David Stuttard brings us face to face with the Greek dead.
INTO THE VALLEY OF THE QUEENS
The Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II, Nefertari, was buried in one of the most spectacular tombs of Egypt’s Valley of the Queens. Well-educated and well-travelled, Nefertari played a crucial part in the political life of the pharaoh, and her importance was reflected through her magnificently decorated tomb. Lucia Marchini speaks to Jennifer Casler Price to find out more.
DEIR EL-BAHRI, 1894
Tensions were already high among the archaeologists, surveyors, and artists of the Archaeological Survey of Egypt in 1891 when an eventful dispute arose on Christmas Eve.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
When the Etruscans expanded to the south and the vast plains of Campania, they found a land of cultural connections and confrontations, as luxurious grave goods found across the region reveal. An exhibition at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples sheds light on these ancient Italians at the frontier. Paolo Giulierini, director of the museum, is our guide.
CUZCO 'CENTRE AND HEAD OF ALL THE LAND'
Cuzco was the heart of the vast Inca empire, but all changed in the 16th century when the capital was conquered by Spanish invaders. Michael J Schreffler investigates the Inca city, and how it went from the centre of one empire to the periphery of another.
A STUDY IN PURPLE
A tiny speck of purple paint from the 2nd century AD may yield clues to how ancient artists created the extraordinary portrait panels that accompanied mummified bodies into the afterlife.
Rome In The 8th Century: A History In Art
John Osborne CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, £75 HARDBACK - ISBN 978-1108834582
