The Franks Casket

The whalebone box known as the Franks Casket has intrigued and puzzled viewers since its rediscovery in the nineteenth century. Made in northern England in the eighth century AD, the sides and lids of the rectangular casket carry some of the richest and most intricate carvings known from Anglo-Saxon times. The lively scenes depicted are drawn from a variety of sources, including Germanic and Roman legends and Jewish and Christian stories. They are accompanied by texts in both Old English and Latin, written in both the runic and Roman alphabets. At some point in its mysterious history the casket was dismantled. One of the end panels is in the Bargello in Florence; the rest of the box is in the British Museum, with the missing piece represented by a cast. This book explores the meaning, function and history of this extraordinary icon of Anglo-Saxon culture, describing and explaining the significance of the stories depicted in its magnificent carvings.