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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER '[A] clever, lively ... splendid new book' DAN JONES, SUNDAY TIMES 'A big gold bar of delight' SPECTATOR Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. In this sweeping and original history, renowned historian Marc Morris separates the truth from the legend and tells the extraordinary story of how the foundations of England were laid. 'Marc Morris is a genius of medieval narrative' IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England 'Brilliant ... Beautifully written, incredibly accessible and deeply researched' JAMES O'BRIEN 'A much-needed book ... A gripping story, beautifully told' BERNARD CORNWELL, author of The Last Kingdom 'Highly informative and hugely enjoyable' IAN HISLOP 'A vivid, sharply drawn story of seven centuries of profound political change' THOMAS PENN, author of The Winter King
The culture of early Anglo-Saxon England explored from an inter-disciplinary perspective. A stimulating contribution to the field of Anglo-Saxon studies. MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY A mind-stretching read. NOTES AND QUERIES The papers contained in this volume, by leading researchers in the field, cover a wide range of social, economic and ideological aspects of the culture of early Anglo-Saxon England, from an inter-disciplinary perspective. The status of `Anglo-Saxondom' and `Englishness' as cultural and ethnic categories are a recurrent focus of debate, while other topics include the reconstruction of settlement patterns; social and political structures; farming in medieval England; and the spiri...
In this major survey, three distinguished historians produce an exciting introduction to the field. Although the "Lost Centuries" between AD400 and 600 suffer from a scarcity of written sources, and only two writers, King Alfred and the Venerable Bede, dominate our understanding of later times, the authors have created a rich and thought-provoking account of the stormy era when Britain became Christian and sustained several waves of Viking invaders. A single nation, they suggest, slowly emerged from the rivalries and fluctuating fortunes of separate kingdoms like Mercia, Wessex and East Anglia. Major figures such as Offa, Alfred, Edgar and Cnut are discussed in detail, while the stunning illustrations convey the immense achievements of Anglo-Saxon centuries were 'simply a barbarous prelude to better things'.
This text provides an introduction to Anglo-Saxon history from the 5th century to the eve of the Norman Conquest.
First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Blair's Very Short Introduction to the Anglo-Saxon Age covers the emergence of the earliest English settlements to the Norman victory in 1066. This book is a brief introduction to the political, social, religious, and cultural history of Anglo-Saxon England. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
By the 4th century AD Britain was witnessing the break down of Roman identity and by the mid-6th century a number of kingdoms had been created which paved the way for the Germanic take-over. Frustrated with other studies of the origins of the Anglo-Saxons which, Donald Henson argues, are generally over-reliant on archaeological sources and social theories of change taken from prehistory, share a lack of objectivity and have tended to polarise the debate regarding this period, he presents his interpretation of the origins and formation of Anglo-Saxon identity and ideas of nationhood. Drawing on sources and ideas from archaeology, social anthropology, sociology, history, language and literatur...