The Anglo-Saxons: The Making of England: 410-1066
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- Create Date：2021-06-12 07:50:55
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Marc Morris
- ISBN：1643133128
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Summary
Sixteen hundred years ago， Britain parted company with Europe。 As the Roman legions withdrew， the economy that had supported them collapsed。 A world that had been peaceful， prosperous， and predictable became dangerously insecure。 Rich and poor huddled together for protection in ancient hill-forts， unoccupied since the Iron Age。 Learning and literacy were lost; it is no exaggeration to call this a Dark Age。
Into this ruined world came a new people—foreigners from beyond the Empire’s northern frontier， collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons。 Some were warriors， drawn into the internecine struggles between Britain’s new tribal rulers。 Most were economic migrants， in search of land to farm and a happier future。 Arriving on the shores of southern and eastern Britain， in the centuries that followed they spread northwards and westwards， eventually occupying every lowland part of the island， and in the process they gradually built a new civilization。
The Anglo-Saxons is a quest for the England’s origins。 It takes us from an alien world of slaves， temples， villas， druids and amphorae， to a familiar landscape of shires and boroughs; from the worship of vanished gods like Thor and Woden to the veneration of saints who are still well-known; from a population who spoke Latin and Celtic to one whose language was recognizably the ancestor of the English that is spoken today。
Marc Morris’s invigorating narrative asks what we can really know of life in this lost age， and tackles controversial questions: Did the Anglo-Saxons drive the Romano-British into the fringes of the island， as traditional argued， or peacefully absorb them， as revisionist historians claim？ It also explores the later legends that arose to fill the void， such as what truth is there， if any， in the tales of a British resistance led by a hero called Arthur？
Into this ruined world came a new people—foreigners from beyond the Empire’s northern frontier， collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons。 Some were warriors， drawn into the internecine struggles between Britain’s new tribal rulers。 Most were economic migrants， in search of land to farm and a happier future。 Arriving on the shores of southern and eastern Britain， in the centuries that followed they spread northwards and westwards， eventually occupying every lowland part of the island， and in the process they gradually built a new civilization。
The Anglo-Saxons is a quest for the England’s origins。 It takes us from an alien world of slaves， temples， villas， druids and amphorae， to a familiar landscape of shires and boroughs; from the worship of vanished gods like Thor and Woden to the veneration of saints who are still well-known; from a population who spoke Latin and Celtic to one whose language was recognizably the ancestor of the English that is spoken today。
Marc Morris’s invigorating narrative asks what we can really know of life in this lost age， and tackles controversial questions: Did the Anglo-Saxons drive the Romano-British into the fringes of the island， as traditional argued， or peacefully absorb them， as revisionist historians claim？ It also explores the later legends that arose to fill the void， such as what truth is there， if any， in the tales of a British resistance led by a hero called Arthur？
Reviews
Debbie
，
For his latest book， Marc Morris has gone grander and earlier than anything he's done before。 With 'The Anglo-Saxons'， he takes on the massive task of covering the history of England from just before the fall of the Roman Empire in Britain all the way through to the coming of the Normans， 700 years later。 Despite the daunting nature of it - getting to grips not just with the huge timescale but also the varying （and often sparse） evidence - he does it with aplomb。 As always， his narrative style i For his latest book， Marc Morris has gone grander and earlier than anything he's done before。 With 'The Anglo-Saxons'， he takes on the massive task of covering the history of England from just before the fall of the Roman Empire in Britain all the way through to the coming of the Normans， 700 years later。 Despite the daunting nature of it - getting to grips not just with the huge timescale but also the varying （and often sparse） evidence - he does it with aplomb。 As always， his narrative style is engaging yet informative， and keeps the story to a decent pace。 Although he quite rightly says in his introduction that he can't cover everything， and especially the historiography， he not only manages to include a vast array of people and events， but he also takes a clear and strongly argued stand on most of the important debates。 As such， he makes an effective and accessible contribution to what has become a very fashionable era。 。。。more
K。J。 Charles
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A really interesting in-depth look at the kingdoms of the Angles， Saxons et al that merged into what eventually became England。 Morris is a fantastic and highly readable writer， with a gift for vivid description and a knack for conveying the physicality of place--including the tumbledown dystopia of post Roman Britain。 It's as easy to follow as anything could be while including quite so many characters called AEthelsomething。 Very good on the Danish Conquest， which is almost obliterated by the s A really interesting in-depth look at the kingdoms of the Angles， Saxons et al that merged into what eventually became England。 Morris is a fantastic and highly readable writer， with a gift for vivid description and a knack for conveying the physicality of place--including the tumbledown dystopia of post Roman Britain。 It's as easy to follow as anything could be while including quite so many characters called AEthelsomething。 Very good on the Danish Conquest， which is almost obliterated by the subsequent Norman one， and also on the brutal， often fanatical， and stupid nature of much of Anglo-Saxon rule including the widespread slavery。 Not much to glorify here。 。。。more
GRANT
，
This is a well-written and engaging book for general audiences based on solid historical research and a few interpretations of the author which he graciously indicates。 He walks a line between the old conquest and displacement theory of Anglo-Saxon origins and the newer， dominant class/culture interpretation without so much extermination of the Britons in the 5th and 6th Centuries A。D。 The author supports my view that the Welsh and the English （Anglo-Saxons） ended up as cultural foes based on co This is a well-written and engaging book for general audiences based on solid historical research and a few interpretations of the author which he graciously indicates。 He walks a line between the old conquest and displacement theory of Anglo-Saxon origins and the newer， dominant class/culture interpretation without so much extermination of the Britons in the 5th and 6th Centuries A。D。 The author supports my view that the Welsh and the English （Anglo-Saxons） ended up as cultural foes based on concepts of race defining the "other" as less than the preferred ethnic group。 I found the stories linked to major figures to be an excellent way to convey the history。 It is king and saint-centric without much of what was going on with the common people。 Such is the historical record we have。 There are some references to archaeological discoveries but Morris mostly deals with interpretation of the texts。 His dissection of Bede is quite good。 The Danes， Norwegians， Normans， English， and Churchmen of 1066 make a bit more sense to me now。 。。。more
BDT
，
A fabulous contribution to a naggingly difficult period in history to read， study， or separate fact from fantasy。 Marc Morris accomplishes this goal through thorough research that is well-paced， detailed （without becoming excessive）， and comprehensive of the broader Anglo-Saxon history。The Anglo-Saxons has accomplished a rare feat: a complete scholarly text， while also clean and approachable for a non-scholarly audience。 The last bit is critical to its success， and rare。 Public awareness and app A fabulous contribution to a naggingly difficult period in history to read， study， or separate fact from fantasy。 Marc Morris accomplishes this goal through thorough research that is well-paced， detailed （without becoming excessive）， and comprehensive of the broader Anglo-Saxon history。The Anglo-Saxons has accomplished a rare feat: a complete scholarly text， while also clean and approachable for a non-scholarly audience。 The last bit is critical to its success， and rare。 Public awareness and appreciation for Anglo-Saxon history is sadly limited to a small cast of characters and events （e。g。， Alfred the Great， the Battle of Hastings， etc。）， and this work provides a much wider universe and a far more thorough narrative。 How the author was able to achieve this given the sparsity of the contemporary record I cannot know – makes it all the more impressive。Enjoyable。 Well done。 。。。more
Molly
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