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The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England

The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England

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  • Create Date：2022-06-15 09:51:59
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Marc Morris
  • ISBN：152915698X
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Summary

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

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Reviews

Adeptus Fringilla ，

Took me a while to finish reading this but it was really interesting。 It's well written and quite suitable for the non-scholar （like me）。 Took me a while to finish reading this but it was really interesting。 It's well written and quite suitable for the non-scholar （like me）。 。。。more

Louise ，

Hats off to Marc Morris for compressing 600+ years of British history into 400 pages。 He begin with the Romans leaving the island in 400 to the advent of William the Conqueror in 1066。The first two chapters demonstrate the difficulty of knowing what happened。 There are no eye witness reports; like for the Bible， accounts are written by those living long after the events。 The work of the few scribes can be contradicted by coins， grave goods and surviving art。 Artifacts are still being found and M Hats off to Marc Morris for compressing 600+ years of British history into 400 pages。 He begin with the Romans leaving the island in 400 to the advent of William the Conqueror in 1066。The first two chapters demonstrate the difficulty of knowing what happened。 There are no eye witness reports; like for the Bible， accounts are written by those living long after the events。 The work of the few scribes can be contradicted by coins， grave goods and surviving art。 Artifacts are still being found and Morris shows how they confirm， or as they often do， disconfirm previous understandings。 As you move through the history （and chapters） there are more written sources。 Morris shows the strengths and weaknesses of these。These are violent years。 The Saxons subdued the Britons who were still recovering from Roman subjugation。 The Angles arrived also subduing the Britons， sometimes fighting the Saxons and finally joining with Saxons to fight over territory from which to extract goods from those who attempted to hunt and farm amid all the violence。 The Vikings and later the Danes join in on the plundering， sometimes the Picts and the Irish。 There is the parallel story showing how the Catholic faith grew as its structure entwined with the political structures of the warring monarchs。 There are plagues， crop failures and no end of sudden death。Despite all this， trade is growing。 London was a great destination with land and water access。 While there are no real winners in all the wars， you see territory consolidated into what will eventually be the contours of what we now know as Great Britain。 With larger tracts of land， the population formed into towns and workers did not all farm， they developed trades。As a reader who prefers biographies， I appreciated the few glimpses that a work of this size could devote to individuals。 One， new to me， person was St。 WIlfrid， Bishop of York who railed against the pagan rites that were being incorporated in the Church。 He did this without much "buy in" which made his life difficult and interesting。 The “greatness” of Alfred the Great was analyzed。 He seems to have introduced defensive warfare in the late 600’s which created （at last） a victory for the over-plundered residents of this island。 The book ends with the human stories of those who presage the coming of William the Conqueror （and William too）。If you would like a concise history of this time and place， this is the book for you。 。。。more

Karl ，

Excellent account of an extremely complicated history。 Marc Morris does a great job teasing out the archeological and historical evidence of the various peoples collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons， from their arrival in the chaotic aftermath of Roman Britannia through the slow development of a single English nation and state。 Morris devotes a lot of time to the seeming endless battles between the Anglo-Saxons with the Celtic Britons， the Scandinavians， and each other， right up to the Norman C Excellent account of an extremely complicated history。 Marc Morris does a great job teasing out the archeological and historical evidence of the various peoples collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons， from their arrival in the chaotic aftermath of Roman Britannia through the slow development of a single English nation and state。 Morris devotes a lot of time to the seeming endless battles between the Anglo-Saxons with the Celtic Britons， the Scandinavians， and each other， right up to the Norman Conquest of 1066。 He also spends a lot time on the religious and social evolution of England， which like other European states， did not appear fully-formed， but took shape gradually over centuries。 I have to admit， it was a challenge at times telling the different Ǣthelstans， Ǣthelreds， Eriks， or Edwards apart， but overall the narrative is solid and the balancing of dynastic， military， and ecclesiastic history is almost perfect。 。。。more

oliver bjorn ，

I have been so drawn to the Anglo-Saxon history of England for over a year now。 This might be due to my obsession with 'The Last Kingdom' and Assassins Creed Valhalla but as works of basically fiction， I wanted some context。 And context I got。 It seemed to be a glossed over topic in my teaching。 I'm also half Scandinavian so I feel like I am connected to both blood-thirsty heathen and god fearing Saxon。 I wouldn't at all say its the most in depth-historical read you're going to find， its slightl I have been so drawn to the Anglo-Saxon history of England for over a year now。 This might be due to my obsession with 'The Last Kingdom' and Assassins Creed Valhalla but as works of basically fiction， I wanted some context。 And context I got。 It seemed to be a glossed over topic in my teaching。 I'm also half Scandinavian so I feel like I am connected to both blood-thirsty heathen and god fearing Saxon。 I wouldn't at all say its the most in depth-historical read you're going to find， its slightly on the academic but if you like to hear tales and exploits of people that all have the same name this is a good place to start。 I think my particular favourite was the unfortunate yet amusing story of Wilfrid， which I won't spoil here。 I did feel like Morris tried to cover so much ground over so little pages that it was hard to keep up on occasion but it didn't lack in interest and intrigue。 Another thing I really liked about this book is that it has turned in to a travel idea journal for me， I certainly want to Knighton and Wrekin。All in all， a good taster on the subject of the Anglo-Saxons 。。。more

John Endacott ，

I found this book very disappointing。 The first two chapters are awful and I put the book down for months before finishing it。 It gets more interesting and indeed there is a better book that could be written around the later Anglo-Saxon kings and the impact of the Norman Conquest。The history in the book is based on literary sources， coinage and hoardes and archaeological evidence of certain towns and cities。 The author is dismissive of DNA evidence and does not seek to use it at all。 There is no I found this book very disappointing。 The first two chapters are awful and I put the book down for months before finishing it。 It gets more interesting and indeed there is a better book that could be written around the later Anglo-Saxon kings and the impact of the Norman Conquest。The history in the book is based on literary sources， coinage and hoardes and archaeological evidence of certain towns and cities。 The author is dismissive of DNA evidence and does not seek to use it at all。 There is no climatic evidence or widespread geological evidence （other than Offa’s Dyke）。 There are no charts or tables throughout the book。The author is clearly very knowledgeable and that leads to the disappointment。 The book fails to live up to its title。 It is a traditional history of the kings and queens of England and the Church。 No attempt is made to better try and understand the wider people， what they did， how they lived。 Scientific evidence is ignored （ not just climatic but disease history）。 Physical geographical knowledge is also not analysed。 Why were the boundaries between the kingdoms where they were？ Data that is in the author’s mind is not organised and documented to help the reader。 Hopefully， this book might ultimately inspire another author to try and provide a fuller history of the Anglo-Saxons。 。。。more

George Foord ，

This book was very detailed I enjoyed the rich history brought by the book。 Before reading this I would read around the period as the author does but explain people or events。

Daniel Hoffman ，

Great overview of Anglo-Saxon Britain。 The Anglo-Saxons were the Germanic people who began moving into Britain as the Roman occupation was retreating back to the continent during the 4th-5th centuries。 The island would be a patchwork of kingdoms over the next six-hundred years， often feuding， often shifting allegiances or alliances， sometimes coming under joint rule， and dealing from the late 700s with wave after wave of Viking harassment or settling。 The story of Anglo-Saxon England includes th Great overview of Anglo-Saxon Britain。 The Anglo-Saxons were the Germanic people who began moving into Britain as the Roman occupation was retreating back to the continent during the 4th-5th centuries。 The island would be a patchwork of kingdoms over the next six-hundred years， often feuding， often shifting allegiances or alliances， sometimes coming under joint rule， and dealing from the late 700s with wave after wave of Viking harassment or settling。 The story of Anglo-Saxon England includes the slow Christianization of Britain （partially re-Christianization） and the establishment of true medieval culture， the kind that Rohan in Lord of the Rings is directly modeled after。Honestly I found the first half （through the rule of Alfred the Great） more enjoyable than the second。 It became a little hard to follow who was who and what they were up to after that point—the narrative gets a little unwieldy。 But that probably had more to do with my drifting attention and I can't blame the author。 I guess I just found the earlier period more interesting。 In his conclusion， Morris says this:"[A] great deal of the Anglo-Saxon inheritance remains。 The head of the English Church is still based at Canterbury because it was the principal city of King Æthelberht when he welcomed St。 Augustine [not the more famous and earlier North African Augustine] over 1，400 years ago。 Westminster is the political heart of the kingdom because Edward the Confessor added a royal palace when he rebuilt its ancient abbey。 The shires of England， although tinkered with in the late twentieth century， are essentially the same as they were at the time of their creation more than 1，000 years ago。 Most English villages can boast that they are first mentioned in Domesday Book [1086 A。D。]， but their names often indicate a history that began centuries earlier。 Woodnesborough in Kent， near to the fifth-century burial ground at Finglesham， preserves the memory of the pagan god Woden， and hence a story that stretches all the way back to the pre-Christian past。 The fact that so much of this is unchanged is remarkable。" 。。。more

Angelique Simonsen ，

So much detail， so many characters coming to life。 Amazing book

Karen ，

This book is what it says， a history of Anglo Saxon England。 Fascinating and made me want to find out more。

Jarvo ，

Got this as a birthday present and was really looking forward to it。 As Morris points out in his introduction the Anglo-Saxon period lasts a long time but often our grasp of it is really quite wobbly。 There are some highlights - Sutton Hoo， maybe， or Offa and his dyke， or Bede and Landisfarne - but there are big gaps between them。 This seemed an opportunity to fill them and it begins well， but somewhere my interest started to wane。 This is narrative political history， and there is relatively lit Got this as a birthday present and was really looking forward to it。 As Morris points out in his introduction the Anglo-Saxon period lasts a long time but often our grasp of it is really quite wobbly。 There are some highlights - Sutton Hoo， maybe， or Offa and his dyke， or Bede and Landisfarne - but there are big gaps between them。 This seemed an opportunity to fill them and it begins well， but somewhere my interest started to wane。 This is narrative political history， and there is relatively little that is social， cultural， or economic。 It becomes a sequence of powerful people doing more or less awful things to each other （as I was reading I found myself adding the phrase 'And then。。。' at the start of every other paragraph）。 Somewhere in the middle of a chapter on Athelred the Unready I found that I'd completely lost track of who these people were and why they were killing and blinding each other。 Just occasionally there is a little bit on the development of trade or of urban settlements， and this was much more engaging。 Its possible that the source doesn't really allow any other approach but it left me a little bit cold。 。。。more

Klaas Dijkstra ，

Bewildering series of kings， wars， kingdoms and saints。 Actually very boring

Mirko Bruner ，

Very well written and utterly indispensable if one wants to understand the history and the places of Britain。 Well done mister Marc Morris！

Amy ，

Not my favorite。 Didn't suck me into the narrative。 Not my favorite。 Didn't suck me into the narrative。 。。。more

Adil Mahmood ，

Marc Morris， one of my favourite British historians， always delivers with his books。 Great insight and analysis。 Would recommend to anyone and any Lost Kingdom fans 👀

Hans ，

The story of the angles and the saxons from 400 AD to 1066 AD。Told as the story of 5 kings and 3 saints。 Pleasant voice narrator Roy McMillan。

Kath Walsh ，

A king who'd evacuated his bowels at his baptism， another who went missing from his coronation banquet only to be discovered in bed with a noblewoman and her daughter and yet another subjected to 'blood eagle'， a Viking speciality in which 'lungs were removed from his broken ribcage and draped around his neck'。 You'd be forgiven for thinking this unholy trinity were leaked scenes from GRR Martin's long-awaited 'Winds of Winter'。 Sadly no， but Marc Morris's masterly 'The Anglo-Saxons' is as compe A king who'd evacuated his bowels at his baptism， another who went missing from his coronation banquet only to be discovered in bed with a noblewoman and her daughter and yet another subjected to 'blood eagle'， a Viking speciality in which 'lungs were removed from his broken ribcage and draped around his neck'。 You'd be forgiven for thinking this unholy trinity were leaked scenes from GRR Martin's long-awaited 'Winds of Winter'。 Sadly no， but Marc Morris's masterly 'The Anglo-Saxons' is as compelling， as exciting and as bloody as Martin's fictional series。Regrettably， two of the above incidents are not necessarily true; as Morris points out， compilers of 'histories' were writing a good many years later and looking back often with extreme political， pious and moral prejudice。 That said， they often capture a flavour of the character and reputation of these two Anglo-Saxon kings: Aethelred the Unready was， as the Old English word raedas （counsel） suggests， ill-advised， ever ready to buy off the Viking raiders at his angry subjects' expense and， shockingly never leading his men into battle。 The reign of Eadwig （of the threesome fame） was both short and unstable。。。。。。。。。he married the daughter， by the way。 In his admirably short， succinct introduction Morris lays out how he intends charting the history of the six hundred year-long Anglo-Saxon period。 Morris aims， he writes， to cover the period's major social and political developments by exploring a dominant theme of a particular era and one particular historical character。 It's a device that works very well providing a narrative shape and a progressive time line; readers always exactly know where they are。If sources from this period are often meagre or tilted by later chroniclers' beliefs or contentious or the stuff of legend， Morris addresses these difficulties by 'using evidence （e。g。 ongoing and sound archaelogical revelations） that is plausible and arguments that are the most persuasive'。 Such sifting of data and balancing of views gives the book a well considered， up with the play feel。'The Anglo-Saxons' is a scholarly book （100 of the book's 500 pages are references， index and explanation of abbreviations） but， blessedly， neither dry nor academic in style。 There's a sense of a story being told; long and complicated it might be but Morris maintains the narrative momentum in a clear and lively prose。 Sentences skip along， descriptions of a king as 'no slouch'， the above-related threesome as a 'sex scandal' and Aethelred's baptism faux pas revealing himself to be 'a wrong 'un' are an up-to-the-minute， unfusty use of language。A wry humour hovers， evident in the first page when the author describes how an Anglo-Saxon treasure hoard was unearthed by a detectorist in search of a friend's lost hammer。 Archaeologists are alerted。 Morris concludes the story with: 'They also found Mr Whatling's hammer。' In a later chapter the author makes an apology: describing King Aethelwulf and Osburh's brood he says: 'Unfortunately for modern readers， they had given all but one of them （their sons） names beginning with Aethel- （meaning noble）， making it difficult for us to distinguish between them。' If your knowledge of the Anglo-Saxons is limited to （UK） primary school stories of the arrival of Saxons Hengist and Horsa （turns out the pair is a Kent tradition and 'brothers with alliterative names are。。。。。a frequent feature of European foundation myths'）， Alfred burning the cakes （a legend inserted in the C16） and Harold receiving an arrow in the eye （he was also hacked to death by a group of Norman knights） ， then be ready to learn much much more about the true life fascinating and turbulent chronicle of English beginnings。 And true life includes the Anglo-Saxons （and later the Vikings） gradually adopting Christianity， （all those missions from Rome）， setting up churches， monasteries， converting the heathen （the Vikings）。 It was， however， a very muscular Christianity that saw X-rated spilling of blood in God's name and for divine purpose; seemingly endless doctrinal debates on when Easter should be celebrated; noble women who were often conveniently packed off to nunneries or became the power behind the thrones and one bride-to-be making her marriage conditional on retaining her Christian faith; the Anglo-Saxons， a surprisingly mobile lot trotting off to Rome （a 2 month journey） to petition the Pope。 It may also come as a surprise that the French （as we currently understand the term） didn't invade England， the Normans did and - as their name implies - these were men with Scandinavian blood running in their veins。。。。。。。。 as it did in Harold's。And who can resist a book with such a sumptuous cover， maps， colour plates， drawings， rich family tree and， hurrah， an easily read font？ The Anglo-Saxon period is very much a game of thrones territory but without the dragons: double dealings， poisonings， murder most foul， fratricide， broken oaths， rape and pillaging but the Normans inherited a country nominally united as a single kingdom， England。'The Anglo-Saxons The History of the Beginnings of England'， to give it its full title， is a highly readable， non-stuffy book to buy， read， re-read and treasure。 Unsurprisingly， 5 stars。 。。。more

David Steele ，

It’s obvious that this book was meticulously researched， with carefully cited references at the end of every other paragraph。 It’s also amazing to consider that this work manages to condense a thousand years of history into just 400 pages， without losing a sense of intimate narrative。My only criticism would be that， although it was fascinating as a narrative history， I would have found it a lot easier to make sense of this book as a learning tool if all the dates and people had been summarised o It’s obvious that this book was meticulously researched， with carefully cited references at the end of every other paragraph。 It’s also amazing to consider that this work manages to condense a thousand years of history into just 400 pages， without losing a sense of intimate narrative。My only criticism would be that， although it was fascinating as a narrative history， I would have found it a lot easier to make sense of this book as a learning tool if all the dates and people had been summarised on some sort of evolving timeline， flowchart or family tree diagram。But all that is just detail。 I only got into this book to make sense of the historical accuracy （or not！） of The Last Kingdom series， but after reading it， I’ve discovered a new appreciation for the “big picture” of history。 I’d previously made the mistake of viewing the problems of “my” period of history from close up， without giving much thought to how these events will be viewed in 500 years time。 。。。more

Carol Griffiths ，

I loved this fascinating and well written survey of Anglo-Saxon England。 There was enough detail to make it interesting but not so much to be too daunting。 Some of the characters are extremely colourful and could star in their own television programmes。 It is also salutary to notice how often the world has gone down similar paths over the years。

Elizabeth Gibbs ，

This took a while to read but I am grateful to have found such a well written and thoroughly researched text。 It starts with the demise of the Roman Empire and its exit from Britain， and explores the ensuing centuries of infighting amongst the invading Saxons， the rise of Christianity， the relentless attacks and occupation of the Vikings。 It stops at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 with the beginning of the Norman conquest。

Bruce Harpham ，

After reading the author's book on the Norman Conquest， I was excited to read his history of the Anglo-Saxons。 The author's approach of balancing narrative and biography throughout the book is one of its greatest strengths。 Given the turmoil in the world today， I found the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire part of the book particularly fascinating。 The illustrations also added an interesting detail to the text by showing buildings， artifacts， and more。There are two areas where I would ha After reading the author's book on the Norman Conquest， I was excited to read his history of the Anglo-Saxons。 The author's approach of balancing narrative and biography throughout the book is one of its greatest strengths。 Given the turmoil in the world today， I found the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire part of the book particularly fascinating。 The illustrations also added an interesting detail to the text by showing buildings， artifacts， and more。There are two areas where I would have liked further coverage。 I would have liked more coverage of the military history - there are descriptions of battles and armies here but these are mainly covered from a political point of view。 I would have also liked a bit more cultural history。 I recognize that covering these subjects for this time period is exceptionally difficult due to the limitations of historical sources available。 。。。more

Eric Folley ，

This hit the sweet spot as a good book to walk with。 Detailed， but not too detailed。 Big picture but zooms in when necessary （or fun！）。 Broad themes with examples。The trick here is that each chapter focuses on the life of a single person， and tells the story of that period by showing that person's intersections with its major events。 Some of these leading men （and they are all men） are obvious - lots of kings - but others less so， e。g。 a cleric at a critical inflection point in England's Christi This hit the sweet spot as a good book to walk with。 Detailed， but not too detailed。 Big picture but zooms in when necessary （or fun！）。 Broad themes with examples。The trick here is that each chapter focuses on the life of a single person， and tells the story of that period by showing that person's intersections with its major events。 Some of these leading men （and they are all men） are obvious - lots of kings - but others less so， e。g。 a cleric at a critical inflection point in England's Christianity。I'm also coming at this as pretty much the only person in my high school class who never took "History of England"， and thus I arrived here with a blank slate。 No doubt those with greater familiarity with the period would find some takes to take issue with， but that's always true and you have to start somewhere。 No regrets。 。。。more

T。S。 Hottle ，

You could call this a fragmented history， but that's precisely the point。 The early half of the Medieval Era in Europe is called the Dark Ages because they're not very well documented。 In particular， the period between the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain and the reign of King Aethelred the Unready suffers first from a like of contemporary chronicles， followed by benign neglect of Angl0-Saxon records by the Normans after 1066。 In contrast， we can tell what William the Conqueror had for brea You could call this a fragmented history， but that's precisely the point。 The early half of the Medieval Era in Europe is called the Dark Ages because they're not very well documented。 In particular， the period between the withdrawal of the Romans from Britain and the reign of King Aethelred the Unready suffers first from a like of contemporary chronicles， followed by benign neglect of Angl0-Saxon records by the Normans after 1066。 In contrast， we can tell what William the Conqueror had for breakfast and whether Richard the Lionheart wore briefs or boxers。That said， Marc Morris makes a valiant attempt to piece together what has survived along with archeological findings and filtering out the biases of later sources。 What emerges is roughly three centuries where there wasn't an "England。" There was Kent， settled by the Jutes from Norway。 There were the Saxon kingdoms， most notably Wessex。 And there were the lands of the Angles - East Anglia， Northumberland， and Mercia。 Over time， through conquest， alliances， and marriages， these people with the funny names eventually welded into a single people。 The Saxons absorbed the Jutes and left Canterbury as the center of Christianity in Britain today。 The Britons were marginalized， then brought into the fold。 Yet when Alfred the Great brought Mercia and Northumberland under his rule， he didn't style himself as King of the Saxons。 He called himself King of the English， after the Angles to the north。 Far from being primitive barbarians， the Anglo-Saxons took advantage of a power and population drain in southern Britain to create several new nations。 As time went on， the incursions of the Vikings， called Danes in their own time， welded the remaining Britons （but not the Welsh， who remained isolated within modern Wales）， Angles， Saxons， and Jutes into a single people。 So long did hostilities with the Danes last that English-dwelling Danes were eventually brought into the fold under Edgar， and Aethlered found a friendly ally in the more benign （and French influenced） Normans。So complete was the merger of so many groups that the childless Edward the Confessor promised his throne to William， Duke of Normandy。 Harold Godwinson， the most powerful of Edward's advisors， wasn't having it and took the crown for himself on Edward's death。 Duke William soon became William the Conqueror。 Though of Danish descent， William transformed England。 French became the language of the court， England became part of the Angevin Empire （Normandy and modern western France） before becoming its center of power， and history was irrevocably changed。Morris doesn't focus on kings。 part of this is because， until Alfred the Great， some of the Anglo-Saxon kings have been forgotten to history while others are merely lists of names。 Morris instead focuses on the movers and shakers on the island。 Some are clerics responsible for bringing monastic tradition to England， some are warlords and generals， and quite a few are Viking overlords or famous raiders。 Even Scotland's murderous MacBeth gets a mention， though only in passing。Morris fills in a very important piece of the puzzle of English history。 。。。more

G ，

I could have rated this a 5， but I ended up skimming a bit at the end， so it gets a 4 due to my laziness。 This is a pretty long book， so you have to really be interested in and ant to learn about the topic。 I really had no idea abut most of the obscure history between the end of Roman rule in the 4th century and the start of the middle ages。 The book starts with the departure of the last of the romans and ends with the battle of Hastings， ca。 1066。 In between is a litany of invasions from Scandi I could have rated this a 5， but I ended up skimming a bit at the end， so it gets a 4 due to my laziness。 This is a pretty long book， so you have to really be interested in and ant to learn about the topic。 I really had no idea abut most of the obscure history between the end of Roman rule in the 4th century and the start of the middle ages。 The book starts with the departure of the last of the romans and ends with the battle of Hastings， ca。 1066。 In between is a litany of invasions from Scandinavia， Germany， and Normandy， the travails of the petty territorial rulers， the barbarous oppression of the native Britons， the machinations of countless earls， kings， priests and bishops， the growth of monastic christianity at the expense of traditional pagan spirituality， and the constant corruption and self-serving for power， money， land， and prestige。 Not much has changed I guess。 。。。more

Sean ，

Popular history。 Light， entertaining reading。 Listened to audiobook to relax in evening over about a week。 I’ve had a long time fascination with the age of Saxons and vikings in England。 Something a bit magical about it。 Foundational to later English civilization。 Mentions some church history in passing。 An interesting exploration of the cultures which produced Beowulf and inspired Tolkien。 Inspired by a friend， I’m moving to a more meaningful rating system in which only the most exceptional boo Popular history。 Light， entertaining reading。 Listened to audiobook to relax in evening over about a week。 I’ve had a long time fascination with the age of Saxons and vikings in England。 Something a bit magical about it。 Foundational to later English civilization。 Mentions some church history in passing。 An interesting exploration of the cultures which produced Beowulf and inspired Tolkien。 Inspired by a friend， I’m moving to a more meaningful rating system in which only the most exceptional books will receive 4 or 5 stars。 2 stars represents an average book， 3 a bit above that。 。。。more

Ky ，

I have always been interested in the early Middle-Ages。 In the idea of a post apocalypse in the wake of the fall of Rome。 People living in shells of cities made to inhabit ten times it's current number， wearing the armor and weapons made by a smith a hundred years ago， new buildings made from the rubble of greater works， and where to go as a culture and people in that aftermath。 The Anglo-Saxons by Marc Morris tells the story of this time。 In a post Roman Britain that now belongs to a new creed。 I have always been interested in the early Middle-Ages。 In the idea of a post apocalypse in the wake of the fall of Rome。 People living in shells of cities made to inhabit ten times it's current number， wearing the armor and weapons made by a smith a hundred years ago， new buildings made from the rubble of greater works， and where to go as a culture and people in that aftermath。 The Anglo-Saxons by Marc Morris tells the story of this time。 In a post Roman Britain that now belongs to a new creed。This book is very well written and engaging， for how much it covers it never feels stale or like a chore。 It reads like a political fantasy novel that occasionally has fourth wall breaks from the author。 The amount of detail here given how sparse information can be in this period is staggering。 So many interesting cultural details， anecdotes， characters， trivia， and events are within these pages。If you've ever been interested in this period， either due to stuff like the Last Kingdom or Vikings， or just a general interest， this is a very good entry-point The information provided here is massive but digestible and entertaining。 You will see hundreds of people whose name start with Athel， you will read about a figure for four pages and then have them unceremoniously die from illness of foul play， you will read about more than one corrupt priest， and all of it is so fun to read。 A humongous fantasy story that actually happened。 。。。more

Donatas Dailide ，

Good account of the early history of England and the rise and fall of Anglo-Saxons。 Every historical time period and every Chapter is followed by a story of a person or an event， which makes it easier to follow the events

Ed Scott ，

An eye-opening investigation into an often mysterious and murky period of English history。 At times the drama reaches Game of Thrones levels of carnage and inter-familial rivalry。 A bit of a marathon to read， and it can get confusing with all the Aethlberts and Aethelreds。 But worth taking one's time with， and reading chapter by chapter。 An eye-opening investigation into an often mysterious and murky period of English history。 At times the drama reaches Game of Thrones levels of carnage and inter-familial rivalry。 A bit of a marathon to read， and it can get confusing with all the Aethlberts and Aethelreds。 But worth taking one's time with， and reading chapter by chapter。 。。。more

Graham Catt ，

An excellent history of England between the Romans and 1066 - murder， war， revolution， invasion。 It’s a fascinating account of the birth of a nation。

Andy C。 ，

I had no idea， and having read this readable book， and more informed about England and the Anglo Saxons， thank you Marc Morris

Ray Patrin ，

This book was mostly boring and disappointing。 Aside from a few infrequent sparks of interesting revelations， we have endless Aethael-reds， -freds， -balds， -stans， and weards--all with the eye-pleasing and sometimes confusing Old English AE--which I'm unable to reproduce here--attempting to control the islands we know today as England and Scotland， and Ireland。 Necessarily one of the most fascinating passages starts out the book， with a discussion of the Sutton Hoo treasure。 This extraordinary f This book was mostly boring and disappointing。 Aside from a few infrequent sparks of interesting revelations， we have endless Aethael-reds， -freds， -balds， -stans， and weards--all with the eye-pleasing and sometimes confusing Old English AE--which I'm unable to reproduce here--attempting to control the islands we know today as England and Scotland， and Ireland。 Necessarily one of the most fascinating passages starts out the book， with a discussion of the Sutton Hoo treasure。 This extraordinary find was made in 1939: an entire ship buried in the ground containing none other than。。。 the Sutton Hoo helmet， and other fascinating relics， thought to be the tomb of an unknown king， who was buried therein amidships。 The book attempts the bridge the gap between the Roman Empire and the dawn of modern， or medieval， England， ca。 1066。 As often happens when a historian attempts to cover hundreds of years in a single volume， the narrative is vague and uninspiring。 It leans heavily， necessarily， on only what is known， leaving out vast fields of details。 Moreover， with this particular book， there is a lot of fill-in-the-blank history。 Much of it wasn't recorded so there is scholarly conjecture mixed in with basic who-the-hell-knows。 Incessant Viking raids likely destroyed some of the precious little written/recorded history there was， while archaeology helps fill in some blanks and confirm or deny some guesswork。 After reading， I'm still a little confused as to the differentiation of Britons and Anglo-Saxons， other than their geographical settlement。 These peoples settled all over southern and western England some time after the collapse and withdrawal of the Roman port-city of Lundinium （Morris uses an o rather than a u）。 Ironically， the Romans had actually engineered a far more advanced fort and trading post than their successors would for hundreds of years。 And despite the lack of documented evidence， it's fascinating to think of the place we know as London as a deserted trading post， circa 450 to 550 AD: abandoned， fallen into disrepair， overrun with weeds in the roadways， remnants of a collapsed bridge across the Thames。 Subsequently attempts to restart this primitive economy were constantly harried by Viking raids。 To the north， King Hadrian's Wall separated roughly what is now England and Scotland; the Picts （Scots） would sometimes raid the villages to the south as savagely as their Scandinavian counterparts。Eventually， and somehow， this all morphed into what is now England， post-1066， via the Battle of Hastings。 They're not called "the Dark Ages" for nothing。 With a strong， continual interest， this book is worth reading。 It does put into perspective the evolution of this ancient landscape from monks， pagans， Christians， villagers， and petty kings into an eventually united kingdom。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0