The Making of England
The Making of England

Author: Mark Atherton

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-01-30

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 1786721546

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

During the tenth century England began to emerge as a distinct country with an identity that was both part of yet separate from 'Christendom'. The reigns of Athelstan, Edgar and Ethelred witnessed the emergence of many key institutions: the formation of towns on modern street plans; an efficient administration; and a serviceable system of tax. Mark Atherton here shows how the stories, legends, biographies and chronicles of Anglo-Saxon England reflected both this exciting time of innovation as well as the myriad lives, loves and hates of the people who wrote them. He demonstrates, too, that this was a nation coming of age, ahead of its time in its use not of the Book-Latin used elsewhere in Europe, but of a narrative Old English prose devised for law and practical governance of the nation-state, for prayer and preaching, and above all for exploring a rich and daring new literature. This prose was unique, but until now it has been neglected for the poetry. Bringing a volatile age to vivid and muscular life, Atherton argues that it was the vernacular of Alfred the Great, as much as Viking war, that truly forged the nation.

The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons

Author: Marc Morris

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 164313535X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A sweeping and original history of the Anglo-Saxons by national bestselling author Marc Morris. Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings. It explores how they abandoned their old gods for Christianity, established hundreds of churches and created dazzlingly intricate works of art. It charts the revival of towns and trade, and the origins of a familiar landscape of shires, boroughs and bishoprics. It is a tale of famous figures like King Offa, Alfred the Great and Edward the Confessor, but also features a host of lesser known characters - ambitious queens, revolutionary saints, intolerant monks and grasping nobles. Through their remarkable careers we see how a new society, a new culture and a single unified nation came into being. Drawing on a vast range of original evidence - chronicles, letters, archaeology and artefacts - renowned historian Marc Morris illuminates a period of history that is only dimly understood, separates the truth from the legend, and tells the extraordinary story of how the foundations of England were laid.

Athelstan (Penguin Monarchs)
Athelstan (Penguin Monarchs)

Author: Tom Holland

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2016-06-30

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 0241187826

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The formation of England occurred against the odds: an island divided into rival kingdoms, under savage assault from Viking hordes. But, after King Alfred ensured the survival of Wessex and his son Edward expanded it, his grandson Athelstan inherited the rule of both Mercia and Wessex, conquered Northumbria and was hailed as Rex totius Britanniae: 'King of the whole of Britain'. Tom Holland recounts this extraordinary story with relish and drama, transporting us back to a time of omens, raven harbingers and blood-red battlefields. As well as giving form to the figure of Athelstan - devout, shrewd, all too aware of the precarious nature of his power, especially in the north - he introduces the great figures of the age, including Alfred and his daughter Aethelflaed, 'Lady of the Mercians', who brought Athelstan up at the Mercian court. Making sense of the family rivalries and fractious conflicts of the Anglo-Saxon rulers, Holland shows us how a royal dynasty rescued their kingdom from near-oblivion and fashioned a nation that endures to this day.

Conquest
Conquest

Author: Stewart Binns

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2011-02-17

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 0141960590

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

1066 - Senlac Ridge, England. William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy, defeats Harold Godwinson, King Harold II of England, in what will become known as the Battle of Hastings. The battle is hard fought and bloody, the lives of thousands have been spent, including that of King Harold. But England will not be conquered easily, the Anglo-Saxons will not submit meekly to Norman rule. Although his heroic deeds will nearly be lost to legend, one man unites the resistance. His name is Hereward of Bourne, the champion of the English. His honour, bravery and skill at arms will change the future of England. His is the legacy of the noble outlaw. This is his story.

Mercia and the Making of England
Mercia and the Making of England

Author: Ian W. Walker

Publisher: Sutton Publishing

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780750921312

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This pioneering book re-examines the events of the mid-eighth to the mid-tenth centuries to provide a completely fresh and more balanced account of the period.

The Viking Great Army and the Making of England
The Viking Great Army and the Making of England

Author: Dawn Hadley

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2021-06-22

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 0500776369

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Featuring the latest scientific techniques and findings, this book is the definitive account of the Viking Great Army’s journey and how their presence forever changed England. When the Viking Great Army swept through England between 865 and 878 CE, the course of English history was forever changed. The people of the British Isles had become accustomed to raids for silver and prisoners, but 865 CE saw a fundamental shift as the Norsemen stayed through winter and became immersed in the heart of the nation. The Viking army was here to stay. This critical period for English history led to revolutionary changes in the fabric of society, creating the growth of towns and industry, transforming power politics, and ultimately leading to the rise of Alfred the Great and Wessex as the preeminent kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England. Authors Dawn Hadley and Julian Richards, specialists in Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age archaeology, draw on the most up-to-date scientific techniques and excavations, including their recent research at the Great Army’s camp at Torksey. Together they unravel the movements of the Great Army across England like a detective story, while piecing together a new picture of the Vikings in unimaginable detail. Hadley and Richards unearth the swords and jewelry the Vikings manufactured, examine how they buried their great warriors, and which everyday objects they discarded. These discoveries revolutionized what is known of the size, complexity, and social make-up of the army. Like all good stories, this one has plenty of heroes and villains, and features a wide array of vivid illustrations, including site views, plans, weapons, and hoards. This exciting volume tells the definitive account of a vital period in Norse and British history and is a must-have for history and archaeology lovers.

Anarchy
Anarchy

Author: Stewart Binns

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2013-06-20

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 0718194608

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Anarchy is the knuckle-whitening third novel in Stewart Binns' The Making of England series. Ruthless brutality, greed and ambition: the Anarchy The year is 1186, the thirty-second year of the reign of Henry II. Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, has lived through long Henry's reign and that of his grandfather, Henry I. He has witnessed the terrifying civil war between Henry II's mother, the Empress Matilda, and her cousin, Stephen; a time so traumatic it becomes known as the Anarchy. The greatest letter writer of the 12th Century, Folio gives an intimate account of one of England's most troubled eras. Central to his account is the life of a knight he first met over fifty years earlier, Harold of Hereford. Harold's life is an intriguing microcosm of the times. Born of noble blood and legendary lineage, he is one of the nine founders of the Knights Templar and a survivor of the fearsome battles of the Crusader States in the Holy Land. Harold is loyal warrior in the cause of the Empress Matilda. On his broad shoulders, Harold carries the legacy of England's past and its dormant hopes for the future. Stewart Binns' Anarchy is a gripping novel in the great tradition of Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell, and is the third in The Making of England trilogy, following Conquest and Crusade. Praise for Stewart Binns: 'Binns' stories are a terrific mix of history and human drama' Celia Sandys: Author, presenter and granddaughter of Winston Churchill 'A fascinating mix of fact, legend and fiction ... this is storytelling at its best' Daily Mail Stewart Binns began his professional life as an academic. He then pursued several adventures, including a stint at the BBC, before settling into a career as a schoolteacher, specializing in history. Later in life, a lucky break took him back to the BBC, which was the beginning of a successful career in television. He has won a BAFTA, a Grierson, an RTS and a Peabody for his documentaries. Stewart's passion is English history, especially its origins and folklore. His previous novels in The Making of England trilogy are Conquest and Crusade.

The Making of Victorian England
The Making of Victorian England

Author: G. Kitson Clark

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-07-23

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 1136124128

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Based on the Ford Lectures, delivered at Oxford in 1960, the author describes some of the forces which created what we call `Victorian England'.