"Here lies our leader all cut down, the valiant man in the dust." The elegiac words of the Battle of Maldon, an epic poem written to celebrate the bravery of an English army defeated by Viking raiders in 991. They emerge from a diverse literature-including Beowulf and Bede's Ecclesiastical History-produced by the peoples known as the Anglo-Saxons: Germanic tribes who migrated to Britain from Lower Saxony and Denmark in the early fifth century CE. The era once known as the 'Dark Ages' was marked by stunning cultural advances. Here, Henrietta Leyser offers a fresh analysis of exciting recent discoveries made in the archaeology and art of the Anglo-Saxon world. Arguing that the desperate struggle (led by Alfred the Great) against the Vikings helped define a distinctively English sensibility. The author explores relations with the indigenous British, the Anglo-Saxon conversion to Christianity, the ascendancy of Mercia, and the rise of Wessex. This vivid history evokes both the emergent kingdoms of Alfred and Offa, and the golden treasures of Sutton Hoo. It will appeal to students of early medieval history and to all those who wish to understand how England was born.

Product Description: The scholarship of the influential historian, Steven G. Ellis, provides inspiration and coherence to this collection of original essays assembled in his honour. Explorations of the history of Tudor Ireland form the core of the volume, but essays on late medieval Ireland, the Tudor far north and on the Netherlands and Iceland in later times stretch the chronological and geographic boundaries of early modern Ireland...read more

Product Description: The first mention of the presence of the Ark of the Covenant at the Lateran Cathedral in Rome was in a description of the cathedral from the early twelfth century, later labelled Descriptio Lateranensis Ecclesia (DLE), where it was said to be inside or beneath the church’s high altar...read more

Product Description: The identity of Robin Hood has been questioned many times since the Outlaw of Sherwood first sprang to fame in the 12th century. No two authorities seem able to agree as to his origins, antecedents, or even whether or not he was a historical personage or a mythical figure...read more

Product Description: From the end of the thirteenth century onwards, European towns exhibited a significant increase in the use of writing as a tool for administrative and economic purposes, as well as for social communication. The medieval towns of Poland are no exception to this pattern...read more

Product Description: Trusty's Hill is an early medieval fort at Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway. The hillfort comprises a fortified citadel defined by a vitrified rampart around its summit, with a number of enclosures looping out along lower-lying terraces and crags...read more

Product Description: The Battle of Hastings, was the bitterly fought clash on 14 October 1066 between the 10,000 strong invading army of Duke William of Normandy and 7,000 men of the English king Harold II. The Battle is the single most important event in English history, it was so critical a turning point that it marked the end of the Anglo-Saxon epoch...read more

Product Description: The Second Scottish War of Independence began in 1332, only four years after the previous conflict had ended. Fought once more for the continued freedom of Scotland from English conquest, the war also witnessed a revival of Scottish civil conflict as the Bruce-Balliol fight for the Scottish crown recommenced once more...read more

Product Description: The castles of the late medieval period represent some of the finest medieval monuments in Britain, with an almost infinite capacity to fascinate and draw controversy. They are also a source of considerable academic debate. The contents of this volume represent key works in castle scholarship...read more

Product Description: "A superb piece of local history." Professor Mark Bailey, University of East Anglia. Lowestoft became an increasingly important Suffolk town during the later middle ages. This book traces its history from its Anglo-Saxon origins up until its fully recognisable urban nature in the first half of the sixteenth century...read more

Product Description: Powys, extending over north-east and central Wales, was one of three great medieval Welsh polities, along with Gwynedd to the north and Deheubarth (south-west), occupying nearly a quarter of the country. However, it has been somewhat neglected by historians, who have tended to dismiss it as a satellite realm of England, and viewed its leaders as obstacles to the efforts of Gwynedd leaders to construct a principality of Wales...read more