The Anglo-Saxons

by James Campbell, Patrick Wormald, Eric John

Book Overview

This survey, an introduction to the history of Anglo-Saxon England looks at political history, and religious, cultural, social, legal and economic themes are woven in. Throughout the book the authors make use of original sources such as chronicles, charters, manuscripts and coins, works of art, archaelogical remains and surviving buildings.The nature of power and kingship, role of wealth, rewards, conquest and blood-feud in the perennial struggle...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140143955
• ISBN13: 9780140143959
• Release Date: August 1991
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 2.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.3" x 11.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Nice intro to the subject

I think that this book is useful to anyone studying Anglo-Saxon topics. It covers the basic context of the development of Anglo-Saxon England after the fall of Roman Britain through the Battle of Hastings. It provides a fairly good account, in broad generalist terms, of this period in history. This book is primarily a history and as such needs to be seen as such. It is not a deep look at Anglo-Saxon social structures, nor it is a look at Anglo-Saxon ethical culture. However it covers material culture in relative detail as well as what is known about the historical movements, consolidations of power, and the like. The illustrations and photographs in this book are extremely interesting and well organized. Even if the text wasn't great (which it is), the photos would have made the text worth it. I would recommend this work.

A book to keep coming back to

I'm not a historian but I loved this book. I think the transition between Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England is one of the most fascinating periods in history (together with the 10/12th AD awakening). This book, along with Michael Wood's In search of the Dark Ages are a wonderful read.

A shaky review for a shaky theory..

if you're looking for a book that can separate the Anglo-Saxons from the Romans and Celts plus the other tribes inhabiting the Isles before the arrival of the Saxons don't look here. In fact I don't think anyone using all of the sources available plus the most recent archaeology ever could.Since Britain was heavily Romanized in the 1st century AD,especially in the southeastern parts and around present day London,one could have serious questions about the arrival of the Saxons during and after this period,Were the Saxons brought over as Roman slaves for military and labor purposes.As one author in Campbell's series has stated,"There is NO history or records on slavery during this period",it definitely existed during this period and a lack of info on this vital subject leaves major gaps in any attempt at discovery.The author admits to the critical shortage of acurate writings and records from the "Dark Age" period although more light has come on this period from numerous scholarly works recently.Even the most famous Anglo-Saxon archaeological relic of the period the Sutton-Hoo mask can be debated. Is it in fact a post -Roman copy of a Roman military parade mask? I have seen a few of the Roman masks and they are almost identical and a few hundred years before the Sutton-Hoo mask. Some of the treasures pictured in the book were actually found on the continent and the author states,"They(May Be) of Anglo-Saxon origin so he admits he might be wrong. The coin stashes found and presented in the book are both Roman and Continental?Whomever controls the minting of the coin usually has the power so is my read of Campbell that far off?The image of boatloads of Anglo-Saxon freebooters,arriving in postRoman Britain shouting "power to the peasants" is shattered in this work.The Anglos,Saxons and the Jutes probably arrived in large numbers and during different periods as possible contracted labor,mercenaries,concubines,(slaves)? and were gobbled up rapidly by the nations/tribes(including previously arrived Anglo-Saxons) already established in the isles,at least that is(MY) read of Campbells'book.I have heard it said on occasion that the WestSaxon tongue was the language of slaves.Would it be the first time in history that slave-lingo took over a country?This is not to say that the Anglo-Saxons did not make a major contribution to English law and culture.The numerous essays and descriptions of the works of art and law by the Anglo-Saxons included in the book leave one in awe.But how much of this was the result of Roman and other Continental influences?Good luck trying to separate it!!but it was never meant to be separated anyway. If I've confused you that's good because almost every work on the Anglo-Saxons is VERY confusing due to lack of records-no ships lists,no records of crossings--no nothing-a culture of wood buildings.There are a few one-sided (Hell and Damnation)scribbling of monks based on folklore who may have been court propogandists bolstering a sh

A great introduction

This well-illustrated volume provides an excellent introduction to the Anglo-Saxon period. The "picture essays" regarding coinage and other specialized topics help provide detail without interrupting what amounts to historic narrative.The problems of using source documents are detailed as well as the triumphs of modern archealogy in expanding our understanding of this period of history.The photographs, drawings, and maps compliment and support the text nicely.Highly recommended as an introduction to the period and its people.

The best introduction available to Anglo-Saxon history.

Written by three of the leading historians of the Anglo-Saxon period, this is easily the best introduction to its subject. The writing is authoritative yet accessible, giving a good idea not only of the course of Anglo-Saxon history, but also of the problems with the sources and of disputes within the historical community. Only in the final chapters, by Eric John, do major historical disputes sometimes go unnoted; one would not know, e.g., from his discussion of Harold Godwineson that some historians greatly respect Harold, or that not all historians believe that Edward the Confessor firmly intended William of Normandy to succeed him. To his credit, however, John's presentation here is more orthodox than elsewhere (for his unadulterated views, see his contentious and delightful Reassessing Anglo-Saxon England). The physical presentation of the book is far more attractive than is usual for textbooks. It is in a large format and lavishly illustrated, including a number of color pictures, and has several good maps of England (although it is curiously lacking in maps illustrating the European context of English history, and it could also use genealogical tables to help sort through some of the myriad characters). The bibliography is good up to 1981, the original date of publication, but unfortunately it was not updated when Penguin reissued the book, and thus cannot take account of the scholarship of the past two decades. It also has, regrettably, "secret" endnotes at the back of the book, not signaled in the text, which often lead the reader to primary source material and some secondary discussions; it is well worth the reader's effort to seek out the endnotes periodically. In short, The Anglo-Saxons is highly recommended for anybody seeking a general introduction to the history of this period. My highest praise is that when I taught a university course on Anglo-Saxon history, this is the only book I considered for a main textbook.