Anglo-Saxon England

'outstanding ... one of the most valuable contributions ever made to our knowledge of the history of our own land' English Historical Review This book covers the emergence of the earliest English kingdoms to the establishment of the Anglo-Norman monarchy in 1087. Professor Stenton examines the development of English society, from the growth of royal power to the establishment of feudalism after the Norman Conquest. He also describes the chief phases in the history of the Anglo-Saxon church, including the Conversion of the various English kingdoms, and the unification of Britain by the kings of Mercia and completed by the kings of Wessex. Drawing on many diverse examples-place-names, coins and charters, wills and pleas, archaeology, and the laws of the Anglo-Saxons-the result is a fascinating insight into this period of English history.

'outstanding ... one of the most valuable contributions ever made to our knowledge of the history of our own land' English Historical Review This book covers the emergence of the earliest English kingdoms to the establishment of the Anglo-Norman monarchy in 1087. Professor Stenton examines the development of English society, from the growth of royal power to the establishment of feudalism after the Norman Conquest. He also describes the chief phases in the history of the Anglo-Saxon church, including the Conversion of the various English kingdoms, and the unification of Britain by the kings of Mercia and completed by the kings of Wessex. Drawing on many diverse examples-place-names, coins and charters, wills and pleas, archaeology, and the laws of the Anglo-Saxons-the result is a fascinating insight into this period of English history.

Several unusual fields of study are extensively explored in this volume: a distinctive politico-religious cult, penitentials, inscriptions, the Sutton Hoo whetstone and medical knowledge; while treatments of more 'standard' subjects like late Anglo-Saxon law, King Alfred's Boethius and Beowulf, lead to unusual conclusions. A phenomenon special to Anglo-Saxon England is given a full and separate treatment in a careful and imaginative analysis of the ecclesiastical and political significance of the cults of murdered royal saints. Elizabeth Okasha's Hand-List which has been indispensable to any work on Anglo-Saxon non-runic inscriptions for some time has been refreshed by the description and illustration of twenty-six additional items and by other addenda and corrigenda. The usual comprehensive bibliography of the previous year's publications in all branches of Anglo-Saxon studies rounds off the book.