Rating: 7.9/10.
The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 by Marc Morris
Fairly detailed book about Anglo-Saxon and English history, spanning from the collapse of Roman civilization until the Norman invasion of 1066. It is comprehensive and covers all the major events and kings of this time period. The focus is on evidence from written history, such as the Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, and similar documents serve as the main sources, therefore its focus is mainly on the lives of royalty, kings, and their battles, rather than societal trends or common peoples, and the chapters vary in their readability. Some of the time periods involving successionary crises were less approachable since they involved so many different personalities and long sequences of events, and people fighting amongst themselves. Compared to another book about this topic, “In Search of the Dark Ages” by Michael Wood, this book is more comprehensive and covers the entire period of history rather than cherry-picking a few interesting figures, although some of these periods are quite messy when describing the details.
Chapter 1 starts with the decline of Roman Britain in the late 4th century due to external pressures. The legions in the province were forced to withdraw, leading to a collapse as the British inhabitants were unable to deal with Anglo-Saxon invasions without Roman military presence. According to Gildas, British leaders hired Saxon mercenaries to help defend against the barbarian invaders, who turned around and conquered the territory instead, which was a common practice during Roman times but less effective when the entire army was hired. It is debated how many Germanic people arrived, but the evidence suggests there was a substantial adoption of the Anglo-Saxon culture by the British people and, conversely, little influence of British culture and language on the Anglo-Saxons. A discovered cache reveals that people buried their valuables in the ground, hoping for the return of Roman order later, but the society never recovered and regressed permanently to a more primitive state.
Chapter 2 describes the early period of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, which is obscure, and sources like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are unreliable. Beowulf was likely written pre-Christianization, so it gives some insight into this time. Most likely, there were many small kingdoms which consolidated as stronger ones took control and weaker ones surrendered during times of hardship. It’s possible that some kingdoms, like Wessex, had mixed Saxon and British origins. By the late 6th century, the Christianization process had begun, and Ethelbert was the first Anglo-Saxon king to be converted to Christianity. Around this time, Ethelfrith of Northumbria continued pagan practices and conquered many of its neighbors. Penda of Mercia was the last pagan king, and the practices were considered barbaric by related writers like Bede, but we should put this into context, as these were often the normal practices during the pagan period.
Chapter 3 describes the life of St. Wilfrid, born in 634, who was responsible for much of the Christianization of Britain. He was born in Northumbria and joined the church at a young age when Christian monasteries were just beginning. He made a long journey to Rome during his youth and learned their version of Christianity. Upon returning to Northumbria, he argued that their date for celebrating Easter was incorrect, stirring up a fierce debate. In 668, the Pope appointed Archbishop Theodore to be responsible for spreading religion to the Anglo-Saxons, and Wilfrid was made into a bishop since he was a native Northumbrian and religiously knowledgeable. Sometime later, Wilfrid was deposed due to political reasons and served high masses due to disputes within the church. He made the long journey to Rome for the second and third time to appeal his case with the Pope, the last time when he was elderly at 70 years old. During various points in his life, he also found himself allied with various different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. He died at an old age, and his legacy was being a champion of the Roman version of the Christianity and correcting against the purported Celtic heresy, as described in the writings of Bede.
Chapter 4 describes the story of King Offa, which begins in the reign of Aethelbald when Mercia took control of London. It was an important trading hub in the region, and the kingdom started gaining dominance over the others. How exactly Offa came into power after Aethelbald’s death in 757 is obscure, but he was able to not only dominate but also annex several of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, effectively controlling all of southern England, and he was the first king to do so. Much of his life is obscure since he lived after Bede’s writings. One notable achievement is the building of a dyke on the border with Wales, which would have taken thousands of men, but it was not constructed in a way to be an effective military defense, so it was more likely to be a show of political strength than anything else. During this time, the Anglo-Saxons increasingly saw themselves as a common ethnicity, which is distinct from the Welsh, which at that time encompassed all the non-Anglo Brittonic peoples. Offa also established relationships with Charlemagne, ruler of a much larger Frankish kingdom, but who nevertheless respected his authority in Britain.
Chapter 5 begins soon after Offa’s death. It was the start of the Viking attacks, with the raid at Lindisfarne monastery in 793. The Vikings were pagans and preferred to attack monasteries in addition to raiding towns. After many defeats in the 9th century, King Aethelwolf was forced to invest more in defenses. When the king made a trip to Rome in the 850s, he found himself and his son in dispute over the kingdom upon his return. The Viking attacks increased, and the Christian Anglo-Saxons found themselves increasingly unable to defend against the pagan invaders.
Chapter 6 focuses on Alfred the Great, who is credited with holding off many Viking invasions. He became king during his youth, and during that time, the English defenses were lacking, and they were forced to pay large sums of tribute. Alfred’s forces were reduced to a swampland, but from there, he rallied his forces to mount a comeback. He united all the English peoples and created a system of heavily fortified towns that were effective at resisting Viking raids. Additionally, he commissioned many books to be translated from Latin to English, elevating it to a language of literature.
Chapter 7 follows the time of Alfred the Great and his son Edward and his grandson Athelstan, who were successful at conquering the Scandinavian settlers who were poorly organized and divided. Athelstan is credited as being the first king to rule over the entire region, including control over Welsh and Scottish kingdoms.
Chapter 8 describes the period during the mid-10th century, a period of instability when many kings ruled for very brief periods. During this time, monasteries such as Glastonbury and Archbishop Dunstan had gained influence as advisors for multiple kings who were often short-lived due to succession crises and infighting, which led to kings being murdered after brief periods of rule.
Chapter 9 describes the life of Aethelred, who was the longest-reigning Anglo-Saxon king but was generally perceived as ineffective and ill-counseled. During his initial years, there were a few decades of relative peace during which wealth was allowed to accumulate; however, Scandinavian invasions started again around the year 990. Aethelred would often pay large amounts of tribute rather than engage the invaders in battle, and when he did fight the Vikings, he was not very successful as he was personally never present, which contemporaries would have perceived as being weak. Having to raise large amounts of tribute, as well as funding military equipment and military spending, took a heavy toll on the English people and damaged the morale of the country. He tried many strategies, such as paying invaders to defend against other invaders, but this turned out to be ineffective. After that, he ordered the slaughter of the remaining Scandinavian mercenaries when these measures proved unsuccessful, and ultimately his forces were defeated and forced into exile by the Danish king Sweyn. Then, after a brief resurgence, he was finally defeated by King Cnut.
Chapter 10 focuses on the events leading up to the Norman invasion. King Cnut ruled peacefully for some time, but the few decades before the Norman invasion were marked by political instability due to many succession crises. After the death of King Cnut, there was a crisis between his son Harthacnut and English king Edward the Confessor, who was born to the same mother, Queen Emma. Edward grew up in exile in Normandy and allied with the English Duke Godwin, marrying his daughter, but after failing to produce an heir, he recommended William of Normandy to be his successor, which angered the Godwin family. Edward essentially became a puppet, and eventually Godwin’s son Harold became the king, which angered William of Normandy, who assembled an army ready to sail for England. In a surprising turn of events, he was delayed for several months due to bad weather, but during this time, a surprise invasion from Harald Hardrada of Norway landed in Northumbria, which Harold defeated at Stamford Bridge. However, a few days later, William landed in England and defeated Harold in Normandy, and this event in 1066 marked a turning point as William of Normandy took England, resulting in a complete destruction of the English aristocracy and many changes to social structures and government, although some cultural artifacts were preserved, unlike during previous Viking invasions.
