The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England

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Marc Morris is the latest to enter this field with The Anglo-Saxons. From the outset, he makes it clear what his book is not. It is not a comprehensive, chronological account of the Anglo-Saxon era, detailing every ambitious prince, conquering king and upstart prelate, from Hengist to Harold. Instead, each chapter covers an important theme, such as the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to Christianity in the aftermath of St Augustine’s mission in 597 or the Viking raids, which for over two hundred years scourged the British Isles and reshaped their political landscape. By the late ninth century the Vikings had destroyed all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms save Wessex. Alfred restored London in 886 but, as Morris notes, “The devastation brought by the Vikings had taken a particularly heavy toll on the Church. Monasteries had been targeted by raiders from the very first because they were easy prey, undefended and often extremely rich.” The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance.

Morris notes in his conclusion that two later medieval histories, penned during the 1120-1130 period — William of Malmsbury’s Deeds of the Kings of the English and Henry of Huntington’s History of the English— looked at English history and saw that “the coming of the Normans was simply a new chapter. It was not the end of the story.” Marc Morris (born 1973) is a British historian, who has also presented a television series, Castle, on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, [1] and wrote the book that accompanied the series. His 2005 book on the earls of the Bigod family was praised for its "impeccable research and fluent sense of narration". [2]

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. From the acclaimed historian and broadcaster Marc Morris comes a gripping new book about one of the most important and turbulent periods in English history- the Anglo-Saxons. A comprehensive overview of the Anglo-Saxon era seeking “to see these people as they were…and try to shed the misconceptions about them that have developed in later centuries.”

An asbolute masterpiece . It feels like the missing piece of historiography on an essential period of our past. Marc Morris is the platonic ideal of scholarly yet readable big history." Dan Snow As a reader who prefers biographies, I appreciated the few glimpses that a work of this size could devote to individuals. One, new to me, person was St. WIlfrid, Bishop of York who railed against the pagan rites that were being incorporated in the Church. He did this without much "buy in" which made his life difficult and interesting. The “greatness” of Alfred the Great was analyzed. He seems to have introduced defensive warfare in the late 600’s which created (at last) a victory for the over-plundered residents of this island. The book ends with the coming of William the Conquer and the drama of those who prepared the way for his victory.

Customer reviews

A deep dive into one of the murkiest periods of our national history ... Splendid' DAN JONES , Sunday Times Stunning in its action and drama, this book illuminates fully what turns out to have been a tangled and violent passage in history. A Best Book of the Year Kansas City Star 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.

A vivid, sharply drawn story of seven centuries of profound political change ... Superbly clear and evocative' THOMAS PENN The Anglo-Saxon period is both complex and also challenged by an absence of sources. The complexity derives from the various tribes/peoples and their alliances, territorial holdings and the changes to life, society and beliefs during this period, along with a vast array of characters, many of whom flit in and out of centre stage with little detail or depth to them. Meticulous and absorbing. Where Morris’ book really excels is in its understanding of the conquest’s ramifications for the nation’s demographics, language, and ruling elite." A Best Book of the Year (Praise for The Norman Con Providence Journal Informative, entertaining, easy-to-read history for Anglo-Saxon beginners like me. Each chapter has a theme or a specific historical character so it's more interesting than a straight timeline of "this happened then X became king then this happened." I do not always agree with his conclusions, but Morris presents his case well. His approachable style to history means you'll begin understand why kings made the decisions they did (under duress or not.) As with The Norman Conquest, (which I also highly recommend) felt I really learned so much and enjoyed myself while doing so. I am going to read every book Morris has written.This choice seems far more about staying where he's comfortable (and doesn't have to speculate anything) than on what would work best for the subject, or be interesting for readers. It often doesn't work as well as he clearly intends, leaving huge gaps in perspective in favour of the viewpoints of always the same types of men. Americans will particularly enjoy this chronicle of the early English Middle Ages because it removes the stereotypical shroud of barbarism that we all too easily use to distance ourselves from the past. Morris’s view of medieval history will be of contemporary service, if only to make us wonder how our country and culture will be viewed 1,500 years hence. Meticulous and absorbing. Where Morris’ book really excels is in its understanding of the conquest’s ramifications for the nation’s demographics, language, and ruling elite." A Best Book of the Year Providence Journal A much-needed book - accessible, eminently readable ... It's a gripping story, beautifully told' BERNARD CORNWELL, author of The Last Kingdom The Anglo-Saxons helps to make this possible. It brings a complicated and often occult period, covering an immense timescale and any number of upheavals, to life. It describes the people who lived through it in a sympathetic yet honest way, showing ‘their courage, their piety, their resourcefulness, their artistry, and their professed love of freedom’ but also ‘their brutality, their intolerance, their misogyny, and their reliance on the labour of slaves’, and it makes no attempt to sugar-coat it. p. 6. And Morris, with his exceptional skills as a writer and his in-depth historical knowledge, makes it a pleasure to read. As such, The Anglo-Saxons is an effective and accessible contribution to our understanding of what has become a very fashionable era.