The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066

Marc Morris

May 2021 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

A sweeping and original history of the Anglo-Saxons by national bestselling author Marc Morris.

Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters.

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.

Drawing on a vast range of original evidence - chronicles, letters, archaeology and artefacts - renowned historian Marc Morris illuminates a period of history that is only dimly understood, separates the truth from the legend, and tells the extraordinary story of how the foundations of England were laid.

Ratings and reviews

At one time, Rome had 50,000 soldiers in England and it was a prosperous part of the empire with spacious villas, splendid baths, and all the luxuries of the empire. As the attacks from the Germanic tribes increased, more and more soldiers were transferred back to the Italian peninsula, leaving England more and more vulnerable to attack from the Picts and other invaders. As the empire crumbled, Rome retreated and England descended into groups of smaller kingdoms who fought each other as much as fighting off foreign invaders. Marc Morris writes of the history of this time from just before the fall of the Roman Empire through to the arrival of the Normans in 1066. London was abandoned and overgrown along with other Roman settlements. Eventually the attacks of raiding parties became more than just raids but began to result in permanent settlements of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes conquering across England eventually ruling over all of England and bringing with them their own culture and language leaving only Wales to rule itself, though as vassals to their new Ango-Saxon masters. Morris does well at describing the changes over the centuries due to the arrival of thes foreign invaders and later also the Viking invaders along with the introduction of Christianity. The gradual changes to the culture, to the ways of making war, and to the developing concept of a united kingdom of Angles and Saxons, to the land of the Angles, to England. He does so in a way that is interesting and informative, viewing things from a local perspective without judgment both good and bad. Included are many photos, including many in color, showing archaeological finds that illustrate the history as he describes it, opening up a period of history that is often overlooked.

About the author

Marc Morris is a historian specializing in the Middle Ages. He is the author of A Great and Terrible King; King John; and the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling The Norman Conquest. Marc lives in England.