Between the end of the Roman occupation and the coming of the Normans England was settled by Germanic races; the kingdom as a political unit was created, heathenism yielded to a vigorous Christian Church, superb works of art were made, and the English language — spoken and written — took its form.
These origins of the English heritage are Mr. Hunter Blair’s subject. At almost every point he writes from first-hand study of the evidence, but always clearly and with brevity. The first two chapters give a survey of Anglo-Saxon England: its wars, its invaders, its peoples and its kings. The remainder of the book is devoted to particular and important aspects of its culture: its Church and churchmen, the growth of its government, the formation of its economy, its artistic and literary achievement. The plates and text-figures illustrate Anglo-Saxon architecture and engineering as well as chronicles, inscriptions, tapestries and jewellery.
Author(s): Peter Hunter Blair
Edition: 1st, reprint
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 1962
Language: English
Pages: XXXII+382
List of Plates xiii
List of Maps xv
List of Text-figures xvi
CHAPTER I. THE FOUNDATIONS OF ENGLAND
1. The last days of Roman Britain 1
2. The enemies of Roman Britain 3
3. Traditions about the invasions 13
4. The evidence of archaeology and place-names 18
5. Geographical factors 25
6. The kingdoms of the southern English 27
7. The northern English 37
8. Movements towards unity 49
CHAPTER II. BRITAIN AND THE VIKINGS
1. The Scandinavian background 55
2. The Norse approach to Britain 62
3. The Danish invasions 67
4. Consolidation in Wessex 75
5. The creation of the kingdom of England 80
6. Æthelred the Unready 90
7. Danish rule 99
8. Edward the Confessor and the end of the Anglo-Saxon state 104
CHAPTER III. THE CHURCH
1. St Augustine’s mission 116
2. Anglo-Saxon heathenism 120
3. The Celtic mission and the conflict with Rome 124
4. The Roman triumph 132
5. The Church in early English society 142
6. The English mission to the Continent 162
7. The Church and the Vikings 166
8. The monastic revival i73
9. The last century of the Anglo-Saxon Church 178
CHAPTER IV. GOVERNMENT
1. The rule of kings 194
2. The growth of monarchy 198
3. King and Court 204
4. The king’s council 214
5. Local government 222
CHAPTER V. ECONOMY
1. The country 245
2. The countryside 257
3. Towns and trade 277
CHAPTER VI. LETTERS
1. Language 301
2. Orthography 305
3. The growth of scholarship 311
4. Vernacular poetry 329
5. Alfred and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" 350
6. Learning in the new monasticism 356
Select Bibliography 364
Index 373
