Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449-1066 (Warrior) [Paperback]

Mark Harrison (Author), Gerry Embleton (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Warrior | Publication Date: November 25, 1993

The collapse of Roman rule in Britain was not so much a sudden catastrophe as a long and drawn-out decline. The 'Celtic' Britons retreated gradually to the highland areas of Wales, Cornwall and the south-west of Scotland. Control of the fertile eastern lowlands was lost to warriors of Germanic origin who migrated from the Continent. These Germanic conquerors have become known to history as the 'Anglo-Saxons'. They were to dominate the lowland zone of Britain until their final defeat at Hastings in 1066. This title gives an insight into the everyday life, equipment, dress, battle tactics and life on campaign of the typical Anglo-Saxon warrior of this period – the thegn.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Insights into the real lives of history's fighting men, packed with full colour illustrations, highly detailed cutaways, exploded artwork of weaponry and armour, and action-packed battle scenes.

About the Author

Mark Harrison was born in Castleford, Yorkshire in 1954 and has a Batchelor's degree in Medieval Studies from Lancaster University. He has worked as a Curator at the Royal Armouries, Tower of London since 1986 and has a strong interest in the early medieval world. He lives in Colchester with his wife and son.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (November 25, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855323494
• ISBN-13: 978-1855323490
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #804,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Illustrated text book brings interesting period to life., January 19, 1999

By 

Nelson R. Willis "Rob Willis" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449-1066 (Warrior) (Paperback)

This title served well my research on the historical origins of the Arthurian myths. This title focused on the main enemies of Arthur in the fifth century, but it also covered later periods up to just before the Norman conquest.

What I like about the Osprey military books is how they provide a good ballace of text and illustration. This conveys information in a way which is both efficient and entertaining. This is far preferable to books which offer plenty of text but lack sufficient illustrations to show what the text is talking about; it is also far preferable to books which contain plenty of illustrations but lack sufficient text to explain them. My only complaint is that the photographs of manuscript illustations and archaeological artifacts are printed in black & white, so the reader misses much of the spectacular color and detail of this wonderful Anglo-Saxon art. Of course, printing everything in color will make a book more expensive, but it still may be worth doing. The great thing about all the Opsprey titles, though, is that each has a section in the middle made up of beautiful full color illustrations which portray the appearance and activities of the troops under study.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Book was a second., April 25, 2011

By 

RMuse - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449-1066 (Warrior) (Paperback)

Generally a good book, but in my case it was part about the Anglo Saxons and partly about the Vikings. The entire colour section was substituted from their Viking title. So be sure you don't get one of the misprinted editions like I did.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice compendium of basic information, March 25, 2005

By 

Catherine Raymond (Malvern, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449-1066 (Warrior) (Paperback)

As with all of the Osprey books, I find the combination of hard fact and imaginative reconstruction drawings very helpful. This Osprey is especially useful in conjunction with two other Osprey Warrior volumes that cover other military men of the period, namely, Norman Knight and Viking Hersir.