Customer Reviews

An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England

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"An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England, 2nd edition" (hereafter, IASE) by Peter Hunter Blair is exactly as it is titled. It is fairly thorough for an introductory book and would be well-suited for someone new to A-S England history, but more advanced A-S scholars might find it a bit too basic. It is also written in a rather dry, "just the facts" style, which made it, for me anyway, a really long read. While I found it very interesting, and certainly instructive, I can't say it was "a fun read". IASE is organized topically, rather than chronologically, however it is chronological within each section. The information is organized very well, and Blair combines various recorded written, linguistic, and archaeological sources to provide as complete a picture as possible while still maintaining an introductory level of information. Blair writes in his preface, "The study of this period is at heart a study of the sources and because this ought to be understood even by the novice, I have tried to tell him something about the evidence on which the narrative is based, about its weakness as well as its strength." Blair uses footnotes, a format I prefer to endnotes, and makes good use of the included maps, diagrams, and illustrations. Numerous linguistic explanations offer an added bonus to readers interested in a very basic introduction to A-S etymology.

The chapters are as follows:
Ch 1 - "The Foundations of England", 8 sections from "The last days of Roman Britain" to "Movements toward unity".
Ch 2 - "Britain and the Vikings", 8 sections from "The Scandinavian background" to "Edward the Confessor and the end of the Anglo-Saxon state".
Ch 3 - "The Church", 9 sections, from "St. Augustine's mission" to "The last century of the Anglo-Saxon Church".
Ch 4 - "Government", 5 sections from "The rule of king" to "Local government".
Ch 5 - "The Economy", 3 sections from "The country" to "Towns and trade".
Ch 6 - "Letters", 6 sections from "Language" to "Learning in the new monasticism".

The book also includes 16 plates (illustrations), 9 maps, 7 text-figures (diagrams, floor plans, linguistic charts), an extensive bibliography, and index.

Overall, I would rate this book as an excellent introduction to A-S history for the beginner-to-intermediate student, but more advanced scholars would probably do better to acquire the books and sources Blair draws on for IASE.

I thought this was a good general survey of Anglo-Saxon England and deserves a place on the shelf next to "A History of the Vikings" by Gwyn Jones.

This is not an introduction for the casual reader but a serious introductory survey of the material. If you are interested in STUDYING Anglo-Saxon England, this is the introduction for you. If not, there are shorter and more accessible books out there.

I gave this book 4 stars because I found the material well organized and thought out if a tad inaccessible. It is an important book though and I would recommend it to anyone interested on the subject.

Maybe if you're a grad student in history, this might be an "introduction". If you're a lay reader, this might be a tad much in the detail department. Blair commands the material, but the material itself is a tad on the dry side. I say that as someone who's read a fair amount of books about "late antiquity" and the "middle ages". Part of that is attributable to the obvious fact that Anglo Saxon england was a brutish, hobbseian kind of place. Certainly its a thorough read, but it lacks fun and is a slooooow read for a book of 350 pages.