Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England [Paperback]

Dr Barbara Yorke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 1997 | ISBN-10: 041516639X | ISBN-13: 978-0415166393 | Edition: New edition

Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England provides a unique survey of the six major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms - Kent, the East Saxons, the East Angles, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex - and their royal families, examining the most recent research in this field.
Barbara Yorke moves beyond narrative accounts of the various royal houses to explain issues such as the strategies of rule, the reasons for success and failure and the dynamics of change in the office of king. Sixteen genealogical and regnal tables help to elucidate the history of the royal houses.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For the first time we have in one volume histories of the six major kingdoms, with discussions of the sources and of all the major problems of reconstructing dynasties and of dating assembled together in one place.
–History

About the Author

Barbara Yorke is a Senior Lecturer in History and Archaeology, King Alfred's College, Winchester.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (November 5, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 041516639X
• ISBN-13: 978-0415166393
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,545,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anglo-Saxon Roots, March 10, 2008

By 

P. G. Wickberg "faceless bureaucrat" (Washington, DC, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England (Kindle Edition)

Barbara Yorke has written a nice summation of the current state of research into the origins of six of the seven kingdoms of the Heptarchy, the classic seven-kingdom division of England (defined as the land held by the Anglo-Saxons) in the Sixth through Eighth Centuries (the seventh, Sussex, is even more poorly documented than the others, and she treats it in the sections on Kent and Wessex). There are various ways to approach the king lists for this period, and Yorke is somewhat of a minimalist, preferring not to list rulers who cannot be attested by relatively reliable sources (and for early Anglo-Saxon England, "relatively reliable" is itself a relative term), so her lists do not include some rulers mentioned in that reliable old stand-by, the "Handbook of British Chronology." She also includes useful notes on what little is known about some of the less-known groups which may have been sub-kingdoms with brief flashes of autonomy, like Lindsey, Wight, the Hwicce, Middle Angles and Maegonsaeten, and Elmet.

Most interesting to me was her careful reconstruction of the political trajectory of Kent, suggesting that instead of being a single state, it may have been for much of its history divided into two kingdoms, East Kent and West Kent, the latter at times including Sussex, and that many of the kings listed. whose chronology has been so debateable, may in fact have ruled concurrently in its two halves.

This is a useful addition to the library of anyone interested in Anglo-Saxon England or the "Dark Ages," and a nice guide to the period that fascinated J.R.R. Tolkien and from which he drew much of Middle Earth.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must-buy for an avid Anglo-Saxon reader, July 9, 2000

By 

Levi Roach (Dar es Salaam Tanzania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England (Paperback)

I was very impressed by this book which is both very readable and scholarly. I like in particular how the History of each Anglo-Saxon kingdom was dealt with differently. I have greatly enjoyed this book and the only thing that stops me from giving it 5 stars is a personal preference. I would have rather there had been a more in depth analysis of the early history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. However, if you are interested in Anglo-Saxon history, particularly of the individual kingdoms, then this book is what you should buy

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must-buy for an avid Anglo-Saxon reader, July 9, 2000

By 

Levi Roach (Dar es Salaam Tanzania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England (Paperback)

I was very impressed by this book which is both very readable and scholarly. I like in particular how the History of each Anglo-Saxon kingdom was dealt with differently. I have greatly enjoyed this book and the only thing that stops me from giving it 5 stars is a personal preference. I would have rather there had been a more in depth analysis of the early history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. However, if you are interested in Anglo-Saxon history, particularly of the individual kingdoms, then this book is what you should buy