Basing his work strongly on documentary and archaeological sources, Alfred Smyth covers traditional topics in a thoroughly unconventional manner. Winner of the 1985 Spring Book Award for Literature (Scottish Arts Council)
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A galloping and riproaring piece of work ! it left me with admiration for an author who seems to be aufait with virtually everything in the whole Scottish millennium. -- C P Hammond Bammel A scholarly book, and everyone interested in this area should read it ... it is quite splendid. A galloping and riproaring piece of work ! it left me with admiration for an author who seems to be aufait with virtually everything in the whole Scottish millennium. A scholarly book, and everyone interested in this area should read it ... it is quite splendid.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best summary of early Scottish history I have read.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland 80-1000 AD (New History of Scotland) (Paperback)
My B.A. degree dealt with the growth and development of Scottish Gaelic society and culture, and I used no book more than this one. It is challenging and accessible, and provides many reference materials such as chronological and geaneological tables. The bibilography is also outstanding. The book has been described as a 'galloping, rip-roaring' work and I wholly agree. Its greatest strength is its presentation of detailed arguements in a way which both makes a coherent point and invites further study. More than a survey, but not a specialist-only text by any means. Its counterpart for Irish history would be "The Course of Irish History" edited by T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin (Dublin: Mercier) 1994. Both are invaluable.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended,
This review is from: Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland 80-1000 AD (New History of Scotland) (Paperback)
This book won the 1985 Spring Book Award for Literature from the Scottish Arts Council, and one can see why. A wide-ranging, enthusiastic and scholarly work, it covers a great deal of ground with a surprising amount of detail for its size. Although some of the archaeological conclusions have changed in the intervening thirty years, this is still a good introduction to the period and good value for money. Topics include: Roman Britain, the Picts, St. Columba, Adomnan, Vikings, the orgins of medieval Scotland, and the conquest of the southern uplands.The author shows an impressive ability to look at the larger picture while not losing sight of details, an ability which allows him to combine seeming isolated facts into interesting combinations. Whether or not you agree with all of his conclusions, you will find many that are thought-provoking. An example is his dating of the final collapse of the British kingdom of Rheged by the series of entries in the Irish Annals of Ulster regarding the presence of roving bands of British warriors in Ireland between 682 and 709. Highly recommended.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The inhabitants of ancient Scotland were separated from the Roman province of Britannia by a series of limites or frontier walls combined with a network of forward defences and fallback positions, all of which were controlled by the praetorian governor at Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
word picti, matrilinear succession, matrilinear system, tribal kingship, alternating system, barbarian conspiracy, highland massif, vitrified forts, tribal aristocracies, symbol stones, legionary fortress, highland zone, southern uplands, warrior élite Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dál Riata, Dark Age, Annals of Ulster, Scottish Chronicle, Moray Firth, Scottish Isles, British Isles, Strathclyde Britons, Ketil Flatnose, Domnall Brecc, Olaf of Dublin, Olaf the White, Antonine Wall, Great Glen, Western Sea, Hadrian's Wall, Life of Columba, Harald Finehair, Roman Britain, Marjorie Anderson, Olaf Cuaran, Western Isles, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cenél Loairn, East Lothian New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The inhabitants of ancient Scotland were separated from the Roman province of Britannia by a series of limites or frontier walls combined with a network of forward defences and fallback positions, all of which were controlled by the praetorian governor at Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
word picti, matrilinear succession, matrilinear system, tribal kingship, alternating system, barbarian conspiracy, highland massif, vitrified forts, tribal aristocracies, symbol stones, legionary fortress, highland zone, southern uplands, warrior élite Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dál Riata, Dark Age, Annals of Ulster, Scottish Chronicle, Moray Firth, Scottish Isles, British Isles, Strathclyde Britons, Ketil Flatnose, Domnall Brecc, Olaf of Dublin, Olaf the White, Antonine Wall, Great Glen, Western Sea, Hadrian's Wall, Life of Columba, Harald Finehair, Roman Britain, Marjorie Anderson, Olaf Cuaran, Western Isles, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Cenél Loairn, East Lothian New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 54
books:
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16
books
cite this book:
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- Roman Britain: A Sourcebook (Routledge Sourcebooks for the Ancient World) by Stanley Ireland on 4 pages
- Studies in the Early British Church by Nora K. Chadwick in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Roman Britain by R.G. Collingwood on page 2, and Back Matter
- The Problem of the Picts by Frederick Threlfall Wainwright in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford History of England) by Sir Frank M. Stenton in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 54 books this book cites
- Britain and Ireland, 900-1300: Insular Responses to Medieval European Change by Brendan Smith on 4 pages
- Medieval Europeans: Studies in Ethnic Identity and National Perspectives in Medieval Europe by Alfred P. Smyth on page 49, and page 52
- Popular Religion in Late Saxon England: Elf Charms in Context by Karen Louise Jolly in Back Matter
- Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Volume 5: Sixth Series (Royal Historical Society Transactions) by Royal Historical Society on page 15
- A Short History of Scotland by Christopher Harvie in Back Matter
See all 16 books citing this book
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