Anglo-Saxon England

This book is Vol. 2 of the series “The Oxford History of England”, edited by Sir George Clark.

The following is taken from the book cover of the above book, “Anglo-Saxon England”, 3rd edition, by Sir Frank Stenton. The period (c. 550-1087) to which this volume relates extends from the emergence of the earliest English kingdoms to the establishment of the Anglo-Norman monarchy in 1087. In the field of political history it covers the unification of Britain begun by the kings of Mercia and completed by the kings of Wessex, the Scandinavian settlements of the 9th century, the annexation of England to Denmark by Cnut, and the overthrow of the Old English state by William of Normandy. The development of English society is traced from the age of the oldest Anglo-Saxon laws, through the changes brought about by the growth of royal power and the extension of private lordship to the establishment of feudalism after the Norman Conquest. The volume describes the Conversion of various English kingdoms and the chief phases in the history of the Anglo-Saxon church, with particular reference to the enterprise of Anglo-Saxon missionaries in the eight century, the monastic revival inspired by Dunstan, and the ecclesiastical organisation carried through by Lanfranc. The art, coinage, and scholarship of the period are reviewed, and an account is given of the literature written in the English language, which forms the distinctive achievement of the Anglo-Saxon peoples. ‘It is surely safe to predict that this and later generations will regard Prof. Stenton’s book as one of the outstanding volumes in the series of which it forms a part, and one of the most valuable contributions ever made to our knowledge of the history of our own land.’ English Historical Review ‘For a broad and balanced survey of every aspect of Anglo-Saxon society in the movement of five hundred years there is nothing to approach Prof. Stenton’s book.’ Times Literary Supplement