A Brief History Of The Anglo-Saxons: The Beginnings Of The English Nation (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
Where to begin on this book... I guess I learned things. I shouldn't imply that it wasn't educational. Unfortunately, the book just attempted to do too much. It covers the history of England from about 450 AD to 1066 AD. It does this in about 330 exceptionally dense pages.It reads more like the Bibles's begetting section. You know... "Tim beget Jim and Jim beget Susan and Susan beget Thurstan, etc etc"If the book is covering a major event, there's so-so explanations, but most times it never exactly covers the WHY ... only the what. In other words, it's a bunch of "this happened and then this happened and then this happened." What's the usefulness of knowing there was a war between, say, Mercia and Wessex in the 700s if you don't know why it was fought?Here's a passage, maybe it'll help explain what I'm getting at:"In a reign of eight years Oswald so dominated affairs throughout Britain south of Pictland that, in Bede's view, he achieved the imperium. He annexed the kingdom of Lindsey, where Mercia also had an interest, and married the daughter of Cynegils of Wessex on the condition that her father convert to Christianity. Oswald stood godfather and, as we have seen, is named as joint donor when Cynegils confers Dorchester-upon-Thames on Birinus, first bishop of Wessex, as the seat of his diocese: a practical exercise of the kind of authority implicit in the word imperium."And it goes on to talk about how he became a saint and his body parts seen as holy relics: "The cult was to become widespread on the continent. In one version a raven is mysteriously involved and the pagan Germanic associations are echoed in other ways." I suppose the book just isn't a good read when one knows so little about English history.
This was a really interesting book, with a lot of information to take in. Hindley drew on current research and theories to give a well rounded account of the Anglo-Saxon period, discussing varying topics such as literature, law, invasion and kingship. I found that it was sometimes a struggle at times to keep the lineages clear in my head, and not get confused with the key figures who shared very similar names. Hindley's style of writing was difficult at times with some sentences running into five or six lines and I also found myself having to re-read in order to see where the stresses were intended. The flow of the book was sometimes interrupted by this whilst I questioned whether a sentence made sense or not! There are a few mistakes in the text so it could be due to proof reading but I feel it was more likely just Hindley's style. This did not overly detract from the book as the subjects discussed were fascinating and suitably explained for someone like me who only has a sparse knowledge of the period. The book seemed to become more lively and easier to read as it progressed with the opening sections feeling very heavy going and almost an assault of information! Worth reading but doesn't quite fulfil the idea of a "brief" history. It is condensed but still contains a lot of detail.
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