Kings and Kingdoms of Early Anglo-Saxon England

by Barbara Yorke

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.

Genres: History, Anglo Saxon, Nonfiction, British Literature, Medieval, Medieval History

218 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1990

About the author

Barbara York is Professor of Early Medieval History, University of Winchester.

Reviews

[Peter Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book and one that everyone should read. It is comparable to Kirby's Earliest English Kings, but far superior. They both cover the same topics, tap out when the Micel Here invades, they came out more or less at the same time and both have 178 pages, sans endnotes. However, there are some important differences. The first one is readability. The writing in Yorke's is elegant and the pages turn themselves. Whilst Kirby visits each kingdom three times at different periods, Yorke stays with each one from creation to demise or in the case of Wessex, triumph.

The first chapter talks about sources in general. It then moves on to each kingdom in order: Kent, East Saxons, East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. The final chapter is on the development of Kingship during this period. Internally, each chapter will discuss the sources for that kingdom and then the history before looking at themes such as sources of royal power, the royal family, administration and then give a conclusion. This works very well and gives you more of a sense of history than Kirby's book. The South Saxons are absent, because the book only deals with the 'six best recorded kingdoms'. This is a drawback, but in fairness, the South Saxons are best known through when other kingdoms had dealings with them, so they do get a look in whenever a foreign king goes on holiday there with his army.

This book covers a lot of ground and to some depth. There are a few things that I think Yorke could have explored further, such as how the Mercians seem to be the only overlords who used the warriors of their sub-kingdoms on campaign and the endnotes would have been perfect for a brief comment on it. Instead, the notes are just for reference only.

Three things you'll take away from this book:
1, it is surprising that Bishop Wilfrid wasn't helped to fall down a well one dark night,
2, the resilience of core areas of kingdoms that were in decline, like the East Angles and Northumbria,
3, the length of time it could take for a sub-kingdom to become part of an aggressor kingdom,

[Robert Monk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though it's getting a bit old now, this is still the best survey of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms prior to the unification of England under Alfred and his successors that I know. Each of the major kingdoms (Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, etc) gets its own chapter, outlining what we know, giving a regnal list as best as can be determined (and explaining the problems in doing so), and discussing developments within that area. The last chapter is an overview of Anglo Saxon kingship, its development, powers, and weaknesses. I reread this in its entirety from time to time, but I use it as a reference a lot. Good book to have around.

[E Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant exploration of the murky sub-Roman kingdoms in we now know as England. This critical analysis of the surviving historic chronicles coupled with available archaeological data challenges ideas of the development of England, such as the clear evidence of Celtic origins of royal houses, the level of inherited knowledge of Roman administrative practices and the complicated world of inter-kingdom politics.

[Andrew Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this for my university course in 1997 and decided to refresh my memory. The book is still as good as I remember. It provides an excellent view of the various territories of Anglo-Saxon England prior to the unification that formed a unified England.

[Ella Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and concise account.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, excellent. This book is wonderfully written!

[Steve Mepham · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting , but highly accademic book, providing some background into post-Roman Britain and the 'so-called' dark ages.

[Tegels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Current academic thinking on early Anglo-Saxon England - a must-read for those interested in that era.

[Rae Ele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very dense, very informative, and quite good.