Eadred

by Mark Craster-Chambers

This is the second in the Pocket Saxon Kings Series, the first being Harold Harefoot. Eadred was famous for ill health - being unable to swallow his own food. He also had to take on the infamous Eric Bloodaxe, work with Dunstan to reform the church and help establish Royal Command. This pocket book takes you into the world of Eadred, looks at the murder of his brother and discusses the possibility he may have had a hand in it. This is Saxon Kingship in a narrative style.

50 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 31, 2017

Reviews

[Angie and the Daily Book Dose · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is hard to write biographies of Saxon Kings. The documentation is scant and that which exists is biased.

The author of this small book attempts to outline the life and reign of Eadred much as one would write an entry into an encyclopedia. The author makes several suppositions which I don’t agree with. The first being that readers don’t want detailed genealogical charts. If someone is reading about a minor Saxon king from the 10th Century I feel they would want that information. Also his personal thoughts were a little too much for a serious history. He talked about introducing ancillary characters and names off; Dunstan, Edmund the Martyr, Wolfstan, and Eadgifu, his mother; but maybe a more formal introduction would have filled in the gaps. Why were the clergymen so powerful? Eric Bloodaxe was a major player in this little book, but who was he? A newcomer to this period of history would have no clue. Also some maps of the kingdoms within (Wessex and Northumbria at least)England at the time would be a great addition.

This being said I like the idea of the little pocket biographies and I will probably buy any others he writes. I just wish the footnotes had been better and the tone less informal.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciate the effort here in presenting some good information on a very obscure early English King. Similar to a few other Anglo-Saxon, House of Wessex monarchs, there is so little information it would be difficult to complete an entire biography of Eadred. After listening to a few podcasts that cover this time period, I decided to find and read more about the Kings between Alfred and William the Conqueror. Where I could imagine some improvement here in this very short book is another layer of information on the time period he ruled, with some more background information on some of the other major players and events shaping England at the time. Would love the author to complete more of these and maybe add that extra layer of detail. Regardless, great effort and really appreciated the time spent in covering a topic that has very little coverage.

[Donald Scarinci · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent brief history of a Saxon king that we know very little about. He was one of the kings who is responsible for one England. Tom Holland does an excellent job making Eadred come alive.