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Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England
Many Anglo-Saxon kings are familiar. Æthelred the Unready is one, yet less is written of his wife, who was consort of two kings and championed one of her sons over the others, or his mother who was an anointed queen and powerful regent, but was also accused of witchcraft and regicide. A royal abbess educated five bishops and was instrumental in deciding the date of Easter; another took on the might of Canterbury and Rome and was accused by the monks of fratricide.
Anglo-Saxon women were prized for their bloodlines - one had such rich blood that it sparked a war - and one was appointed regent of a foreign country. Royal mothers wielded power; Eadgifu, wife of Edward the Elder, maintained a position of authority during the reigns of both her sons.
Æthelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, was a queen in all but name, while few have heard of Queen Seaxburh, who ruled Wessex, or Queen Cynethryth, who issued her own coinage. She, too, was accused of murder, but was also, like many of the royal women, literate and highly-educated.
From seventh-century Northumbria to eleventh-century Wessex and making extensive use of primary sources, Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England examines the lives of individual women in a way that has often been done for the Anglo-Saxon men but not for their wives, sisters, mothers and daughters. It tells their stories: those who ruled and schemed, the peace-weavers and the warrior women, the saints and the sinners. It explores, and restores, their reputations.
Anglo-Saxon women were prized for their bloodlines - one had such rich blood that it sparked a war - and one was appointed regent of a foreign country. Royal mothers wielded power; Eadgifu, wife of Edward the Elder, maintained a position of authority during the reigns of both her sons.
Æthelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, was a queen in all but name, while few have heard of Queen Seaxburh, who ruled Wessex, or Queen Cynethryth, who issued her own coinage. She, too, was accused of murder, but was also, like many of the royal women, literate and highly-educated.
From seventh-century Northumbria to eleventh-century Wessex and making extensive use of primary sources, Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England examines the lives of individual women in a way that has often been done for the Anglo-Saxon men but not for their wives, sisters, mothers and daughters. It tells their stories: those who ruled and schemed, the peace-weavers and the warrior women, the saints and the sinners. It explores, and restores, their reputations.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 30, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 24, 2020
Miss Whitehead has the talent to entertain while informing. What a pleasure to read about the _women_ of Anglo Saxon England for a change. It is about time that the men were sidelined a little!
With impeccable research, a love for the facts and the ability to draw the reader in, Ms Whitehead has, yet again, created a book which highly deserves a place on every bookshelf of readers and writers who have a fondness for the period of history between the going of the Romans to the Norman Conquest.
I particularly enjoyed the section about Emma of Normandy, wife to Æthelred and Cnut, mother of Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor a subject which is dear to my own heart as I have written about - and researched - this fascinating woman myself. I could not find fault with this section - nor indeed any of this book.
Very highly recommended.
ARC edition reviewed
With impeccable research, a love for the facts and the ability to draw the reader in, Ms Whitehead has, yet again, created a book which highly deserves a place on every bookshelf of readers and writers who have a fondness for the period of history between the going of the Romans to the Norman Conquest.
I particularly enjoyed the section about Emma of Normandy, wife to Æthelred and Cnut, mother of Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor a subject which is dear to my own heart as I have written about - and researched - this fascinating woman myself. I could not find fault with this section - nor indeed any of this book.
Very highly recommended.
ARC edition reviewed
March 25, 2020
LIFE IS JUST TOO SHORT FOR BOOKS LIKE THIS 🤷♀️🤷♀️
DNF at 21%
When I got this ARC I was so excited - that didn't last past page 1. There was absolutely nothing captivating, informative or enlightening about this book, simply because it was so badly written. I get that this is a difficult topic to illuminate; there are lot of names, a lot of people and many of them are even named the same. That's why it is so important to write clearly, provide context, introduce new characters carefully and stay on topic. Whitehead did none of those things, making this one of the most confusing books I have read in a very long time.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
DNF at 21%
When I got this ARC I was so excited - that didn't last past page 1. There was absolutely nothing captivating, informative or enlightening about this book, simply because it was so badly written. I get that this is a difficult topic to illuminate; there are lot of names, a lot of people and many of them are even named the same. That's why it is so important to write clearly, provide context, introduce new characters carefully and stay on topic. Whitehead did none of those things, making this one of the most confusing books I have read in a very long time.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
February 25, 2020
If you think that the women of the Dark Ages simply sat back with their embroidery and took little notice of what their husbands or sons, uncles or cousins were doing, then think again! Women of those times were hugely influential and Annie Whitehead proves this time and again in this excellent account of life for and role of women in those turbulent times.
For the most part, each section is dealt with chronologically, which is most helpful for the reader. The author has very much kept the reader in mind in making this an easier read than one might think given all those awkward names and very convoluted family relationships. Family trees are equally useful and thankfully these are included as well.
The women themselves range from wicked to saintly, pushy mothers and wives and even a 'Warrior Queen' – though whether Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, actually wielded a sword is obviously debatable. Also debatable is the reliability of sources and Ms Whitehead examines these discrepancies, omissions, insertions and sometimes tall tales with level headed and unbiased neutrality, offering her own interpretations but always with solid research as her back-up. What comes through very clearly is that many of these women would have been of little worth had it not been for their bloodlines. Yet there were many of 'low birth' who rose to power.
Several black and white plates show the main locations of power – castles and abbeys – as well as a splendid line drawing. Especially pleasing was an Appendix of the women who were canonised together with the deeds they were credited with for achieving their sainthoods.
All in all, this is an essential work for those interested, professionally or not, in this period and should be made available in local libraries.
I too was sent ARC copy prior to publication
For the most part, each section is dealt with chronologically, which is most helpful for the reader. The author has very much kept the reader in mind in making this an easier read than one might think given all those awkward names and very convoluted family relationships. Family trees are equally useful and thankfully these are included as well.
The women themselves range from wicked to saintly, pushy mothers and wives and even a 'Warrior Queen' – though whether Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, actually wielded a sword is obviously debatable. Also debatable is the reliability of sources and Ms Whitehead examines these discrepancies, omissions, insertions and sometimes tall tales with level headed and unbiased neutrality, offering her own interpretations but always with solid research as her back-up. What comes through very clearly is that many of these women would have been of little worth had it not been for their bloodlines. Yet there were many of 'low birth' who rose to power.
Several black and white plates show the main locations of power – castles and abbeys – as well as a splendid line drawing. Especially pleasing was an Appendix of the women who were canonised together with the deeds they were credited with for achieving their sainthoods.
All in all, this is an essential work for those interested, professionally or not, in this period and should be made available in local libraries.
I too was sent ARC copy prior to publication
February 25, 2020
The difficulty with studying women in history, especially the further back in time we go, is that they tend to be relegated to the shadows. When they are referenced, it may be only as a footnote to a man’s story or slandered for their agency. Trying to lift them from the obscure pages of history, to show who they were, is an important endeavour not just for ‘herstory’ but to better understand the societies of the past.
This is what Women of Power accomplishes. Annie Whitehead uses a variety of sources (annals, charters, and legends) as well as her deep knowledge of this era to glean information about the lives of these influential Anglo Saxon women: queens, abbesses, consorts and concubines. I was amazed at the breadth of information that was gathered to flesh these women out. The narrative is persuasive and engaging, and the author manages to balance informative and thorough along with accessible. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Anglo Saxon history.
Thank you for the publisher for providing an advanced copy.
This is what Women of Power accomplishes. Annie Whitehead uses a variety of sources (annals, charters, and legends) as well as her deep knowledge of this era to glean information about the lives of these influential Anglo Saxon women: queens, abbesses, consorts and concubines. I was amazed at the breadth of information that was gathered to flesh these women out. The narrative is persuasive and engaging, and the author manages to balance informative and thorough along with accessible. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Anglo Saxon history.
Thank you for the publisher for providing an advanced copy.
April 28, 2020
Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England is a wonderfully written account of women in the Dark Ages who tempted fate to influence history. The author, a member of the Royal Historical Society and Historical Writers Association, paints a vivid portrait of a time that, in some respects, resembles our own, but in many others differs greatly. She covers a wide spectrum of women from sinner to saint, harlot to hero, regent to ruler, bringing all to life with personal references from books they read to jewelry they wore. Using the scant material available for such a little-known historical era, the author plays the perfect sleuth, presenting varying accounts, often with opposing viewpoints, to ferret out the most likely scenario while still presenting viable alternatives. Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England is a perfect complement to Mercia, Annie Whitehead’s last non-fiction work and, consistent with her prior efforts, also offers a detailed bibliography and list of on-line sources for those inspired by her work to further explore the time period. Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England is a must read for history enthusiasts, containing detailed facts flavored with just a bit of gossip to keep the reader fully engaged. Another five-star effort by an expert in the field.
February 27, 2020
Women's history has at last become more popular. The neglected story of 50% of the population is not an easy area of research as the sources are often scarce and sparse once you can find them. Modern historical researchers must thus be more meticulous and insightful to the point of intuitive to tease out their story.The Late Antiquity to Conquest period in England is fraught from this point of view, and Ms Whitehead has tackled this field with determination and courage.
The research is obvious and detailed. Sources are well-quoted and, unlike many academic books, the language is accessible for the interested reader.
I found the arrangement by topic very helpful, a much better approach that going purely by period. Obviously, this approach brings in repetition of names and references to already mentioned events and connections, but the real value of this approach is setting the subjects in context which I think is crucial when the sources are sparse.
Thank you to the author/Pen& Sword for an advance copy.
The research is obvious and detailed. Sources are well-quoted and, unlike many academic books, the language is accessible for the interested reader.
I found the arrangement by topic very helpful, a much better approach that going purely by period. Obviously, this approach brings in repetition of names and references to already mentioned events and connections, but the real value of this approach is setting the subjects in context which I think is crucial when the sources are sparse.
Thank you to the author/Pen& Sword for an advance copy.
May 9, 2020
This is the second non-fiction work I’ve read by Annie Whitehead and I found it every bit as thorough and absorbing as the first. It is an outstanding study of many powerful women who lived between the seventh century and the eleventh and the influence they wielded on people and events of their times. The author’s passion for, and knowledge of, the Anglo-Saxon period shine through in the detailed examples and little stories she has unearthed that give insight into the characters of these women. Many of them were familiar to me by name, but little more, and the stories of some are embedded in legend. This book served to fill in many pieces of information I hadn’t previously known.
One of the things Ms Whitehead makes clear is that far more women were literate and highly educated than previously believed, and many exerted their influence through their roles as land owners, powerful abbesses, royal wives, consorts or the mothers of kings. Ms Whitehead thoroughly examines the role of dowager queens – as Aelfthryth and Emma in the tenth and eleventh centuries – and the fact that the mothers of kings had much more power than wives.
The exhaustive research for this book is evident in the comparisons between the many sources, annals, ‘Lives’ and chronicles regarding the ways in which they portrayed these influential women. In such documents only a few women were mentioned in any depth. For most women, only their positions in relation to husbands, fathers and brothers were of significance, along with their goodness, chastity and piety. Ms Whitehead expertly examines bias and prejudice, and I was fascinated by the fact that a number of women were described a ‘wicked’ or ‘wanton’ by later chroniclers.
It was also interesting to note that by the time of King Cnut in the eleventh century, stricter laws regarding the ‘carrying off’ of women by force, sending them to nunneries and forcing them to marry had come about. Unfortunately, the Norman Conquest of England brought about further changes in women’s rights – and not, by any means, for the better.
Overall, this book is perfect for research, or for readers interested in gaining a more rounded view of women of the Anglo-Saxon period.
One of the things Ms Whitehead makes clear is that far more women were literate and highly educated than previously believed, and many exerted their influence through their roles as land owners, powerful abbesses, royal wives, consorts or the mothers of kings. Ms Whitehead thoroughly examines the role of dowager queens – as Aelfthryth and Emma in the tenth and eleventh centuries – and the fact that the mothers of kings had much more power than wives.
The exhaustive research for this book is evident in the comparisons between the many sources, annals, ‘Lives’ and chronicles regarding the ways in which they portrayed these influential women. In such documents only a few women were mentioned in any depth. For most women, only their positions in relation to husbands, fathers and brothers were of significance, along with their goodness, chastity and piety. Ms Whitehead expertly examines bias and prejudice, and I was fascinated by the fact that a number of women were described a ‘wicked’ or ‘wanton’ by later chroniclers.
It was also interesting to note that by the time of King Cnut in the eleventh century, stricter laws regarding the ‘carrying off’ of women by force, sending them to nunneries and forcing them to marry had come about. Unfortunately, the Norman Conquest of England brought about further changes in women’s rights – and not, by any means, for the better.
Overall, this book is perfect for research, or for readers interested in gaining a more rounded view of women of the Anglo-Saxon period.
March 15, 2020
This book is an important study of the life and times of women long ago. The writer is a historian and this is not fiction (although I have read and enjoyed her historical novels), it is a detailed examination of the power - and powerlessness - of certain high-ranking women during the so-called Dark Ages. Not being very familiar with the epoch, I initially struggled with some Anglo-Saxon names, but as I read on I became more comfortable with the author's style and frankly in awe of the research involved. I learned that these women were highly literate, that they used their rank, money and skills to set up religious foundations, and some became revered as saints. In general, however, a wife had less control over her domestic situation than a mother, even a widowed mother. This is useful reading for anyone interested in women's history, in Anglo-Saxon households, or in some of the lesser known queens of Mercia, Wessex and Northumbria.
August 7, 2025
If you have any interest in Anglo-Saxons, the role of women in history, or if you are one of those women-were-always-just-broodmares-and-we-need-to-go-back-to-that men, you should read it.
While Whitehead had a tendency to skip around a bit in her narrative, there is a clear structure to the text presented. The woman are divided by family first, and time they were active second. Be warned that these are Anglo-Saxons, and a lot of names are quite similar. So be prepared to reread passages, and don't try and follow this right before bed. You wont.
Disclaimer, I am not expect on any of this, so I cannot tell you if there are mistakes. There is a very extensive glossary however, so I doubt that there are.
I did really like learning about the way these woman held power, but how we see power today as soft power. I was especially surprised to learn about how monastaries were double houses and the power an abess held during these times (modern media does a bad job portraying this). I was also pleasantly surprised that while Whitehead touched upon Aethelflaed, and described the sort of power she held, she was not the main focus of this book. What also surprised me was the amount of power that was involved with being mother or grandmother to a king, rather than being a queen itself.
Also, please men read this, because Whitehead paints a clear picture of how men during these times were not surprised that a woman could rule a kingdom, and how some women might have even led battles (?) during this time.
While Whitehead had a tendency to skip around a bit in her narrative, there is a clear structure to the text presented. The woman are divided by family first, and time they were active second. Be warned that these are Anglo-Saxons, and a lot of names are quite similar. So be prepared to reread passages, and don't try and follow this right before bed. You wont.
Disclaimer, I am not expect on any of this, so I cannot tell you if there are mistakes. There is a very extensive glossary however, so I doubt that there are.
I did really like learning about the way these woman held power, but how we see power today as soft power. I was especially surprised to learn about how monastaries were double houses and the power an abess held during these times (modern media does a bad job portraying this). I was also pleasantly surprised that while Whitehead touched upon Aethelflaed, and described the sort of power she held, she was not the main focus of this book. What also surprised me was the amount of power that was involved with being mother or grandmother to a king, rather than being a queen itself.
Also, please men read this, because Whitehead paints a clear picture of how men during these times were not surprised that a woman could rule a kingdom, and how some women might have even led battles (?) during this time.
May 30, 2020
I genuinely enjoyed Women of Power. The rare fragments of extant information offer a small but tempting view of these women. For some, the solitary mention conveys nothing more than their existence, especially when the chronicler didn’t trouble to record their name. Still, for some, their personality, wit, and intellect reaches out to us through the centuries. The strength and determination these women possessed to do what needed to be done reveals them as the solid backbone and driving force of their family, truly the strength behind the throne.
While much information has been gleaned from surviving documents, the contemporary practice of understating, omitting, or reassigning women’s accomplishments in the records is highlighted by the dearth of information of women in a position of great wealth and power. In contrast, royal / noble women were generally literate, accepted as legal witnesses, and, in some cases, their advice was sought, taken, and appreciated. The lives of these women was a mixture of both less and more freedom than in subsequent centuries. A woman who was able to address complaints legally was more progressive than I expected, especially when she had access to a female royal advocate in the process.
I appreciated the explanatory text early in the book regarding the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, conditions around women’s rights, family arrangements, customs, marriages, betrothals, and the normal roles of Anglo-Saxon women. It provided a basis for understanding why things were done the way they were. I especially liked the history of the double houses of which I’d not read before but would like to read more in the future.
Annie Whitehead’s ability to sift through so many identical, or nearly so, names and keep them straight is awe-inspiring. As a genealogist, I know the difficulty keeping even contemporary names sorted. I was fascinated by the content on origins of contemporary place names and the alliteration of family names; especially in how that practice is helpful in tracking family groups. In the absence of surnames, the application of nicknames that reflected a trait or origin makes sense. Place names in use today derived from the names of powerful women from 1,000+ years ago is knowledge I’d like to see more widely known.
I enjoy research, so the S# citations for the source rolls and charters satisfied that part of me. It gave such fragile, ethereal information a degree of substance at the time of reading, a tangible existence, especially where the information regarding one individual was scarce. She did exist and she did witness this very document. While so many charters are no longer in existence, I marvel at the ones that survived; how much information has been lost? The appeal of mystery!
Women of Power brings to light scores of intelligent, powerful women with a keen ability for critical thinking, many of whom had a spicy attitude! The author’s careful research reveals how the qualities that gave these women their independent personalities often subjected them to accusations of murder, witchcraft, intrigue, betrayal, as well as resulting in the outright murder of a couple.
My interest was grasped and held from beginning to end. Besides being an enjoyable and informative read, it will serve as a wonderful reference. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Anglo-Saxon history and/or women’s studies.
While much information has been gleaned from surviving documents, the contemporary practice of understating, omitting, or reassigning women’s accomplishments in the records is highlighted by the dearth of information of women in a position of great wealth and power. In contrast, royal / noble women were generally literate, accepted as legal witnesses, and, in some cases, their advice was sought, taken, and appreciated. The lives of these women was a mixture of both less and more freedom than in subsequent centuries. A woman who was able to address complaints legally was more progressive than I expected, especially when she had access to a female royal advocate in the process.
I appreciated the explanatory text early in the book regarding the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, conditions around women’s rights, family arrangements, customs, marriages, betrothals, and the normal roles of Anglo-Saxon women. It provided a basis for understanding why things were done the way they were. I especially liked the history of the double houses of which I’d not read before but would like to read more in the future.
Annie Whitehead’s ability to sift through so many identical, or nearly so, names and keep them straight is awe-inspiring. As a genealogist, I know the difficulty keeping even contemporary names sorted. I was fascinated by the content on origins of contemporary place names and the alliteration of family names; especially in how that practice is helpful in tracking family groups. In the absence of surnames, the application of nicknames that reflected a trait or origin makes sense. Place names in use today derived from the names of powerful women from 1,000+ years ago is knowledge I’d like to see more widely known.
I enjoy research, so the S# citations for the source rolls and charters satisfied that part of me. It gave such fragile, ethereal information a degree of substance at the time of reading, a tangible existence, especially where the information regarding one individual was scarce. She did exist and she did witness this very document. While so many charters are no longer in existence, I marvel at the ones that survived; how much information has been lost? The appeal of mystery!
Women of Power brings to light scores of intelligent, powerful women with a keen ability for critical thinking, many of whom had a spicy attitude! The author’s careful research reveals how the qualities that gave these women their independent personalities often subjected them to accusations of murder, witchcraft, intrigue, betrayal, as well as resulting in the outright murder of a couple.
My interest was grasped and held from beginning to end. Besides being an enjoyable and informative read, it will serve as a wonderful reference. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Anglo-Saxon history and/or women’s studies.
June 25, 2020
When one studies English history, many people tend to focus on the year 1066 with William the Conqueror and the Norman Conquest as a starting point. However, just like any great civilization, others formed the foundation of English history; they were known as the Anglo-Saxons. What we know about the Anglo-Saxons come from the records of the kings of the different kingdoms of England, which paints a picture of harsh and tumultuous times with power-struggles. However, every strong king and gentleman of the time knew that to succeed, they needed a woman that was equally strong with a bloodline that would make them untouchable. The stories of these women who helped define this era of Anglo-Saxon rulers in England have long been hidden, until now. In her latest book, “Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England”, Annie Whitehead dives deep into the archives to shed some light on the stories of the formidable women who defined an era.
I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. I was not familiar with this period so I thought this would be a good book to dive into. This is the first book that I have read that was written by Annie Whitehead and I was thoroughly impressed with her passion for this subject.
Whitehead begins her book by explaining the rights that women had and how they could accept or deny a marriage, which seems like they had more rights than medieval women who I normally study. These women were queens, princesses, saints, regents, abbesses, a former slave, and some were accused of murder. To understand the significance of every woman, Whitehead organized her book not only in chronological order (covering several centuries worth of stories) but by the kingdoms which they called home. They had to deal with fluid family dynamics, dramatic dynastic feuds, vicious Vikings and other invaders, and monastic reform. To read most of these tales for the first time was invigorating and truly changed what I thought the lives of women were like during Anglo-Saxon England. Myths and legends circulated figures, such as Lady Godiva and Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, but Whitehead has taken the time to separate fact from fiction.
If I did have a concern with this book it would be that I did get a bit confused with family connections. The family trees at the beginning of each chapter did help a bit, but when different men and women from the same family shared the same name, it was a challenge to tell them apart. Although I did take a copious amount of notes, I did find myself rereading passages so that I could figure out the significance of the person that Whitehead was discussing in certain passages.
I think this book is intriguing as it explores women who have stood in the shadows for centuries. Whitehead’s passion and her elegant writing style bring these Anglo-Saxon women to life. I would say that if you are familiar with this time period, you might understand the significant figures and events a bit better than someone who is a novice to this era. If you want to learn more about Anglo-Saxon women, I would suggest you read, “Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England” by Annie Whitehead.
I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books for sending me a copy of this book. I was not familiar with this period so I thought this would be a good book to dive into. This is the first book that I have read that was written by Annie Whitehead and I was thoroughly impressed with her passion for this subject.
Whitehead begins her book by explaining the rights that women had and how they could accept or deny a marriage, which seems like they had more rights than medieval women who I normally study. These women were queens, princesses, saints, regents, abbesses, a former slave, and some were accused of murder. To understand the significance of every woman, Whitehead organized her book not only in chronological order (covering several centuries worth of stories) but by the kingdoms which they called home. They had to deal with fluid family dynamics, dramatic dynastic feuds, vicious Vikings and other invaders, and monastic reform. To read most of these tales for the first time was invigorating and truly changed what I thought the lives of women were like during Anglo-Saxon England. Myths and legends circulated figures, such as Lady Godiva and Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, but Whitehead has taken the time to separate fact from fiction.
If I did have a concern with this book it would be that I did get a bit confused with family connections. The family trees at the beginning of each chapter did help a bit, but when different men and women from the same family shared the same name, it was a challenge to tell them apart. Although I did take a copious amount of notes, I did find myself rereading passages so that I could figure out the significance of the person that Whitehead was discussing in certain passages.
I think this book is intriguing as it explores women who have stood in the shadows for centuries. Whitehead’s passion and her elegant writing style bring these Anglo-Saxon women to life. I would say that if you are familiar with this time period, you might understand the significant figures and events a bit better than someone who is a novice to this era. If you want to learn more about Anglo-Saxon women, I would suggest you read, “Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England” by Annie Whitehead.
May 27, 2020
Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England is an ambitious project, on a scale that few may truly appreciate as it covers over 600 years of Early English history. That's even before factoring in just how fragmented the surviving sources are, and how complicated they can be and how many languages are involved. Or the fact that the majority of such sources were written by men, and not just men, but men in holy orders. As someone who has written about some of these fabulous women, I know just how difficult and complicated a task it is, and just how far you have to go in order to tease out the smallest details.
It is for this reason, that the book can feel a little unwieldy in places. I think that people new to the subject matter and to the time period might well struggle with the first section of the book on Pioneers in Northumbria. In an effort to include every woman, of whom so little is known that sometimes it is just a name, it can feel a little bit like a long list of women who you might not be able to fully grasp their importance in the events of the period. There might also be some frustration that the women could only be powerful because of who they married, gave birth to, or were born to. This, however, can't be avoided. It is the nature of the sources.
And I must urge people to continue reading as the author soon lands on more solid ground (because there is more information available and the women feel more fully formed.) The chapters on Mercia and Wessex are a much easier read, and by the time we reach the chapters on Serial Monogamy and Dowager Queens, the women feel 'real.' Again, this is because of an increase in the source material, and potentially, because readers will know more about the tenth and eleventh centuries.
The author manages to cover an extraordinary number of women over the long centuries of the Early English period, and if there are moments where I might have included different information, or rejected some of the Saints Lives and Anglo-Norman historians from the narrative, this is a personal choice, based on my own research methodology which does seem to be the exception rather than the norm.
I confess, the book would have benefitted from a chronology for each chapter, and perhaps a slightly different format (I read an ebook so this might display differently in the paperback), but overall, I am in awe of the author's ability to hold the narrative together and to produce something that I hope will encourage people to further research these wonderful characters who should be just as well known as their male counterparts.
It is for this reason, that the book can feel a little unwieldy in places. I think that people new to the subject matter and to the time period might well struggle with the first section of the book on Pioneers in Northumbria. In an effort to include every woman, of whom so little is known that sometimes it is just a name, it can feel a little bit like a long list of women who you might not be able to fully grasp their importance in the events of the period. There might also be some frustration that the women could only be powerful because of who they married, gave birth to, or were born to. This, however, can't be avoided. It is the nature of the sources.
And I must urge people to continue reading as the author soon lands on more solid ground (because there is more information available and the women feel more fully formed.) The chapters on Mercia and Wessex are a much easier read, and by the time we reach the chapters on Serial Monogamy and Dowager Queens, the women feel 'real.' Again, this is because of an increase in the source material, and potentially, because readers will know more about the tenth and eleventh centuries.
The author manages to cover an extraordinary number of women over the long centuries of the Early English period, and if there are moments where I might have included different information, or rejected some of the Saints Lives and Anglo-Norman historians from the narrative, this is a personal choice, based on my own research methodology which does seem to be the exception rather than the norm.
I confess, the book would have benefitted from a chronology for each chapter, and perhaps a slightly different format (I read an ebook so this might display differently in the paperback), but overall, I am in awe of the author's ability to hold the narrative together and to produce something that I hope will encourage people to further research these wonderful characters who should be just as well known as their male counterparts.
March 1, 2020
Women of Power is an apt title for this absorbing volume of research, speculation, and postulation that comprises Ms Whitehead’s fascinating new release. But in this break-through study, there is a huge bonus for those of us not deeply familiar with this period of history. For behind the records lies something even more tantalizing --- the whisper of legends that have grown up around powerful women in Anglo Saxon England, perpetuated by later chroniclers and extant in mis-information and myths.
Ms Whitehead’s grasp of family relationships is impressive, and the minute details of her research a powerful catalyst propelling the narrative forward. And yet, for me, the stories within the details are what enthralled. A record of a woman’s right to receive goods, cattle, and the residual of estates, hinting at a full life well-lived. An illustration of how a simple action of defense could be twisted by future chroniclers into a full-out war, with women as the hapless antagonists. And, perhaps the most poignant of stories, how the discovery of blue lapis lazuli in the mouth of a woman’s remains led to the conclusion that female scribes were not only in the monastery scriptoriums, they were entrusted with the most precious of volumes. In between her illustrations, she must have been licking her paintbrush.
The depth of research and breadth of detail in Women of Power is articulated on every page; family trees and carefully planned chapters help navigate us through these centuries of oral and recorded history, and Ms Whitehead’s steady hand on the wheel steers us through known and unknown territories. Her conversational style brings the records to life, and her inclusion of the personal details ensures the extraordinary, powerful women are not consigned to the shadows, but shine as personalities within their own right. Highly recommend for researchers, historians, and those genuinely interested in enjoying learning more about this formative time in English history.
My thanks to the Author and Pen and Sword Publishing for an Advance Copy of the book.
Ms Whitehead’s grasp of family relationships is impressive, and the minute details of her research a powerful catalyst propelling the narrative forward. And yet, for me, the stories within the details are what enthralled. A record of a woman’s right to receive goods, cattle, and the residual of estates, hinting at a full life well-lived. An illustration of how a simple action of defense could be twisted by future chroniclers into a full-out war, with women as the hapless antagonists. And, perhaps the most poignant of stories, how the discovery of blue lapis lazuli in the mouth of a woman’s remains led to the conclusion that female scribes were not only in the monastery scriptoriums, they were entrusted with the most precious of volumes. In between her illustrations, she must have been licking her paintbrush.
The depth of research and breadth of detail in Women of Power is articulated on every page; family trees and carefully planned chapters help navigate us through these centuries of oral and recorded history, and Ms Whitehead’s steady hand on the wheel steers us through known and unknown territories. Her conversational style brings the records to life, and her inclusion of the personal details ensures the extraordinary, powerful women are not consigned to the shadows, but shine as personalities within their own right. Highly recommend for researchers, historians, and those genuinely interested in enjoying learning more about this formative time in English history.
My thanks to the Author and Pen and Sword Publishing for an Advance Copy of the book.
July 27, 2020
Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England, by Annie Whitehead, 2020, 158 pages plus appendix and endnotes,
I enjoyed this book. It nicely straddles that sometimes awkward line between being academically useful, but also pleasant to read. It was great to see Ann Williams and Marie Hilder thanked in the acknowledgements, too.
This work puts women at the centre of Anglo-Saxon history and that makes for a refreshing perspective. Awkwardly, women only tend to get mentioned in the sources under certain circumstances, such as a murder, a marriage, motherhood, a bequest or being a saint. Whitehead did a good job in pulling these disparate appearances together and creating something that is more than the sum of its parts.
She did well in disentangling saints' lives of dubious historicity and I don't envy her having to make sense of them (the appendix on the lives of saints is useful in itself). Similarly, I'm glad that she looked into the complications of Edgar's first two marriages. The original sources are capable of various interpretations and the permutations wide ranging enough to give anyone a headache when trying to get to the bottom of this.
There were quite a few interesting points raised, such as those concerning the significance of the poorly attested Aelfflaed, not reading too much into the alliteration of Cyne names as they aren't limited to one kingdom and above all the blinding of Alfred by Harold Harefoot, son of Aelfgifu, mirroring the blindings of her brothers Wulfheah and Ufegeat at the behest of Alfred's father.
There were only a few things that may be revised, such as a slight error in Wilfrid being labelled archbishop of York, when it was a bishopric, Aethelraed instead of Coenred of Mercia abdicating to go to Rome and Cnut being mixed up in the death of Archbishop Aelfheah. It's obvious that Whitehead knows her stuff and so these were just overlooked.
This is a good book that has added to our knowledge of an area that should really be studied more.
I enjoyed this book. It nicely straddles that sometimes awkward line between being academically useful, but also pleasant to read. It was great to see Ann Williams and Marie Hilder thanked in the acknowledgements, too.
This work puts women at the centre of Anglo-Saxon history and that makes for a refreshing perspective. Awkwardly, women only tend to get mentioned in the sources under certain circumstances, such as a murder, a marriage, motherhood, a bequest or being a saint. Whitehead did a good job in pulling these disparate appearances together and creating something that is more than the sum of its parts.
She did well in disentangling saints' lives of dubious historicity and I don't envy her having to make sense of them (the appendix on the lives of saints is useful in itself). Similarly, I'm glad that she looked into the complications of Edgar's first two marriages. The original sources are capable of various interpretations and the permutations wide ranging enough to give anyone a headache when trying to get to the bottom of this.
There were quite a few interesting points raised, such as those concerning the significance of the poorly attested Aelfflaed, not reading too much into the alliteration of Cyne names as they aren't limited to one kingdom and above all the blinding of Alfred by Harold Harefoot, son of Aelfgifu, mirroring the blindings of her brothers Wulfheah and Ufegeat at the behest of Alfred's father.
There were only a few things that may be revised, such as a slight error in Wilfrid being labelled archbishop of York, when it was a bishopric, Aethelraed instead of Coenred of Mercia abdicating to go to Rome and Cnut being mixed up in the death of Archbishop Aelfheah. It's obvious that Whitehead knows her stuff and so these were just overlooked.
This is a good book that has added to our knowledge of an area that should really be studied more.
October 24, 2022
Not quite a two.
Well this was hard going. I mean, I guess if you wanted this to live on your shelf so you could look up the Saxon women you see in other books, then sure, grand. If you want to read this, cover to cover, my advice would be don't. The author has crashed every single Anglo-Saxon woman into one book without thinking of the poor reader. There is no coherence to this that I can see: it honestly seems to have no attempt at organisation. I'll read scientific papers, but this gave me a headache. It's not just that it's dry, though it is, it's as if every woman from the period was researched in no particular order and then these research notes were typed up and published as is. I honestly don't know what else to say. It's a great shame, because the information is there; it's just difficult to read.
The best bit is the very end where we discover that St Margaret (who the author names as the patron saint of Scotland though I haven't been able to find this anywhere else) has attributed to her relics at least two cases of curing the swallowing of lizards, which must have been some sort of problem in the Early Mediaeval period. Good to know.
Well this was hard going. I mean, I guess if you wanted this to live on your shelf so you could look up the Saxon women you see in other books, then sure, grand. If you want to read this, cover to cover, my advice would be don't. The author has crashed every single Anglo-Saxon woman into one book without thinking of the poor reader. There is no coherence to this that I can see: it honestly seems to have no attempt at organisation. I'll read scientific papers, but this gave me a headache. It's not just that it's dry, though it is, it's as if every woman from the period was researched in no particular order and then these research notes were typed up and published as is. I honestly don't know what else to say. It's a great shame, because the information is there; it's just difficult to read.
The best bit is the very end where we discover that St Margaret (who the author names as the patron saint of Scotland though I haven't been able to find this anywhere else) has attributed to her relics at least two cases of curing the swallowing of lizards, which must have been some sort of problem in the Early Mediaeval period. Good to know.
October 23, 2024
Women as a whole in Anglo-Saxon England has more freedom and rights pre-Conquest, but are usually very shadowy figures as individuals and a challenge to research. This author is clearly very knowledgeable about the sources and the topics and provides as much as possible on the individuals that have a fleeting mention in existing chronicles and documents. Even women that have left a more substantial trail, such as Queen Emma, still have many unanswered questions on the details, so most of lesser known are even more difficult. Their tales, of necessity, often are anchored by the men in their lives who have left more substantial footprints in the records. Whilst the pedigrees etc were helpful, my biggest struggle was the overwhelming numbers of Anglo-Saxon names; Aelfgifu clearly being a favorite was a challenge to keep them straight. I do like this era and the fact that an author took on the task of trying to bring some of the women to life.
May 11, 2020
Whitehead's work left me wanting. I do not feel it achieved to fulfill the thesis and spent more time on things we want to know rather than what historians actually know about the women from the time period. The book was also disjointed and presented in a confusing way. If you want a quick introduction to the people (mainly men) in power during the time period then you may consider picking this book up.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the DARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the DARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.
May 12, 2020
This is not a political history as such, and refreshingly it’s not about the men, who are only mentioned to give historical context. This lovely book presents what I’d call ‘Pen Portraits’ about the women of the period, with some lovely intimate detail, such as descriptions of works which they commissioned, and books which they owned. The author doesn’t necessarily come to any conclusions but makes clear in the introduction that the purpose is not analysis per se but to present what is known about the women, and moreover, what we can probably dismiss as embellishment. Documentary and archaeological evidence is examined and we get a good sense of the history.
Every so often, the author pauses to consider how the events might have affected the women and this puts a ‘human face’ to them and makes them less distant. I especially liked this tendency, to pause and reflect on just what it would mean, for example, for a woman to lose her children. One powerful queen has her career charted, but hiding away in the sources is the fact that two of her children died virtually before they were old enough to be baptised. I found the inclusion of this fact very touching.
I also found the inclusion of the family trees extremely helpful and a good reference point. All of the sections apart from the last one run chronologically which worked better for me than a thematic approach, because it helped to get a sense of the overall history, and you could see how attitudes, such as the church’s attitude to abbesses, changed over the centuries.
I especially liked the last section where all manner of strong characters appeared. Some I’d heard of, like Lady Godiva, and some were new to me, and here again was a really poignant inclusion of a nun who wrote really sad letters to her brother,d which again really brought home the face that these were real people. I think this is an excellent book for interested readers and those who know a bit more about the period.
Every so often, the author pauses to consider how the events might have affected the women and this puts a ‘human face’ to them and makes them less distant. I especially liked this tendency, to pause and reflect on just what it would mean, for example, for a woman to lose her children. One powerful queen has her career charted, but hiding away in the sources is the fact that two of her children died virtually before they were old enough to be baptised. I found the inclusion of this fact very touching.
I also found the inclusion of the family trees extremely helpful and a good reference point. All of the sections apart from the last one run chronologically which worked better for me than a thematic approach, because it helped to get a sense of the overall history, and you could see how attitudes, such as the church’s attitude to abbesses, changed over the centuries.
I especially liked the last section where all manner of strong characters appeared. Some I’d heard of, like Lady Godiva, and some were new to me, and here again was a really poignant inclusion of a nun who wrote really sad letters to her brother,d which again really brought home the face that these were real people. I think this is an excellent book for interested readers and those who know a bit more about the period.
June 22, 2020
The historical record is full of holes, especially when it comes to the voices and stories of women. It is all the more thrilling, then, to find a book as meticulously researched and lovingly crafted as Women of Power in Anglo Saxon England by Annie Whitehead.
Historian and novelist Whitehead has written a nonfiction book that shines a light on dozens of fascinating women who lived, ruled, and loved a thousand years ago. In doing so she offers us surprising revelations about the power, rights, and influence of women during the so-called Dark Ages of Anglo Saxon England.
For example, women had legal rights then. There were laws protecting women and requiring a woman’s consent before marriage. The marriage payment or dowry was often from man to woman and not the other way around. Example after example shows us that women were not “chattel” being passed around from man to man—they had agency and influence over their own fates.
Whitehead shows us that many high-ranking women were educated. She cites evidence of women scribes who illustrated illuminated manuscripts, blowing away the long-held assumption that only male monks did such work.
The queens, abbesses, and other powerful women Whitehead describes are portrayed as political animals furthering their families’ agendas, some of them achieving lasting influence on society, others power-crazed enough to poison their way to the top. As Whitehead writes, “Women did not have to wield swords to wield power.”
Some of the women highlighted in the book were leaders of the “double houses” — the land-owning monasteries of monks and nuns that brought in huge revenues from farming and livestock.
Whitehead has created a precious record of womens’ stories from a a shadowy period in history. It’s a joy to see all of these stories in one volume. I imagine this book will become required reading in university courses as a long-overdue addition to the historical resources currently available about women of that era. But it will also find a place on the bookshelves of anyone interested in the truth about women of the past.
I did encounter a bit of confusion due to the formatting. Some white space and perhaps subheadings between the various stories within the chapters would have helped me keep all the Anglo Saxon names straight as I read.
Highly recommended.
Historian and novelist Whitehead has written a nonfiction book that shines a light on dozens of fascinating women who lived, ruled, and loved a thousand years ago. In doing so she offers us surprising revelations about the power, rights, and influence of women during the so-called Dark Ages of Anglo Saxon England.
For example, women had legal rights then. There were laws protecting women and requiring a woman’s consent before marriage. The marriage payment or dowry was often from man to woman and not the other way around. Example after example shows us that women were not “chattel” being passed around from man to man—they had agency and influence over their own fates.
Whitehead shows us that many high-ranking women were educated. She cites evidence of women scribes who illustrated illuminated manuscripts, blowing away the long-held assumption that only male monks did such work.
The queens, abbesses, and other powerful women Whitehead describes are portrayed as political animals furthering their families’ agendas, some of them achieving lasting influence on society, others power-crazed enough to poison their way to the top. As Whitehead writes, “Women did not have to wield swords to wield power.”
Some of the women highlighted in the book were leaders of the “double houses” — the land-owning monasteries of monks and nuns that brought in huge revenues from farming and livestock.
Whitehead has created a precious record of womens’ stories from a a shadowy period in history. It’s a joy to see all of these stories in one volume. I imagine this book will become required reading in university courses as a long-overdue addition to the historical resources currently available about women of that era. But it will also find a place on the bookshelves of anyone interested in the truth about women of the past.
I did encounter a bit of confusion due to the formatting. Some white space and perhaps subheadings between the various stories within the chapters would have helped me keep all the Anglo Saxon names straight as I read.
Highly recommended.
September 18, 2020
Annie Whitehead’s new book brings Anglo-Saxon women to life in a vivid and readable story, simultaneously challenging certain preconceptions about Medieval women as powerless pawns and placing them in the context of their times.
The women she chooses are sometimes controversial (Emma of Normandy and murderous Mercian Queens), and some saints. Literally, others like the mother of Oswald of Northumbria are largely lost to history. By discussing their families and the connections, Whitehead helps sheds some light on even the most obscure women of the various ruling dynasties.
The author follows the logical progression of the period from the age of Saints in the 7th century, to the supremacy of Mercia in the next, and the rise of Wessex in the 9th century under the dynasty of Alfred the great, to the women of the Norman Conquest and just after. Of course, my heroine Lady Aethelflaed is not forgotten. How could she be?
Not all of the women were “powerful” in the way that we would think today, but the author shows how power could be exercised in a real and credible way in early the Early Medieval world and royal families. Being an Abbess or nun did not mean a woman was powerless, as and abbeys were often not only centres of learning but produced diplomats and politicians. The women who ran the earliest English abbeys in the 7th and 8th century “were not considered in any way inferior but revered by men and in the eyes of God.”
Even charters can reveal women taking part legal and administrative processes in their own right, and Queens who might be considered unsuccessful because their dynasties did not survive were nonetheless influential.
Whitehead does subscribe to the idea that women’s rights and power were much reduced after the Norman Conquest. A position I am not sure I entirely agree with, but her book is a valuable and very enjoyable account of the women before and on the cusp of that pivotal event.
One of the final lines sums up the subject: “ for the women of power in Anglo-Saxon England, life was neither dark, nor typically medieval. They had rights, they were able to influence events and mindsets, and although they took up little of the scribes’ time and attention, they nevertheless left their mark, enough at least for us to find them.”
Thanks to Rosie Crofts for sending me my copy of this title
The women she chooses are sometimes controversial (Emma of Normandy and murderous Mercian Queens), and some saints. Literally, others like the mother of Oswald of Northumbria are largely lost to history. By discussing their families and the connections, Whitehead helps sheds some light on even the most obscure women of the various ruling dynasties.
The author follows the logical progression of the period from the age of Saints in the 7th century, to the supremacy of Mercia in the next, and the rise of Wessex in the 9th century under the dynasty of Alfred the great, to the women of the Norman Conquest and just after. Of course, my heroine Lady Aethelflaed is not forgotten. How could she be?
Not all of the women were “powerful” in the way that we would think today, but the author shows how power could be exercised in a real and credible way in early the Early Medieval world and royal families. Being an Abbess or nun did not mean a woman was powerless, as and abbeys were often not only centres of learning but produced diplomats and politicians. The women who ran the earliest English abbeys in the 7th and 8th century “were not considered in any way inferior but revered by men and in the eyes of God.”
Even charters can reveal women taking part legal and administrative processes in their own right, and Queens who might be considered unsuccessful because their dynasties did not survive were nonetheless influential.
Whitehead does subscribe to the idea that women’s rights and power were much reduced after the Norman Conquest. A position I am not sure I entirely agree with, but her book is a valuable and very enjoyable account of the women before and on the cusp of that pivotal event.
One of the final lines sums up the subject: “ for the women of power in Anglo-Saxon England, life was neither dark, nor typically medieval. They had rights, they were able to influence events and mindsets, and although they took up little of the scribes’ time and attention, they nevertheless left their mark, enough at least for us to find them.”
Thanks to Rosie Crofts for sending me my copy of this title
April 8, 2020
Having read a lot of books about the Anglo-Saxons lately, I was so pleased to receive a review copy of this book which features the women of the period. So many books talk about the men but this is different. The kings are mentioned, but only to give some context and this is really the story of all the women, and how they helped to shape the history.
I struggled sometimes with the names, but I liked that there are family trees at the beginning of each section. What I also liked was that the sections are grouped so that each bit tells about one particular family and you can see how these women were related and how they all connected to the ruling kings of the time.
Not only does the book group the women into families, but it also tells the story chronologically, so we start off in one area at one time, and then the last woman in that section has a link to the family of the next section. I thought this was a great idea that really helped one section flow into the next and it helped me keep track of who was who.
The very last part of the book is all about the women who weren’t royal but were still powerful and it was good to see the likes of Lady Godiva included here. I also liked that Lady Aethelflaed gets a mention as I read the novel about her by the same author a while ago and really enjoyed that.
The author says in the introduction that she wanted to write a book about women in the same way that so many have been written about men and that’s exactly what we have here. I learned a lot and I found the notes at the back really useful. I would recommend this book to people who have an interest in history as it’s academic but not stuffy.
I struggled sometimes with the names, but I liked that there are family trees at the beginning of each section. What I also liked was that the sections are grouped so that each bit tells about one particular family and you can see how these women were related and how they all connected to the ruling kings of the time.
Not only does the book group the women into families, but it also tells the story chronologically, so we start off in one area at one time, and then the last woman in that section has a link to the family of the next section. I thought this was a great idea that really helped one section flow into the next and it helped me keep track of who was who.
The very last part of the book is all about the women who weren’t royal but were still powerful and it was good to see the likes of Lady Godiva included here. I also liked that Lady Aethelflaed gets a mention as I read the novel about her by the same author a while ago and really enjoyed that.
The author says in the introduction that she wanted to write a book about women in the same way that so many have been written about men and that’s exactly what we have here. I learned a lot and I found the notes at the back really useful. I would recommend this book to people who have an interest in history as it’s academic but not stuffy.
May 17, 2020
I enjoy well-researched historical novels such as those by Elizabeth Chadwick, Helen Hollick and Sharon Penman because you know that their research is first class. I’ve read To Be A Queen, about Aethelflaed of the Mercians, by Annie Whitehead and knew, too, that her fiction is rich in historical detail. Of course I jumped at the chance to read a review copy of her new, nonfiction book about Anglo-Saxon women. Having read her novel I knew Aethelflaed’s story and it was great to see her included here in this collection about powerful women of England before the Norman Conquest. Ms Whitehead applies that same detailed research when she presents the other women of the period and I learned so much about them. Research is important, yes, (and there are excellent notes) but so is readability. Ms Whitehead is aware that this part of history, including the names, can be unfamiliar, and so she groups the women in families and takes the reader through the period rather than dealing with the subject thematically, so you get a real sense of the history unfolding over the centuries. There are really useful family trees at the start of each section. This isn’t just about queens and royal wives, but it’s the story of their daughters, too. There’s also a section on non-royal women who left their mark on history and I loved the personal details, such as learning about their jewellery, or their books and even the colour of one lady’s hair, discovered when her relics were unearthed. History books are so often about the men, the battles etc and I really enjoyed learning about the women.
June 15, 2020
Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England pulls back the veil (pun intended, in some cases) on how women lived and may have asserted themselves in Anglo-Saxon England. Many people assume that women in this time and place had little power or personal agency. However, like Helen Damico suggested decades ago in Beowulf's Wealhtheow and the Valkyrie Tradition, women sometimes did hold power and thus broke out of the peace weaving stereotype into which they’d been pigeon-holed. (A quick note: The events of Beowulf take place in Scandinavia. However, Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon poem, so the themes are relevant here. This is especially true given the cross cultural exchange between the Anglo-Saxons and various Scandanavian groups).
Whitehead’s book is well-researched, and she draws on primary sources such as charters, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and Bede’s writings. She also cites the opinions of scholars in the field and contemporary archaeological studies. This book is, therefore, a comprehensive study of Anglo-Saxon women, not limiting them to one role or another. The author brings together fragments of information and attempts to flesh out the lives of these women. This is a difficult task. As such, this book highlights the complexity of Anglo-Saxon women and their identities. I’d studied these women before and appreciated this ambitious treatment of them. This book is organized chronologically, so people unacquainted with this history will be able to follow the events.
Whitehead’s book is well-researched, and she draws on primary sources such as charters, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and Bede’s writings. She also cites the opinions of scholars in the field and contemporary archaeological studies. This book is, therefore, a comprehensive study of Anglo-Saxon women, not limiting them to one role or another. The author brings together fragments of information and attempts to flesh out the lives of these women. This is a difficult task. As such, this book highlights the complexity of Anglo-Saxon women and their identities. I’d studied these women before and appreciated this ambitious treatment of them. This book is organized chronologically, so people unacquainted with this history will be able to follow the events.
April 28, 2020
I was very up and down on this book, which could have been so much more interesting - maybe the structure was the problem, as it was based not always chronologically but on arbitrary categories these various women had been slotted into. That lack of context, along with the many very similar names, made for confusing reading at times.
This wasn't helped either by the issues with the primary material and a lot of sentences with words like 'it seemed...' or 'X was probably...', so that there didn't seem to be a great deal of substance to some of the claims being made. Of course, the women of this time can't all be Æthelflæd and have a lot of verifiable detail about them but even she didn't particularly get a good deal out of this book.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This wasn't helped either by the issues with the primary material and a lot of sentences with words like 'it seemed...' or 'X was probably...', so that there didn't seem to be a great deal of substance to some of the claims being made. Of course, the women of this time can't all be Æthelflæd and have a lot of verifiable detail about them but even she didn't particularly get a good deal out of this book.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 7, 2020
Another great book from Annie Whitehead.
Informative, a nice writing style which is easy to read and above all....interesting!
I do get a little confused with the similar names of the period, but the author has included some very useful family trees to make it easier to follow.
A very interesting book about the women of Anglo-Saxon England who I feel get rather overlooked in the annals of history. It makes a nice change to read about them. Little did these women know that one day, many years in the future we would be still able to get to know them.
Informative, a nice writing style which is easy to read and above all....interesting!
I do get a little confused with the similar names of the period, but the author has included some very useful family trees to make it easier to follow.
A very interesting book about the women of Anglo-Saxon England who I feel get rather overlooked in the annals of history. It makes a nice change to read about them. Little did these women know that one day, many years in the future we would be still able to get to know them.
Read
April 17, 2025Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England is the story of influential women of pre-Conquest England. They are queens, princesses, abbesses and countesses who are mostly unknown; perhaps snippets of their lives being glimpsed through brief mentions in the chronicles, charters and lives of the saints. In piecing together these snippets, Annie Whitehead has created a compelling story of the lives of many influential women who lived over a thousand years ago.
Women are often overlooked in history. In the past powerful women have been kept in the shadows – footnotes of stories written by men who wouldn’t admit to the influence that their female counterparts actually hold. In this book, Whitehead endeavours to lift these women from the pages of history and give them a story. It’s an important task not just for remembrance and curiosity but also to give a more complete understanding of society’s past.
One of the most interesting parts of Women in Power is the subtle feminist themes which I found throughout the book. Whitehead helps to dispel the myth that despite their lives not being committed to paper, females were not powerless or forgettable. Women had the right to accept or reject a marriage proposal, the right to own and distribute property. In ways they were more advanced than the women who came after them, the more familiar Plantagenets, Tudors and Stuarts.
This period of time is a difficult one to tackle as many characters have similar or the same name, or are known through their relationship to a man. One area I feel that could have been improved would be for chapters to have been broken up into smaller sections. Although Whitehead stays on topic, in places characters were discussed by relationship rather than in chronological order which made things difficult to follow. To be honest this may have just been one of the disadvantages of reading on a Kindle where it’s more difficult to flick between pages.
The research conducted and analysed for this book is evident in the robust comparisons of the discrepancies in sources. Whitehead’s enthusiasm and passion for the period shine through at every opportunity and the book is a wonderful account of the lives of women in the Dark Ages. Overall, Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England is a must read for history enthusiasts and those who are looking at a well-rounded examination of women of the eleventh century.
Women are often overlooked in history. In the past powerful women have been kept in the shadows – footnotes of stories written by men who wouldn’t admit to the influence that their female counterparts actually hold. In this book, Whitehead endeavours to lift these women from the pages of history and give them a story. It’s an important task not just for remembrance and curiosity but also to give a more complete understanding of society’s past.
One of the most interesting parts of Women in Power is the subtle feminist themes which I found throughout the book. Whitehead helps to dispel the myth that despite their lives not being committed to paper, females were not powerless or forgettable. Women had the right to accept or reject a marriage proposal, the right to own and distribute property. In ways they were more advanced than the women who came after them, the more familiar Plantagenets, Tudors and Stuarts.
This period of time is a difficult one to tackle as many characters have similar or the same name, or are known through their relationship to a man. One area I feel that could have been improved would be for chapters to have been broken up into smaller sections. Although Whitehead stays on topic, in places characters were discussed by relationship rather than in chronological order which made things difficult to follow. To be honest this may have just been one of the disadvantages of reading on a Kindle where it’s more difficult to flick between pages.
The research conducted and analysed for this book is evident in the robust comparisons of the discrepancies in sources. Whitehead’s enthusiasm and passion for the period shine through at every opportunity and the book is a wonderful account of the lives of women in the Dark Ages. Overall, Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England is a must read for history enthusiasts and those who are looking at a well-rounded examination of women of the eleventh century.
January 11, 2021
Thanks to Pen & Sword, the author and Netgalley for the chance to read an Advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
'They had rights, they were able to influence events and mindset, and although they took up little of the scribes time and attention, they nevertheless left their mark, enough at least for us to find them'.
There is little known about women in Anglo Saxon England with fact and folklore often mixing together and scarce primary resources. Even so, this book follows the lives of many Anglo Saxon women who were influential in helping to shape Great Britain.
We start off in Northumbria, following the lives of Holy Women then branch out to Mercia and the Royal Family who were mothers, sisters and daughters of kings. We then travel to Wessex where the familiar names from tv shows such as 'The Last Kingdom' and 'Vikings' make an appearance and finally cover off on the impact of Anglo Saxon women as they travel to foreign soil.
I particularly enjoyed the historical origin of Lady Godiva's naked ride through Coventry, the story of Balthild the one-time slave who became queen and Emma and Edith - two women who ruled as queens, although they were never referred to as such.
The book is written very much like a text book, though, and is not for the reader who is looking for a leisurely read. by focusing on family trees, dates and locations, the reader does lose some 'colour' and entertainment value. Though the book is obviously thoroughly researched, the detail draws the focus away from these amazing women.
I do want to note that, in my opinion, this book does not show prejudice for or against Christianity or the Church. What I read was the author illustrating what these institutions were like in this particular era. Christianity was the prevalent religion in Britain at the time and was very different to its modern iteration. As were the institutions of marriage, childbirth and sexuality.
An interesting, well-researched read for the dedicated scholar but I would give it a miss if you are looking to be entertained. 3.5 stars.
'They had rights, they were able to influence events and mindset, and although they took up little of the scribes time and attention, they nevertheless left their mark, enough at least for us to find them'.
There is little known about women in Anglo Saxon England with fact and folklore often mixing together and scarce primary resources. Even so, this book follows the lives of many Anglo Saxon women who were influential in helping to shape Great Britain.
We start off in Northumbria, following the lives of Holy Women then branch out to Mercia and the Royal Family who were mothers, sisters and daughters of kings. We then travel to Wessex where the familiar names from tv shows such as 'The Last Kingdom' and 'Vikings' make an appearance and finally cover off on the impact of Anglo Saxon women as they travel to foreign soil.
I particularly enjoyed the historical origin of Lady Godiva's naked ride through Coventry, the story of Balthild the one-time slave who became queen and Emma and Edith - two women who ruled as queens, although they were never referred to as such.
The book is written very much like a text book, though, and is not for the reader who is looking for a leisurely read. by focusing on family trees, dates and locations, the reader does lose some 'colour' and entertainment value. Though the book is obviously thoroughly researched, the detail draws the focus away from these amazing women.
I do want to note that, in my opinion, this book does not show prejudice for or against Christianity or the Church. What I read was the author illustrating what these institutions were like in this particular era. Christianity was the prevalent religion in Britain at the time and was very different to its modern iteration. As were the institutions of marriage, childbirth and sexuality.
An interesting, well-researched read for the dedicated scholar but I would give it a miss if you are looking to be entertained. 3.5 stars.
April 16, 2020
Women in history, especially as far back as this book goes, have often been overlooked. Many of them were not documented, past a few footnotes here and there. There are some notable exceptions, such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Empress Matilda - both of these women were more then mere footnotes - they stomped their way into the pages of history with gusto and determination.
However, women were just not considered essential. Now, we want to know more. We know that they were more involved than just running the households and pumping out babies for their husbands. They were strong, determined, and often very stubborn beings, who could influence and manipulate the events around them (and if you don't think that is the case - go back to Rome, and the manipulations of the royal women - that will raise a few eyebrows).
As we read through Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England - I both enjoyed and disliked it. There were aspects where the information was great - it was real, tangible history. But then there were the parts where it felt the author was stretching just a little to much.
I get it, history was written by men (cause if women had written it, it would have been a lot more detailed in some aspects - and not just the military history - no offense to our ancient historical writers). Women were not seen as integral parts, or worth noting their contributions, mainly because, if they had a decent idea, it would be told to a husband or father, and claimed as that persons brilliant idea.
This book was both fascinating and disastrous. I loved that there were some historical evidences to lead back to these women and the lives that they lead. But there were the pitfalls, and had the feelings of "I am not sure where to go with this here... so lets throw this in." I felt that it rambled in areas, where it could have been more succinct, and left the reader with a more concise narration, instead of trying to draw out to make the book longer.
However, women were just not considered essential. Now, we want to know more. We know that they were more involved than just running the households and pumping out babies for their husbands. They were strong, determined, and often very stubborn beings, who could influence and manipulate the events around them (and if you don't think that is the case - go back to Rome, and the manipulations of the royal women - that will raise a few eyebrows).
As we read through Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England - I both enjoyed and disliked it. There were aspects where the information was great - it was real, tangible history. But then there were the parts where it felt the author was stretching just a little to much.
I get it, history was written by men (cause if women had written it, it would have been a lot more detailed in some aspects - and not just the military history - no offense to our ancient historical writers). Women were not seen as integral parts, or worth noting their contributions, mainly because, if they had a decent idea, it would be told to a husband or father, and claimed as that persons brilliant idea.
This book was both fascinating and disastrous. I loved that there were some historical evidences to lead back to these women and the lives that they lead. But there were the pitfalls, and had the feelings of "I am not sure where to go with this here... so lets throw this in." I felt that it rambled in areas, where it could have been more succinct, and left the reader with a more concise narration, instead of trying to draw out to make the book longer.
April 13, 2020
It’s silly and obvious to say this, but there are many periods of history I know little about. In the case of the Dark Ages in Europe, it’s just not something I’ve come across too often in my reading and it wasn’t one of the time periods we covered in any history classes I’ve taken over the years. But it is a period I want to know more about. So, when I read the description for Annie Whitehead’s upcoming Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England, I jumped at the chance to preview it. Not only is it a time period I’d like to learn more about, it’s focused on the women who are all too often pushed to the background of what little is taught about the period. However, the book proved to be far from what I was expecting and I can’t recommend it to anyone who only has a rudimentary or basic understanding of the place, time period, and major players.
Moving in a largely chronological order, Whitehead looks at the women who wielded the most power through the various kingdoms of what make up the modern United Kingdom. Starting in the 500s and progressing through to the Norman invasion in 1066 (and a little beyond), most of the figures Whitehead includes are the mothers, wives, and daughters of kings. Many of those women also played key roles in the spreading of Christianity through the British Isles, whether by retiring to religious institutions or sponsoring them. Even for these women in prestigious positions with the possibility for wielding power, there is very little in the historical record for Whitehead and other scholars to work from – and many of the sources that do exist were written with obvious bias and intent, often contradicting one another and rarely providing a complete or accurate portrait.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-Ys
Moving in a largely chronological order, Whitehead looks at the women who wielded the most power through the various kingdoms of what make up the modern United Kingdom. Starting in the 500s and progressing through to the Norman invasion in 1066 (and a little beyond), most of the figures Whitehead includes are the mothers, wives, and daughters of kings. Many of those women also played key roles in the spreading of Christianity through the British Isles, whether by retiring to religious institutions or sponsoring them. Even for these women in prestigious positions with the possibility for wielding power, there is very little in the historical record for Whitehead and other scholars to work from – and many of the sources that do exist were written with obvious bias and intent, often contradicting one another and rarely providing a complete or accurate portrait.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-Ys
September 7, 2020
https://donnasbookblog.wordpress.com/...
I do love books like this that fall into the non-fiction side of history that allow me to delve in to the lives of people, in this case, women from the past that are quite often lesser known.
I thought that this book was well written and I liked how it was set out but I would possibly have liked a few splits in the sections as it did at times feel as thought it was moving around a little between the different women which I did find distracted me at times as I had to go back to check who I was now reading about and that disrupted the natural flow and progression but that is purely my personal opinion. That said it was really interesting reading about the parts that these women played and how much string pulling they had and the involvement from behind the scenes, and the throne in many cases.
It is 4 stars from me for this one, there are quite a few of the women I would love to read more about too now just a slight niggle above and it would been a 5 star read for me! Highly recommended!
I do love books like this that fall into the non-fiction side of history that allow me to delve in to the lives of people, in this case, women from the past that are quite often lesser known.
I thought that this book was well written and I liked how it was set out but I would possibly have liked a few splits in the sections as it did at times feel as thought it was moving around a little between the different women which I did find distracted me at times as I had to go back to check who I was now reading about and that disrupted the natural flow and progression but that is purely my personal opinion. That said it was really interesting reading about the parts that these women played and how much string pulling they had and the involvement from behind the scenes, and the throne in many cases.
It is 4 stars from me for this one, there are quite a few of the women I would love to read more about too now just a slight niggle above and it would been a 5 star read for me! Highly recommended!
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