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Cambridge History of Britain
Early Medieval Britain, c. 500–1000
Early medieval Britain saw the birth of England, Scotland and of the Welsh kingdoms. Naismith's introductory textbook explores the period between the end of Roman rule and the eve of the Norman Conquest, blending an engaging narrative with clear explanations of key themes and sources. Using extensive illustrations, maps and selections from primary sources, students will examine the island as a collective entity, comparing political histories and institutions as well as societies, beliefs and economies. Each chapter foregrounds questions of identity and the meaning of 'Britain' in this period, encouraging interrogation and contextualisation of sources within the framework of the latest debates and problems. Featuring online resources including timelines, a glossary, end-of-chapter questions and suggestions for further reading, students can drive their own understanding of how the polities and societies of early medieval Britain fitted together and into the wider world, and firmly grasp the formative stages of British history.
490 pages, Paperback
Published September 16, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 15, 2021
Early Medieval Britain 500-1000 R Naismith, 2021, 429 pages (473 all in)
There's a lot in this book. Despite the shortened time span, it does give a pretty wide coverage of the period. I can fully understand the decision to exclude the beginning and the end, as inclusion would probably have made the book unwieldy long and also, potentially, off putting to the casual purchaser.
I'm not sure whom this book is aimed at, though. There are points for discussion at the end of chapters, which gives it a bit of a 6th form feel and this book is probably a bit beyond that level, whilst anyone at Uni would be dealing with essays instead of 4-5 short questions. However in dealing with sources, problems and approaches, this book is absolutely first class and would be ideal for an undergrad just about to start a course on the period. In fact, in may ways it reads as a very muscular introduction to Early Medieval Britain.
On the plus side, this book has a very good breadth of content. It covers more than just maps, chaps and dates. It looks at systems and life in Early Medieval Britain. You get a sense of the place, rather than an account of which king was on the war path. Pleasingly, it treats Britain as a connected whole, rather than just England plus t'others just when they were involved with England in some way. It's very good on what became Scotland and it was nice to see Wales feature strongly, too.
On the down side, I'm not sure of his assertion that Bede took Gildas's account of sinning Britons at face value; I believe he was well aware of the literary construct employed by Gildas, but deliberately took advantage of it in order to damn the Britons. Nor am I convinced that Ecgfrith attempted to invade Ireland, I think it was just a raid, but both of these are points that could be debated, rather than errors. Naismith quite often states that more on a topic can be found in a particular chapter and these little inserts get quite invasive after a while.
This is a very useful book and it's one that I found myself making a fair few notes from, even with having read a few books on the subject over the last couple of years or so. However, it's one that for all of the positives, I never really found myself that enthusiastic about picking up. Despite that, I'd still suggest buying it, especially if you are having to decide between this and the one by Marc Morris, as this one feels like the author is really invested in the period and the book has some soul.
There's a lot in this book. Despite the shortened time span, it does give a pretty wide coverage of the period. I can fully understand the decision to exclude the beginning and the end, as inclusion would probably have made the book unwieldy long and also, potentially, off putting to the casual purchaser.
I'm not sure whom this book is aimed at, though. There are points for discussion at the end of chapters, which gives it a bit of a 6th form feel and this book is probably a bit beyond that level, whilst anyone at Uni would be dealing with essays instead of 4-5 short questions. However in dealing with sources, problems and approaches, this book is absolutely first class and would be ideal for an undergrad just about to start a course on the period. In fact, in may ways it reads as a very muscular introduction to Early Medieval Britain.
On the plus side, this book has a very good breadth of content. It covers more than just maps, chaps and dates. It looks at systems and life in Early Medieval Britain. You get a sense of the place, rather than an account of which king was on the war path. Pleasingly, it treats Britain as a connected whole, rather than just England plus t'others just when they were involved with England in some way. It's very good on what became Scotland and it was nice to see Wales feature strongly, too.
On the down side, I'm not sure of his assertion that Bede took Gildas's account of sinning Britons at face value; I believe he was well aware of the literary construct employed by Gildas, but deliberately took advantage of it in order to damn the Britons. Nor am I convinced that Ecgfrith attempted to invade Ireland, I think it was just a raid, but both of these are points that could be debated, rather than errors. Naismith quite often states that more on a topic can be found in a particular chapter and these little inserts get quite invasive after a while.
This is a very useful book and it's one that I found myself making a fair few notes from, even with having read a few books on the subject over the last couple of years or so. However, it's one that for all of the positives, I never really found myself that enthusiastic about picking up. Despite that, I'd still suggest buying it, especially if you are having to decide between this and the one by Marc Morris, as this one feels like the author is really invested in the period and the book has some soul.
April 13, 2025
This book is the first in the Four Part Cambridge History of Britain, and focuses on Britain from the fall of the Roman Empire to the near end of the Angles and Saxons.
Overall, the book is full of great information regarding historiography, culture, people, history, and places, and has a great layout in terms of how the information will be presented, and I have high hopes for how the rest of the series will progress.
Overall, the book is full of great information regarding historiography, culture, people, history, and places, and has a great layout in terms of how the information will be presented, and I have high hopes for how the rest of the series will progress.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews