Download or read book Royal Mysteries of the Anglo Saxons and Early Britain written by Timothy Venning and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2022-03-18 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Royal mysteries never fail to intrigue readers and TV viewers. The 'mysteries', unravelled and analysed, are of enduring fascination and full of tragedy, suffering and pathos but also heroism and romance. The text is based on deep research in original sources including rare documents, archaeological and DNA evidence, latest historiography and academic research but is essentially accessible history. These are the 'Dark Ages' but Anglo-Saxon enlightenment is emphasised. The Heptarchy, with seven Anglo-Saxon states is examined and Alfred's victory over the Vikings and emergence of the English kingdom. But mystery surrounds all aspects of dynastic, political and military history. The story includes the surviving British and Welsh kingdoms when 'Welsh' meant 'foreigner, the Gaelic kingdoms in what became Scotland, the survival of lowland 'Britons' under the Germanic Anglo-Saxon radar - a new interpretation of early English society in its shadowy forms with the half-mythical founders of the early English kingdoms like Hengist of Kent or Cerdic of Wessex, up to William duke of Normandy - did he have any legitimate claim to justify his 'power-grab'? Some episodes have dropped out of history like the murder the teen-age King Edward the 'Martyr', but here is a re-telling of early mysteries based on close analysis of the myriad sources while stimulating romantic fascination.
Download or read book Pagan Britain written by Ronald Hutton and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Britain's pagan past, with its astonishing number and variety of mysterious monuments, atmospheric sites, enigmatic artefacts, bloodthirsty legends and cryptic inscriptions, has always enthralled and perplexed us. 'Pagan Britain' is a history of religious beliefs from the Old Stone Age to the coming of Christianity. This ambitious book integrates the latest evidence to survey our transformed - and transforming - understanding of early religious behaviour; and, also, the way in which that behaviour has been interpreted in recent times, as a mirror for modern dreams and fears. From the Palaeolithic era to the coming of Christianity and beyond, Hutton reveals the long development, rapid suppression and enduring cultural significance of paganism. Woven into the chronological narrative are numerous case studies of sacred sites both well-known - Stonehenge, Avebury, Seahenge and Maiden Castle - and more unusual far-flung locations across the mainland and coastal islands.
Download or read book Lost Gold of the Dark Ages written by Caroline Alexander and published by Disney Electronic Content. This book was released on 2011-10-18 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In July 2009 an amateur metal-detecting enthusiast made an astonishing find: 1500 pieces of bejeweled gold and silver almost 1500 years old, buried, lost, then forgotten. The treasure trove promises to shed unprecedented light on the most mysterious period of British history—the so-called "Dark Ages"—when the Saxons, Anglos, Celts, Picts, Jutes, and Vikings battled for control of the British Isles and a "mish mash of peoples evolved into a homogenous nation possessed with a strong cultural identity," according to New York Times bestselling author of the book, Caroline Alexander. Alexander, author of the bestselling The Endurance and The Bounty, draws themes from the story of the spectacular treasure to explore the entire fascinating history of the Saxons in England; from the fall of Rome to the flourishing and seemingly incomprehensible spread of Saxon influence. Piece by piece, she draws readers into a world of near constant warfare guided by a unique understanding of Christianity, blended as it was with pagan traditions. Through heroic and epic literature that survives in poems such as Beowulf and the Legends of King Arthur, Alexander seeks to separate myth from reality and wonder, with readers, if the circumstances of the deposit of such a spectacular hoard have parallels in legendary tales. Peering through a millennia of mist and mystery, Alexander reveals a fascinating era—and a mesmerizing discovery—as never before, uncovering a dynamic period of history that would see its conclusion in the birth of the English nation. Set in a landscape whose beauty endures, the story of the making of England emerges through a wealth of archaeological and written material. The story highlights the fluid nature of human societies and carries a surprisingly modern message of a successful, cohesive culture emerging from a diverse group of peoples.
Download or read book The Land of the English Kin written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 717 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume draws together a series of papers that present some of the most up-to-date thinking on the history, archaeology and toponymy of Wessex and Anglo-Saxon England more broadly. In honour of one of early medieval European scholarship’s most illustrious doyennes, no less than twenty-nine contributions demonstrate the indelible impression Barbara Yorke’s work has made on her peers and a generation of new scholars, some of whom have benefitted directly from her tutorage. From the identities that emerged in the immediate post-Roman period, through to the development of kingdoms, the role of the church, and impacts felt beyond the eleventh century, the rich and diverse character of the studies presented here are testimony to the versatility and extensive range of the honorand’s contribution to the academic field.
Download or read book Dying and Death in Later Anglo Saxon England written by Victoria Thompson and published by Boydell Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Study of late Anglo-Saxon texts and grave monuments illuminates contemporary attitudes towards dying and the dead. Pre-Conquest attitudes towards the dying and the dead have major implications for every aspect of culture, society and religion of the Anglo-Saxon period; but death-bed and funerary practices have been comparatively and unjustly neglected by historical scholarship. In her wide-ranging analysis, Dr Thompson examines such practices in the context of confessional and penitential literature, wills, poetry, chronicles and homilies, to show that complex and ambiguous ideas about death were current at all levels of Anglo-Saxon society. Her study also takes in grave monuments, showing in particular how the Anglo-Scandinavian sculpture of the ninth to the eleventh centuries may indicate notonly the status, but also the religious and cultural alignment of those who commissioned and made them. Victoria Thompson is Lecturer in the Centre for Nordic Studies at the University of the Highlands and Islands.
Download or read book Royal Mysteries of the Stuart and Georgian Periods written by Timothy Venning and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2023-12-30 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is nothing new under the sun', a phrase ascribed originally to King Solomon, applies to the present book, with echoes of 'modern' themes exposing royal scandal, sex, corruption, political absolutism - attempted - religious controversy, danger of mass-terrorism, murder and 'suspicious' deaths, 'fake news' and international threat from superpowers. And all focusing on inside stories which today would be 'investigative journalism' with huge popular media interest. This is history for both specialists and, especially, for general readers, given media interest, including TV and film coverage in 'exciting' popular history, as set out by the author. The earlier 'Royal Mysteries' in the series were full of tragedy, suffering, pathos, heroism and romance, but the present set are equally interesting and disturbing and revisionist. These include the alleged attempt to murder James I and VI before the became King of England; the scandal at court involving 'poisoned tarts', James' 'toy-boy', and a subsequent murder trial. And the following questions and mysteries: did Charles II really promise to convert to Catholicism to please Louis XIV; did Charles marry his mistress Lucy Walter, mother of rebel Duke of Monmouth; was James II and VII an enlightened religious reformer or trying to convert England to Catholicism - the religion of European superpowers; did George I 'disappear' (a 'hit' in modern terms) his divorced wife's lover before ascending the English throne; did the unpopular Duke of Cumberland murder his gay lover; did the hugely admired 'respectable' George III, devoted husband and father, marry a middle-class Quaker woman?
Download or read book The King Arthur Mysteries written by Timothy Venning and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2021-06-09 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An up-to-date and comprehensive guide to the history of the Arthurian phenomenon - the imaginary and historical world of the great British warlord and one of the huge historical mysteries of early and medieval Britain. The Arthurian story, based on fact and fiction, is central to Britain's 'creation myth' and the concept of Britain's heroic past. This is a deeply researched and scholarly but essentially accessible history and analysis for general readers and specialists and based on an impressive array of sources including Romano-British, Anglo-Saxon, rare medieval English, French and German sources, and archaeology - essential for modern historical research in early history. Modern and contemporary historiography is covered including 'debunking' treatments. The study surveys King Arthur in fact and fiction, his family, knights, and the legends that have grown up around them and developed to the enduring interest from history, literature to TV and film.
Download or read book King John written by Marc Morris and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-10-15 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: King John is one of those historical characters who needs little in the way of introduction. If readers are not already familiar with him as the tyrant whose misgovernment gave rise to Magna Carta, we remember him as the villain in the stories of Robin Hood. Formidable and cunning, but also cruel, lecherous, treacherous and untrusting. Twelve years into his reign, John was regarded as a powerful king within the British Isles. But despite this immense early success, when he finally crosses to France to recover his lost empire, he meets with disaster. John returns home penniless to face a tide of criticism about his unjust rule. The result is Magna Carta – a ground-breaking document in posterity, but a worthless piece of parchment in 1215, since John had no intention of honoring it. Like all great tragedies, the world can only be put to rights by the tyrant’s death. John finally obliges at Newark Castle in October 1216, dying of dysentery as a great gale howls up the valley of the Trent.
Download or read book Journal Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland written by Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and published by . This book was released on 1893 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland written by Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and published by . This book was released on 1893 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Compendious Anglo Saxon and English Dictionary written by Joseph Bosworth and published by . This book was released on 1860 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Glass Vessels of Anglo Saxon England written by Rose Broadley and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2019-12-27 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume combines a comprehensive exploration of all vessel glass from middle and late Anglo-Saxon England and a review of the early glass with detailed interpretation of its meaning and place in Anglo-Saxon society. Analysis of a comprehensive dataset of all known Anglo-Saxon vessel glass of middle Anglo-Saxon date as a group has enabled the first quantification of form, colour, and decoration, and provided the structure for a new typological, chronological and geographical framework. The quantification and comparison of the vessel glass fragments and their attributes, and the mapping of the national distribution of these characteristics (forms, colours and decoration types), both represent significant developments and create rich opportunities for the future. The geographical scope is dictated by the glass fragments, which are from settlements located along the coast from Northumbria to Kent and along the south coast to Southampton. Seven case studies of intra-site glass distribution reveal that the anticipated pattern of peripheral disposal alongside dining waste is widespread, although exceptions exist at the monastic sites at Lyminge, Kent, and Jarrow, Tyne and Wear. Overall, the research themes addressed are the glass corpus and its typology; glass vessels in Anglo-Saxon society; and glass vessels as an economic indicator of trade and exchange. Analysis reveals new understandings of both the glass itself and the role of glass vessels in the social and economic mechanisms of early medieval England. There is currently no comprehensive work examining early medieval vessel glass, particularly the post sixth-century fragmentary material from settlements, and my monograph will fill that gap. The space is particularly noticeable when considering books on archaeological glass from England: the early medieval period is the only one with no reference volume; no recent, through and accessible source of information. The British Museum published a monograph entitled ‘Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Glass in the British Museum’ in 2008, but as the title suggests it is a catalogue at heart, and of a collection of fifth and sixth century grave goods in a single museum. Chronologically, a volume on the subject would fill the space between various books on Roman glass from Britain and ‘Medieval glass vessels found in England c. AD 1200-1500’ by Rachel Tyson. This book on early medieval vessel glass and the contexts from which it came will also make a significant contribution to early medieval settlement studies and the archaeology of trade in this period: both are growth areas of scholarship and interest and vessel glass provides a new tool to address key debates in the field.
Download or read book Mackey s History of Freemasonry written by Albert Gallatin Mackey and published by . This book was released on 1921 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The History of Freemasonry written by Albert Gallatin Mackey and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Saxons Vikings and Celts The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland written by Bryan Sykes and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2007-12-17 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the best-selling author of The Seven Daughters of Eve, a perfect book for anyone interested in the genetic history of Britain, Ireland, and America. One of the world's leading geneticists, Bryan Sykes has helped thousands find their ancestry in the British Isles. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts, which resulted from a systematic ten-year DNA survey of more than 10,000 volunteers, traces the true genetic makeup of the British Isles and its descendants, taking readers from the Pontnewydd cave in North Wales to the resting place of the Red Lady of Paviland and the tomb of King Arthur. This illuminating guide provides a much-needed introduction to the genetic history of the people of the British Isles and their descendants throughout the world.
Download or read book Anglo Saxon Kingdoms written by Claire Breay and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Anglo-Saxon period stretches from the arrival of Germanic groups on British shores in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. During these centuries, the English language was used and written down for the first time, pagan populations were converted to Christianity, and the foundations of the kingdom of England were laid. This richly illustrated new book - which accompanies a landmark British Library exhibition - presents Anglo-Saxon England as the home of a highly sophisticated artistic and political culture, deeply connected with its continental neighbours. Leading specialists in early medieval history, literature and culture engage with the unique, original evidence from which we can piece together the story of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, examining outstanding and beautiful objects such as highlights from the Staffordshire hoard and the Sutton Hoo burial. At the heart of the book is the British Library's outstanding collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, the richest source of evidence about Old English language and literature, including Beowulf and other poetry; the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of Britain's greatest artistic and religious treasures; the St Cuthbert Gospel, the earliest intact European book; and historical manuscripts such as Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. These national treasures are discussed alongside other, internationally important literary and historical manuscripts held in major collections in Britain and Europe. This book, and the exhibition it accompanies, chart a fascinating and dynamic period in early medieval history, and will bring to life our understanding of these formative centuries.
Download or read book Catalogue of the Printed Books in the Library of the Society of Writers to H M Signet in Scotland written by Signet Library (Great Britain) and published by . This book was released on 1882 with total page 696 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
