Quotes About History

At what stage such a man might start styling himself as 'king' must have varied from case to case.

is often described as the finest illustrated manuscript of the entire Anglo-Saxon era.

This reportedly drew condemnation from Dunstan, but the archbishop was very elderly and died

Such figures suggest that the property-owning classes had indeed been hit hard by repeated barbarian incursions.

Mercia was the last of the major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to emerge.

But what really sealed Britain's fate were similar attacks on the other side of the empire.

On the very site 'where the Christian religion in our nation took its rise', he lamented,

they preyed on monasteries like Lindisfarne, it was undoubtedly because they were soft, isolated targets,

in AD 286 it was split

This state of affairs continued until the Britons defeated the Saxons at a place called Badon Hill (Mons Badonicus

people were once again becoming alarmed at the sight of viking sails.

a western half comprising Italy, Spain, Gaul and Britain,

and an eastern half that included the Balkans, Greece, Palestine and Egypt.

The evidence for any sort of Arthur, however, king or otherwise, is hopelessly thin and inadequate.

When it comes to Æthelbald's other priority – 'the defence of fortresses against enemies

Generalisations about 'the Anglo-Saxons' are consequently difficult,

as they occurred.

run through by a spear-wielding St Edmund,

Each chapter seeks to explore the dominant theme of a particular era.

The Danish conqueror had breathed his last on 3 February 1014,

Britains [sic], up to now afflicted by various disasters and vicissitudes, were widely reduced to the rule of the Saxons.

from Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest, without being selective.

the Irish were starting to colonize the western seaboard of what is now Scotland

England had been conquered by the Vikings, and its ancient royal family were in exile – in Normandy.