Author: Max Adams Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1784080292 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 658
Book Description
The story of Aelfred the Great, his war against the Vikings and the foundations of modern Britain. In AD 865, a 'great host' of battle-hardened Norse warriors landed on England's eastern coast, overwhelmed East Anglia with terrifying swiftness and laid the North to waste. Ghosting along estuaries and inshore waters, in 871 they penetrated deep into the southern kingdom of Wessex, ruled over by a new and untested king, Ælfred son of Æðelwulf. It seemed as though the End of Days was come. Max Adams tells the story of the heroic efforts of Ælfred, his successors and fellow-kings of Britain, to adapt and survive in the face of an apocalyptic threat; and in so doing, to lay the foundations of the nations of modern Britain in all their regional diversity.
Author: Max Adams Publisher: ISBN: 9781784080310 Category : Languages : en Pages : 512
Book Description
In 865, a great Viking army landed in East Anglia, precipitating a series of wars that would last until the middle of the following century. It was in this time of crisis that the modern kingdoms of Britain were born. In their responses to the Viking threat, these kingdoms forged their identities as hybrid cultures: vibrant and entrepreneurial peoples adapting to instability and opportunity. Traditionally, Ælfred the Great is cast as the central player in the story of Viking Age Britain. But Max Adams, while stressing the genius of Ælfred as war leader, law-giver, and forger of the English nation, has a more nuanced and variegated narrative to relate. The Britain encountered by the Scandinavians of the ninth and tenth centuries was one of regional diversity and self-conscious cultural identities: of Picts, Dál Riatans and Strathclyde Britons; of Bernicians and Deirans, East Anglians, Mercians and West Saxons.
Author: Alan Lane Publisher: Oxbow Books ISBN: 1789253098 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 400
Book Description
The crannog on Llangorse Lake near Brecon in mid Wales was discovered in 1867 and first excavated in 1869 by two local antiquaries, Edgar and Henry Dumbleton, who published their findings over the next four years. In 1988 dendrochronological dates from submerged palisade planks established its construction in the ninth century, and a combined off- and on-shore investigation of the site was started as a joint project between Cardiff University and Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. The subsequent surveys and excavation (1989-1994, 2004) resulted in the recovery of a remarkable time capsule of life in the late ninth and tenth century, on the only crannog yet identified in Wales. This publication re-examines the early investigations, describes in detail the anatomy of the crannog mound and its construction, and the material culture found. The crannogs treasures include early medieval secular and religious metalwork, evidence for manufacture, the largest depository of early medieval carpentry in Wales and a remarkable richly embroidered silk and linen textile which is fully analysed and placed in context. The crannogs place in Welsh history is explored, as a royal llys (court) within the kingdom of Brycheiniog. Historical record indicates the site was destroyed in 916 by Aethelflaed, the Mercian queen, in the course of the Viking wars of the early tenth century. The subsequent significance of the crannog in local traditions and its post-medieval occupation during a riotous dispute in the reign Elizabeth I are also discussed. Two logboats from the vicinity of the crannog are analysed, and a replica described. The cultural affinities of the crannog and its material culture is assessed, as are their relationship to origin myths for the kingdom, and to probable links with early medieval Ireland. The folk tales associated with the lake are explored, in a book that brings together archaeology, history, myths and legends, underwater and terrestrial archaeology.
Author: Tom Hiney Publisher: Ignatius Press ISBN: 1642292222 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 287
Book Description
The Truth is bigger than we are, and if it comes for us, everything might break open. "It falls from heaven," writes Tom Hiney. "It can fall at four in the morning when you are cold with insomnia, and it can refuse to fall when advertised. It has a life of its own, and sometimes appears with a special intensity." God calls, whether we are ready or not. The Song of Ascents tells the stories of lives laid bare by love, stories that, over the years, gradually spurred acclaimed English biographer Tom Hiney up the ragged mountain of his own conversion to Roman Catholicism."These stories," he says, "are about people turning to God in horrible moments, with faltering human hearts like mine, and finding Him to be faithful." Written in lean, vigorous prose, the book is a visceral study of faith, in which the holiness of other men and women leads the writer to realize that, despite everything, anything is possible with God, even joy. A medieval king awaiting a Viking invasion (King Alfred), a Jesuit evangelist at the court of Akbar (Father Monserrate), a West African prince in 1890s Indiana (Samuel Morris), and a composer in Communist Poland (Henryk Górecki), as well as a trapped Arctic whaling vessel (the Diana), a lost explorer (David Livingstone), a disobedient general (Charles Gordon), and an aging war hero (the author's own father)—all these become unlikely companions in Hiney's messy, fumbling journey to Christ. The Song of Ascents is about coming to faith through stories, including the humanly incredible storytelling of the Church's unique, heavenly, and inevitable destiny.
Author: Keith Dorrington Publisher: Serpent's Tail ISBN: 1805222074 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 302
Book Description
A murder in Main Quad, a near demise high on Mont Blanc, the lady who survived hanging and became a celebrity, Lord Nuffield's dreadful visits to the dentist, and the surgeon who operated on his own hernia using strychnine: all pointers to medical mysteries and advances. This book aims to entertain and inform the reader interested in the advancement of medical science. The author presents seven distinct areas of endeavour in which he has been involved during an Oxford career undertaking original research in engineering, materials science, anaesthesia and physiology while working as a tutor and practising doctor. Each topic is presented and illustrated with novel insights from a historical and often fascinating background extending up to medical controversies of the present day. A final section takes a personal look at the factors which contribute to Oxford's extraordinary ability to nurture medical science.
Author: Michelle Styles Publisher: Harlequin ISBN: 1488047693 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 257
Book Description
Her terms: free her family His terms: seduction? Defending her home, Lady Ansithe captures outlaw Viking Moir Mimirson. The prisoner will be the ideal ransom for her father, who’s being held hostage by the Danes. Yet Moir’s flirtatious negotiations exhilarate practical Ansithe as much as they surprise her… Can she be sure that this hardened warrior will work with her and not betray her? And what of his stolen kisses—can she trust those?
Author: Jenni Fletcher Publisher: Harlequin ISBN: 1488049750 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
Do you dream of wicked rakes, gorgeous Highlanders, muscled Viking warriors and rugged Wild West cowboys? Harlequin® Historical brings you three new full-length titles in one collection! MISS AMELIA’S MISTLETOE MARQUESS Secrets of a Victorian Household by Jenni Fletcher (Victorian) After becoming snowbound with a stranger sullies her reputation, Amelia Fairclough’s stunned to find him in her parlor as the new Marquess of Falconmore, with a life-changing proposition! A DEAL WITH HER REBEL VIKING by Michelle Styles (Viking) Defending her home, Lady Ansithe captures outlaw Viking Moir Mimirson. Moir’s flirtatious negotiations exhilarate Ansithe. But will this warrior work with her and not betray her? HOW TO TEMPT A DUKE by Madeline Martin (Regency) To help her tempt a prospective husband, Lady Eleanor takes secret lessons from Charles, Duke of Somersville. Except now it’s the duke who ignites her desire! Look for Harlequin® Historical’s December 2019 Box set 1 of 2, filled with even more timeless love stories!