The Early Anglo-Saxon Kings

The Early Anglo-Saxon Kings explores the arrival of the Saxons in Britain, the emergence of new cultural identities, and the rise of war-band culture in the fifth century. It also highlights the legends and myth surrounding the first kings of the Germanic peoples who settled in Britain, such as Hengest, Horsa, Ælle, Cerdic, Cynric, and Ceawlin. The book takes the reader on a journey across Britain to explore battle-sites and burial-mounds, bringing to life the world that produced Y Gododdin and Beowulf.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2023
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

The arrival of the Saxons, known as the adventus Saxonum, is examined in a fresh light in The Early Anglo-Saxon Kings. As the Roman provincial system disintegrated, new cultural identities began to take shape. In the fifth century, Britain saw the emergence of a war-band culture that dominated both the Brythonic and Germanic peoples. Abandoned villas were replaced by mead halls, where bards and scops performed songs and poems. The air was filled with tales of famous battles, such as Mons Badonicus and Cattraeth. Out of the ashes of the former Roman diocese, new kingdoms emerged. One significant factor was the settlement of large numbers of Germanic peoples in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. The first kings of these peoples are shrouded in legends and myth, including the leaders of the first group of mercenaries, Hengest and Horsa, as well as Ælle of the South Saxons, Cerdic and Cynric, and later Ceawlin of Wessex. The book spans from the early fifth century to the mid-seventh century, culminating in the death of the last great pagan Anglo-Saxon king, Penda of Mercia. It is an entertaining journey across the landscape of Britain, seeking out battle sites and burial mounds, bringing to life the world that gave birth to Y Gododdin and Beowulf. It was a world where warlords and kings carved out new kingdoms from the remnants of post-Roman Britain.

Weight: 662g
Dimension: 163 x 241 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399084178