Why read Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England C.500-1066?

Book cover of Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England C.500-1066

Book description

This book is a study of the exercise of royal authority before the Norman Conquest. Six centuries separate the 'adventus Saxonum' from the battle of Hastings: during those long years, the English kings changed from warlords, who exacted submission by force, into law-givers to whom obedience was a moral duty.…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England C.500-1066 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Tom Licence

Author

For readers who want an expert introduction to the origins of kingship, power, and government in the centuries before the Norman Conquest, Ann’s Kingship and Government is the place to go. A great strength of her book is that it explains key concepts, structures, and terminology as the need arises, and in a way that clarifies the story that is being told. This equips the reader to explore what can otherwise seem like a strange and incomprehensible world. If you want the nuts and bolts of how Anglo-Saxon society and its power structures operated, this is the book for you.…

From Tom's list on The best books to understand Anglo-Saxon England.