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The collapse of Roman rule in Britain was not so much a sudden catastrophe as a long and drawn-out decline. The 'Celtic' Britons retreated gradually to the highland areas of Wales, Cornwall and the south-west of Scotland. Control of the fertile eastern lowlands was lost to warriors of Germanic origin who migrated from the Continent. These Germanic conquerors have become known to history as the 'Anglo-Saxons'. They were to dominate the lowland zone of Britain until their final defeat at Hastings in 1066. This title gives an insight into the everyday life, equipment, dress, battle tactics and life on campaign of the typical Anglo-Saxon warrior of this period - the thegn.
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The collapse of Roman rule in Britain was not so much a sudden catastrophe, as a long, and drawn-out decline. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The collapse of Roman rule in Britain was not so much a sudden catastrophe, as a long, and drawn-out decline. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Osprey range of military history titles has an excellent reputation for detail and historical accuracy, and "Anglo-Saxon Thegn, AD 449-1066" by Mark Harrison is one of its finest examples. Though only 64 pages long, the book contains a wealth of information regarding the lives, equipment, training and tactics of the noble warriors who formed the backbone of Anglo-Saxon armies throughout the period, and charts their development over the course of several centuries.
The documentary, pictorial and archaeological evidence for this period is incredibly sparse. Nevertheless, Harrison expertly draws it all together to create a coherent and convincing whole. His style of writing is clear and succinct, making the subject easy to understand even for the reader with no previous knowledge of the period, and where appropriate he is careful to state his sources. The text is supplemented on almost every page by black-and-white photographs both of contemporary artefacts and documents, as well as of modern re-enactors. By far and away the most helpful feature for visualising the thegn's appearance, however, are the centre pages - 12 colour plates of artist's impressions, depicting typical thegns from the early, middle and late periods, together with their equipment (helmet, spear, sword and shield) as it developed over time. Unfortunately, since "Anglo-Saxon Thegn" was originally published in 1993 the Bibliography is somewhat out of date, which limits the opportunities for further reading for the reader wishing to discover more, but this is only a minor failing in an otherwise excellent book.
All in all, "Anglo-Saxon Thegn" is a readable and incredibly well researched book. No other standard text describes the thegn in this level of detail, making this an invaluable guide. As someone currently writing a historical novel set approximately in this period, I have found this book indispensable in understanding not just the thegn's arms and armour but also his motivation for fighting. Anyone with an interest in the Anglo-Saxon period or in medieval military history will find this highly informative. For a more general but also concise way into Anglo-Saxon England, I can recommend "The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction" by John Blair.
The documentary, pictorial and archaeological evidence for this period is incredibly sparse. Nevertheless, Harrison expertly draws it all together to create a coherent and convincing whole. His style of writing is clear and succinct, making the subject easy to understand even for the reader with no previous knowledge of the period, and where appropriate he is careful to state his sources. The text is supplemented on almost every page by black-and-white photographs both of contemporary artefacts and documents, as well as of modern re-enactors. By far and away the most helpful feature for visualising the thegn's appearance, however, are the centre pages - 12 colour plates of artist's impressions, depicting typical thegns from the early, middle and late periods, together with their equipment (helmet, spear, sword and shield) as it developed over time. Unfortunately, since "Anglo-Saxon Thegn" was originally published in 1993 the Bibliography is somewhat out of date, which limits the opportunities for further reading for the reader wishing to discover more, but this is only a minor failing in an otherwise excellent book.
All in all, "Anglo-Saxon Thegn" is a readable and incredibly well researched book. No other standard text describes the thegn in this level of detail, making this an invaluable guide. As someone currently writing a historical novel set approximately in this period, I have found this book indispensable in understanding not just the thegn's arms and armour but also his motivation for fighting. Anyone with an interest in the Anglo-Saxon period or in medieval military history will find this highly informative. For a more general but also concise way into Anglo-Saxon England, I can recommend "The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction" by John Blair.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mark Harrison does an excellent job of introducing the mainstay of the Anglo-Saxon army. It builds on other Osprey titles such as Saxon, Viking, Norman MAA 85, and Arthur & the Anglo-Saxon Wars MAA 154 by expanding on the development of the king's companion gesithas into a hereditary minor noble class & their role in the hearthweru & fyrd.
Embleton's clear illustrations include nice interpretations of the (Norman) supply train from the Bayeux 'Tapestry', the patchwork development of a burgh and, my favourite, the Battersea seax. Also included is a handy outline view of Swanton's spear typology.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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4 reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Illustrated text book brings interesting period to life.
20 Jan 1999
Format:Paperback
This title served well my research on the historical origins of the Arthurian myths. This title focused on the main enemies of Arthur in the fifth century, but it also covered later periods up to just before the Norman conquest.
What I like about the Osprey military books is how they provide a good ballace of text and illustration. This conveys information in a way which is both efficient and entertaining. This is far preferable to books which offer plenty of text but lack sufficient illustrations to show what the text is talking about; it is also far preferable to books which contain plenty of illustrations but lack sufficient text to explain them. My only complaint is that the photographs of manuscript illustations and archaeological artifacts are printed in black & white, so the reader misses much of the spectacular color and detail of this wonderful Anglo-Saxon art. Of course, printing everything in color will make a book more expensive, but it still may be worth doing. The great thing about all the Opsprey titles, though, is that each has a section in the middle made up of beautiful full color illustrations which portray the appearance and activities of the troops under study.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Nice compendium of basic information
25 Mar 2005
Format:Paperback
As with all of the Osprey books, I find the combination of hard fact and imaginative reconstruction drawings very helpful. This Osprey is especially useful in conjunction with two other Osprey Warrior volumes that cover other military men of the period, namely, Norman Knight and Viking Hersir.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
The first warrior elite of England
23 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This title examines the gear, tactics, training, and lifestyle of the elite warrior of the ancient and early medieval Saxon armies-the thegn. This book has the same author and illustrator as the Viking Hersir title, and resembles that book greatly.
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