- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (6 Mar 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140286926
- ISBN-13: 978-0140286922
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 177,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
One gusty morning in March 1016, Earl Uhtred of Northumbria came with 40 followers to a wooden hall at a place called Wiheal outside York, to parley with the recently crowned King Canute who was attempting to bring his mighty northern subjects properly under his control. They were given guarantee of safe conduct, and came unarmed. But they were ambushed in the hall by an old enemy of Uhtred's, with Canute's connivance, and murdered, every one. From here, Richard Fletcher moves on to explore the whole culture of vengeance and reparation in early Medieval England. As well as the culture of aristocratic and inter-familial violence in Christendom, Fletcher looks closely at the Church's attempts to limit or discredit an institution closely tied with residual paganism. Another element of the book considers the tensions between monarchical authority and wilful local indulgence in vendetta on the one hand, and the influence of feud on high diplomacy on the other.
About the Author
Richard Fletcher is one of Britain's most distinguished medieval historians, and has for many years taught at the University of York. His The Quest For EL CID won the Wolfson Award and the Los Angeles Times History Prize; his most recent book, The Conversion Of Europe, was a best-seller for Harper Collins.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With little material to work with Richard Fletcher has produced a very readable and highly entertaining book. Much of the material is background information and inevitably there are gaps in the history of the feud. In fact the specific feud mentioned may only take up about 25% of the book, but this is unimportant. There's lots of information here about how the kingdoms ot the English were unified, early monasticism and its later revival and plenty of information about St Cuthbert and the Lindisfarn monastery. The book thus covers a swathe of history from the north east. Of course Viking attacks feature heavily with the invasion of Cnut in 1016 being important. This book gives a good insight into the impact of having foreigners on the English throne for the first time (in 1016 and again in 1066, though there has been no English monarch on the throne since), especially on taxation. The bloodfeud itself takes a back seat for much of the book but what comes across well is the total disaster for the English of the invasions and capitulations of 1016 and 1066, leaving the native English out in the cold and treated as nothing more than second class citizens. Something the foreign nobility continued to do for centuries (and still do to a certain extent).
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Most medieval historians seem satisfied to chart the Norman Conquest from the period that stemmed from the feuding of the Godwines. Fletcher has produced a fascinating account that summises that the collapse of Saxon resistance in the North of England may have stemmed from feuds between rival magnates in the tenth century. Given the paucity of information available, the author makes a compelling case for his argument whilst keeping the reader entertained with a narrative that makes the book difficult to put down. This book will satisfy the academic and the general reader and I would vote this the most entertaining medieval book that I have read since Prof. Holt's "Robin Hood" from about 20 years ago. Anyone with an interest in the tragic events of 1066 must read this book - certainly the curators of the Bayeux tapestry museum would be forced to change their tune !! Buy this book!!!
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This really is an excellent read. The author begins his enquiry with an examination into a series of brutal murders, but this book offers no less than a history of England in the three hundred years preceding the Norman Conquest. What is particularly fascinating is reading how the merest fragments of archaeological and contemporary evidence are used to build up a highly credible picture of the collapse of Anglo-Saxon rule and the nature of feudal society: this is literary archaeology at its finest. The events themselves (invasions, murder and treachery) ensure that the action rolics along, and the author's rather chatty style makes for good reading. Vikings, insanity, ghastly deaths and corrupt bishops - it's all there and in fewer than 200 pages.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
lonewolf1066
I enjoyed this book right from the opening pages. The tempo of the story line can at times be rather fast and I found myself having to re-read some of the previous pages or so to... Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2009 by lonewolf1066
Axe-Bearing Lords
Richard Fletcher's subject is the blood feud started with the assassination of Uhtred of Northumbria in 1016 by Thorbrand of Hold on behalf of King Canute. Read more
Published on 4 April 2009 by Charles Vasey
Enjoyable
There is much to enjoy in this analysis of a long running family feud in the 11th century, esp. the nature of late Anglo-Saxon society and the interplay between land ownership,... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by John Hopper
Bloodfeud: a review
Mr Fletcher has written a medieval history book which is both scholarly and a 'good read', and which can be enjoyed by both historains and those with no previous knowledge of... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2003 by Jessica
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