Bloodfeud: Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England - Softcover

Fletcher, Richard A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195179447 ISBN 13: 9780195179446

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2004

Synopsis

A treacherous murder in northern England on an early spring day in 1016 is used to introduce readers to the world of the aristocratic men and women of Anglo-Saxon England, their violence, their piety, their assumptions and experiences, their hopes and fears. In this book, award-winning author Richard Fletcher illuminates British society and politics in the years around the Norman Conquest, threading together scanty documentary evidence to produce a rich narrative.

About this title

Review:

"It would be hard to imagine a better, more reliable introduction to the last days of the Anglo-Saxon world than this stirring book."--Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"A swift and, by necessity, highly speculative account of some murders between 1016 and 1074 that reveal much about 11th-century English politics, religion, codes of honor, and kingship....A graceful examination of the intricate tapestry of a culture so distant in time and temperament as to be virtually extraterrestrial."--Kirkus Reviews

"Fletcher writes with precision and wit. He has a nose for nuance, a ready supply of pithy phrases, and no time for the jargon that besets so much contemporary academic writing...Bloodfeud dazzles and delights."--Christopher Silvester, Sunday Times

"[Fletcher] enlarges skilfully on the historical context in which all the events took place and artfully on their other dimensions, taking the opportunity at the same time to expound his views on...apprehension of the millennium and the quality of the Anglo-Saxon taxation system."--Simon Keynes, The Spectator

"An excellent book." --Frank McLynn, Literary Review

About the Author:

Richard Fletcher recently retired from the University of York where he was Professor of History. He is the author seven previous books, among them The Quest for El Cid which won the Wolfson Literary Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for History.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0195179447
• ISBN 13: 9780195179446
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256