Britain in the First Millennium: From Romans to Normans (Britain and Europe)

Edward James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340586877 ISBN 13: 9780340586877

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2000

Britain in the First Millennium This survey of medieval Britain is a coherent narrative of events between the two great invasions from continental Europe. It is unique both for its broad historical perspective and for its wide geographic coverage: it spans the "long" millennium from the first century BC through the Norman conquest and covers events in the whole of Britain Full description

Synopsis:

The first millennium in British history, a period framed by two invasions and conquests from across the Channel, is given a fresh portrayal in this innovative new account. It is the first time that Britain has been studied over the entire first millennium - or what might be called the 'long' first millennium, from the middle of the first century BC until the end of the eleventh century AD. It was a fundamental period for the historical and cultural development of Britain. The incomplete nature of the Roman Conquest lies behind the separate development of Ireland and northern Scotland, and perhaps Wales. The events of the fifth and sixth centuries, the so-called Migration Period, led to the re-making of the linguistic map. The arrival of Christianity was a major unifying event of the period in cultural terms. The arrival of the Vikings ultimately brought about the unification of the English kingdom, and aided in the unification of the kingdom of Scotland, the two most significant political developments of the latter part of the period, while the Norman Conquest inextricably tied subsequent medieval English monarchs into the politics of France.

About the Author:

Edward James is Professor of Medieval History, University College Dublin.