A compelling account of England's emergence from the ruins of Roman Britain.
In 410 CE, Roman rule of Britain collapsed, bringing a centuries-long occupation to an end. A hundred years later. Britain was splitting into two areas with contrasting cultures, a shrinking Celtic west and north, and an expansive Anglo-Saxon' south and east created by Germanic incomers. What drove this division? And why, when migrants landed in England, did their customs prevail over those of Rome - unlike elsewhere in the former empire?
In this deeply researched history, Nicholas J. Higham draws on archaeological evidence and contemporary literature, including the writings of the sixth-century cleric Gildas, to challenge existing understandings. He highlights the importance of culture, warfare and language - as the arrival, spread and dominance of outsiders irrevocably changed the country. This period marked the beginnings not just of Englishness, but also of Welsh and Cornish identities.
Rich in surprising new insights, Higham provides a fascinating account of how. as Roman Britain ended, Anglo-Saxon England emerged.
Size: 242 x 165mm (hardback with dust jacket)
Pages: 368 (32 colour illus + 7 maps)
Publisher: Yale University Press
