Brilliant and utterly fascinating. How little we know about certain crucial episodes in our history. It would benefit us to know more about our origins as it throws light upon our more current predicaments, perhaps.
On a lighter note, I can’t help wondering why the Anglo-Saxons chose boiling beer to pour on their besieging enemies. If they were short of the normally-used oil, or indeed drinking water (both important resources to a besieged force) then surely it would have made better sense to drink the beer and pour the resultant piss on to the unsuspecting foe. Boiling piss would have made an acrid, unpleasant brew to be sure. But then perhaps Athelstan was more concerned with preserving the sobriety of his troops in the face of such existential danger. Use the ale as a weapon and in doing so, remove the possibility of having to defend the citadel with a rat-eyed soldiery. Smart fellow. All the more reason to remember and honour him.
A very interesting summary thank you. There is an excellent Facebook group “Anglo-Saxon History and Language” with administrators who do a great job of sharing information on the Anglo-Saxon period. We need to organise a proper celebration of 1100 years on unification.
Though interested in history, I had never heard of Athelstan until I watched Michael Wood's groundbreaking documentary in 1981. I still remember the thrill I got from it, especially in the buildup to Brunanburh when I didn't know how the story was going to end. I'm also fascinated by the search for the lost site of Brunanburh itself, and Wood's own compelling argument that it could have been at Burghwallis on the Great North Road.
Great piece. Inspired by The Rest is History, I went to visit Malmesbury earlier this year. The tombs is indeed faintly depressing, but the café was quite nice. I'm quite interested by the implications that Athelstan's unification of England and the subsequent submission of Scots rulers has for the narrative that Britishness and the British state, even back into the Dark Ages, was essentially an extension of England.
FYI, I've been reading a wonderful in depth book called
"Going to Church in Mediaeval England", by one scholarly Nicholas Orme. Ends understandably with the Reformation, but is a great pointer into what went into making the English what they are (regardless of how we may be throwing it all away). The Eammon Duffy book on how the Reformation affected the village of Morebath in Devon, especially regarding how it affected (dare I use this phrase?) "community cohesion".
I'm an avid reader of The Salisbury Review - https://salisburyreview.com/ - one of our neighbours in Mells is Raymond Asquith's (Earl of Oxford & Asquith and owner of the estate our lovely village of Mells* in Somerset is) cousin. One John Jolliffe. A lovely man, very tall, very aged (yet takes a constitutional around the village come rain come shine, and like Raymond, a tree expert) he writes book reviews for the Salisbury Review, and has a habit of coming up with gems like this.
Despite being a Catholic :-)
* One of the glories of Mells is is trees. The family have been planting for 3 generations, and are still at it - Raymond (we converse on the matter) now planting some very interesting and "different" trees. We have a little heaven, albeit overrun at the weekends, thanks to our lovely local The Talbot (Talbot dogs sit upon the pillars fronting the drive up to the Manor)
"not, as I suspect, by me and five or six other cranks standing around his tomb while a bunch of teenagers listen to rap music."
As usual Ed, you seamlessly blend sadness and humour. My wife and I are quite accustomed to visiting the ruins of abbeys and increasingly touristy cathedrals, trying to say a prayer while our countrymen gawk and ask " 'Ow old iz it then?"
Boudicca (incidentally, the name of a dog we once had) is most likely famous because of the Romans. Everyone knows the Romans. Preciously few know about various early Viking fiefdoms and rulers.
Is there a difference between the unification of England versus the Roman Britannia? It seems to be largely the same area plus Wales. It can be said that modern England is a descendant from this unification rather than Roman Britain due to the near 600 years of interrupting and chaotic invasions between the Roman withdrawal and the unification under Athelstan.
600 years is a remarkably long time.... that's the span from 1422 to today.
Romans are just more exciting than Saxons. that's the pecking order.
Personally, judging from the geography, it seems inevitable that the people who ruled the Thames were always going to dominate the rest of the island, but I like Tom H's counterpoint.
It's just that the area beyond Hadrian's Wall is too hard and vast to rule, except with an English-speaking elite in Edinburgh incorporated into London's sphere.
Ace books on this time by one Marc Morris; his dad, John (I think) similar.
Highly recommend
The Anglo-Saxons : a history of the beginnings of England
Author: Morris, Marc, 1973- author.
ISBN: 9781786330994
Abstract: Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings
and his "The Norman Conquest".
ISBN: 9780099537441
Abstract: An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. It is an invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought. This book explains why the Norman Conquest was the single most important event in English history.
I'm right here with you, so depressed about our decline that I stay from anything that might trigger my maudlin nostalgia, such as Kynaston's New Jerusalem series or documentaries about my favorite rock bands.
Brilliant and utterly fascinating. How little we know about certain crucial episodes in our history. It would benefit us to know more about our origins as it throws light upon our more current predicaments, perhaps.
On a lighter note, I can’t help wondering why the Anglo-Saxons chose boiling beer to pour on their besieging enemies. If they were short of the normally-used oil, or indeed drinking water (both important resources to a besieged force) then surely it would have made better sense to drink the beer and pour the resultant piss on to the unsuspecting foe. Boiling piss would have made an acrid, unpleasant brew to be sure. But then perhaps Athelstan was more concerned with preserving the sobriety of his troops in the face of such existential danger. Use the ale as a weapon and in doing so, remove the possibility of having to defend the citadel with a rat-eyed soldiery. Smart fellow. All the more reason to remember and honour him.
A very interesting summary thank you. There is an excellent Facebook group “Anglo-Saxon History and Language” with administrators who do a great job of sharing information on the Anglo-Saxon period. We need to organise a proper celebration of 1100 years on unification.
I've applied to join. Let's see if they have me!
They should. I thought of sharing your Athelstan article. It contains the kind of things they like
Though interested in history, I had never heard of Athelstan until I watched Michael Wood's groundbreaking documentary in 1981. I still remember the thrill I got from it, especially in the buildup to Brunanburh when I didn't know how the story was going to end. I'm also fascinated by the search for the lost site of Brunanburh itself, and Wood's own compelling argument that it could have been at Burghwallis on the Great North Road.
have The BBC rerun Wood's documentary in recent years? Would be so good if they did.
Not that I'm aware of, but the whole In Search of the Dark Ages series is available on DVD
Great piece. Inspired by The Rest is History, I went to visit Malmesbury earlier this year. The tombs is indeed faintly depressing, but the café was quite nice. I'm quite interested by the implications that Athelstan's unification of England and the subsequent submission of Scots rulers has for the narrative that Britishness and the British state, even back into the Dark Ages, was essentially an extension of England.
Thanks. I was heartened to read they're planning a statue of Athelstan by the abbey, only to learn they were beaten.
https://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/19472789.plans-king-aethelstan-statue-malmesbury-withdrawn/
Love your posts, Ed. You go where others do not.
FYI, I've been reading a wonderful in depth book called
"Going to Church in Mediaeval England", by one scholarly Nicholas Orme. Ends understandably with the Reformation, but is a great pointer into what went into making the English what they are (regardless of how we may be throwing it all away). The Eammon Duffy book on how the Reformation affected the village of Morebath in Devon, especially regarding how it affected (dare I use this phrase?) "community cohesion".
Thank you!
I had not heard of that one, The Orme book.
I'm an avid reader of The Salisbury Review - https://salisburyreview.com/ - one of our neighbours in Mells is Raymond Asquith's (Earl of Oxford & Asquith and owner of the estate our lovely village of Mells* in Somerset is) cousin. One John Jolliffe. A lovely man, very tall, very aged (yet takes a constitutional around the village come rain come shine, and like Raymond, a tree expert) he writes book reviews for the Salisbury Review, and has a habit of coming up with gems like this.
Despite being a Catholic :-)
* One of the glories of Mells is is trees. The family have been planting for 3 generations, and are still at it - Raymond (we converse on the matter) now planting some very interesting and "different" trees. We have a little heaven, albeit overrun at the weekends, thanks to our lovely local The Talbot (Talbot dogs sit upon the pillars fronting the drive up to the Manor)
https://www.talbotinn.com/
Be happy to share a pint there with you!
"not, as I suspect, by me and five or six other cranks standing around his tomb while a bunch of teenagers listen to rap music."
As usual Ed, you seamlessly blend sadness and humour. My wife and I are quite accustomed to visiting the ruins of abbeys and increasingly touristy cathedrals, trying to say a prayer while our countrymen gawk and ask " 'Ow old iz it then?"
Boudicca (incidentally, the name of a dog we once had) is most likely famous because of the Romans. Everyone knows the Romans. Preciously few know about various early Viking fiefdoms and rulers.
Is there a difference between the unification of England versus the Roman Britannia? It seems to be largely the same area plus Wales. It can be said that modern England is a descendant from this unification rather than Roman Britain due to the near 600 years of interrupting and chaotic invasions between the Roman withdrawal and the unification under Athelstan.
600 years is a remarkably long time.... that's the span from 1422 to today.
Romans are just more exciting than Saxons. that's the pecking order.
Personally, judging from the geography, it seems inevitable that the people who ruled the Thames were always going to dominate the rest of the island, but I like Tom H's counterpoint.
It's just that the area beyond Hadrian's Wall is too hard and vast to rule, except with an English-speaking elite in Edinburgh incorporated into London's sphere.
Ace books on this time by one Marc Morris; his dad, John (I think) similar.
Highly recommend
The Anglo-Saxons : a history of the beginnings of England
Author: Morris, Marc, 1973- author.
ISBN: 9781786330994
Abstract: Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings
and his "The Norman Conquest".
ISBN: 9780099537441
Abstract: An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. It is an invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought. This book explains why the Norman Conquest was the single most important event in English history.
I can relate. But let's remember what the renowned scholar Pink Floyd said: "quiet desperation is the English way".
I'm right here with you, so depressed about our decline that I stay from anything that might trigger my maudlin nostalgia, such as Kynaston's New Jerusalem series or documentaries about my favorite rock bands.