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The Origins and Early History of the English
Bryan Evans

During the late 4th and early 5th centuries the Roman Empire came under increasing attacks from Germanic and other tribes. In order to strengthen their core defences Rome moved armies away from places like Britain, finally abandoning it and its citizens in 410.

With the Romans gone, Britons had to provide for their own defence and in doing so followed the Roman example by employing Germanic mercenaries. This opened the door to Anglo-Saxon migration and settlements. As the hold of the local British leadership slackened, forceful Anglo-Saxon leaders were well-placed to take over post-Roman tribal kingdoms as ‘going concerns’.

In the next phase of the settlement, Anglo-Saxon groups pressed inland, using the Wash and Humber river systems and Roman roads. The settlement of Britain by Angles, Saxons and others was neither quick nor without resistance - it varied from place to place and time to time. A British fight-back – led perhaps by an Arthur-figure – gave a stunning British victory at Badon Hill. Only a generation later the Angles and Saxons were on the move once more, against Britons weakened by their own infighting and, perhaps, by plague. Yet it was only in the 630s that the conquest became irreversible.

The telling of this tale focuses on the human story, on footloose adventurers, on formidable warlords, on twists of fate, on truth and treachery, on desperate last stands and daring, foolhardy raids.

25 maps help the reader get to grips with the twists and turns of the plot.

£12·95  212 pages  170x244mm  approx. 6 1/2 x 9 1/2"

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