by Michael Wood
Morkinskinna 237
Nennius, History of the Britons 37, 52, 53–5, 56
Norman Conquest 9, 13, 188, 223–4, 248–9
and Anglo-Saxon England 223–4, 248–9, 251–2, 260–1
and Athelstan 137
see also William the Conqueror
Normandy 224–9
and Anglo-Saxon England 228–9
and Ethelred 215
military power of 227–8
Northumbria
and the alliance against Athelstan 156, 157, 158–9
Athelstan’s conquest of 144–5, 164
and Athelstan’s law codes 150
and Christianity 209
and the Danes 114, 116, 117, 119, 144
and Eric Bloodaxe 164–5, 167–8, 169–70, 180–2, 187–90
and the Norman Conquest 252
Norse kings in 167
Priest’s Law 169–70
and the river Humber 189–90
Nunburnholme, tomb monument at 176–7
Oak Wood Ghyll 247
Oda, Archbishop of Canterbury 182
Odda, eldorman of Devon 121
Offa of Angeln 84, 100
Offa, Mercian king 8, 11, 59, 81–110, 126, 129, 260
ancestry 63, 84
and Athelstan 137, 140, 141, 151, 160
Avar sword 95, 107
as bretwalda 95–8
burial 109–10
and Canute 221
character 105–6
and Christianity 103–4, 105
coin issues 98–9
consecration ceremonies (787) 98, 99–100
death 105, 106, 107
and Ethelred 207
and food rent 90–1
Gospel book presented to Worcester by 103–4
legacy of 107–9
and the murder of Aethelberht 104–5
‘palace’ at Tamworth 92–4
Christmas celebrations 90–1, 106
seizure of the throne 84–6
summer residences 94
and the winter of 763 88–9
see also Mercia
Offa’s Dyke 81–3, 100–3
Oiscinga royal family, Kent 62
Olaf, son of Harald Hardrada 238
Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway 199, 203
Olaf, Viking king 190
Old English royal administration 259–60
Old High German 64, 148
Olussa, Aulus Alfidius 28, 30
Orm, Earl 156, 166, 176, 177, 189
Orosius (Spanish priest) 133
Osbert, minister to Offa 105
Oscetel, Danish king 117
Oswald, bishop of Worcester 200
Oswald, king of Northumbria 64, 189
Oswulf Ealdulfing 188
Oswulf, earl of Bamburgh 163, 191
Oswy, king of Northumbria 64, 155, 189
Otford, battle of (775) 96
Otto of Germany 148, 185, 237
Owain, king of the Cumbrians 145, 153, 159
Oxford 150
massacre of Danes in 205–6
Patrick, St, Confessions 42–3
Pelagianism (religous movement) 42
Penda, Mercian king 85, 86, 155
Plato 13
poets, and Athelstan 148–9
Portland, Viking raids on 199
pottery, Anglo-Saxon 76
Prasutagus, king of the Iceni 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24
Procopius, Byzantine writer 63
Raedwald, East-Anglian king 64, 66, 74, 77–8, 83
Raegenhere, East-Anglian king 66
Ragnald, brother of Eric Bloodaxe 191
Ragnar Lothbrok 185, 186
Rathulf (English moneyer) 166, 180
Regenwold, Anglo-Scandinavian nobleman 176
Rendlesham, and the East-Anglian kings 71–3, 75, 78, 79
Repton, Derbyshire, archaeological finds at 256
Rey Cross 192
Rhondri the Great, Welsh king 146
Ricberht, East-Anglian king 66, 75
Richard I, duke of Normandy 215, 228–9
Richard I, king (the Lionheart) 225
Richard III, King 195
Ripon 176, 180–2
Robert, Abbot of Jumièges and Archbishop of Canterbury 229
Robert, bishop of Hereford 250
Robert I, duke of Normandy 225
Roger of Wendover 11, 62, 163, 191
Rollo, duke of Normandy 224–5
Roman Britain 8, 13–17
and Anglo-Saxon civilizations 108
and the Anglo-Saxon empire 196
and Anglo-Saxon invaders 41–2, 43–6, 47–8
and Anglo-Saxon kings 70
and Badon Hill 50–1
and Boudica’s revolt 24–36
Carlisle 55, 56–7, 171
Cirencester 46–7, 57
Colchester (Camulodunum) 15–16, 16–17, 20, 21, 22–7
and the fall of the empire 40–2, 133
and the Iceni 15, 16, 17–22
and the legend of Arthur 37, 38, 59
London (Londinium) 20, 28–32
and Offa’s dyke 102–3
Wroxeter 47–8, 57
York 173
Saga of Hakon the Good 190–1
Saga of Harald Hardrada 235, 236
Salisbury Plain 122
Sandwich naval disaster (1009) 210–12
Saxon shore forts 73, 187
Schliemann, Heinrich 38, 59
scientific archaeology 38–9
Scotland, Athelstan’s invasion of 152–3
Seneca 20
Severus 103
shires 151
shops Roman Britain 23–4
Viking York 174–5
Sigebert, East-Anglian king 66
Sihtric, Viking king of York 144, 169, 191
Skallagrimson, Egil 164, 179
slave trade 183–6, 209
Spain, and the slave trade 184–5
Stainmore, battle of 190–3
Stamford Bridge, battle of 236–8, 239, 241
Stenton, Sir Frank 191
Strathclyde, kingdom of 171
Sturluson, Snorri 164
Suetonius, Roman governor 10, 26, 28, 29–30, 31, 32, 33, 36
speech to the troops 34
Sutton Hoo burial 61–79
archaeological finds 65, 67–8, 255
and Christianity 74
helmet, sword and
shield 65, 77
standard 69–70
whetstone and sceptre 65, 68–9, 77–8
and the body 65, 66–70
and the bretwaldas 63–4, 83
and the East Angles 62–3, 70–5
and Sweden 63, 73, 77, 78
Tudor excavations 64–5, 78–9
Sweden Gamle Uppsala 93
and the Sutton Hoo burial 63, 73, 77, 78
Swein, king of Denmark and England 203, 213–14, 216, 221, 234
Symeon of Durham, History of the Kings 89
Tacitus 10, 11, 14, 18, 21
on the destruction of Colchester 26–7
on the Iceni revolt 23, 25, 30–1, 33–4, 36
Tamworth Athelstan elected king at 140
Mercian royal residence at 87, 90–4, 108
watermill at 92, 94
1066 and All That 137, 195
Tennyson, Alfred, Lord, Idylls of the King 38, 58
Thatcher, Margaret 11
thegns 124, 251–2
Thurkill, thegn of Arden 251
Tosti, earl of Northumbria 230, 231–2, 233, 237
towns Alfred the Great and town planning 126–9
Anglo-Saxon 75–6
and Athelstan 150–1
Roman Britain 22–3, 28–30, 46–8, 56–7
trade Belgic people and the Romans 15
and the East Angles 75–6
and the Iceni 19–20
in Viking York 175
travel in the Dark Ages 169–70, 171–2
Tribal Hidage 87–8, 101, 256
tr
ibute payments Athelstan 146, 152, 153, 154
bretwaldas 83
Danegelds 117, 200, 203, 208, 209, 213, 216, 220, 222
and the Iceni 20
Mercian kings 86, 87, 95
Troy, and the legend of Arthur 38, 59
Uffington horse 116
Ulfcytel ‘the Valiant’ of East Anglia 203, 208, 218, 219
Urien of Rheged 55
Varaville, battle of (1057) 227, 230
Victorians and Anglo-Saxon England 261
and Boudica 12–13
and the legend of Arthur 38–9
Vikings see Danes/Vikings
Vortigern 43–4, 45, 46, 48
Wales Athelstan’s conquest of 145–6
and the grand alliance against Athelstan 154–6
and Offa’s Dyke 81–3, 100–2
Wallingford 127–8, 150, 215 271
Walter Giffard 246
Walton Castle 73–4
Wareham 128, 150, 215
Wat’s Dyke 102
Webster, Dr Graham 22, 32
Wehha, East-Anglian king 62–3
Wessex and Alfred the Great 114–15, 116–26
town planning in 126–9
West Saxon kingship 63, 66, 109, 114–16, 151
Wiglaf, Mercian king 109
Wilfrid, St 181, 182, 189, 192
William the Conqueror 9, 223–54
and the accession of Harold Godwinson 231
and the battle of Hastings 240–7
birth and early career 225–6
character 225–6, 253, 254
coronation 226, 248
death 253
and the Domesday Book 249–50, 259–60
and Edward the Confessor 229
invasion of France (1086) 252–3
landing in England 238–9
and the Norman Conquest 223–4
and Norman military power 227–8
and Normandy 224–5
painting of 254
shipping fleet 232–3, 234
tomb of 253–4
William of Jumièges 229, 240
William ‘Longsword’, Duke of Normandy 228
William of Malmesbury on Alfred the Great 112
on Archbishop Wulfstan 186, 192
on Athelstan 138, 143, 147, 148, 157, 161
on the battle of Hastings 241, 246
on Carlisle 57
on Ethelred 195–6, 206
Gesta Regum 258
on Harold Godwinson 239, 240
and the legend of Arthur 39–40
on York 173
William of Poitiers 242, 246, 247
Winchester, Anglo-Saxon buildings at 93, 128
Worcester church, Gospel book presented by Offa to 103–4
Wroxeter 47–8, 57
Wuffa, East-Anglian king 62–3, 71
Wuffinga kings 62, 69, 70, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 114
Wulfhere, Mercian king 83
Wulfnoth, Sussex nobleman 210, 229
Wulfstan I, archbishop of York 156, 167, 169, 177, 182
arrest and imprisonment 186–7
death 192
and Eric Bloodaxe 165–6, 189–90
Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York 196, 197–8, 199, 203–4, 205, 208, 209, 211
and Canute 220, 221–2
Institutes of Polity 208
Sermon of the Wolf 207
Wurgeat, subking of Wales 147
York Anglo-Saxon 76, 89
Athelstan’s conquest of 144–5
St Peter’s church 163, 175
Viking 163, 164, 165, 166–7, 170, 171–7, 180
and Anglo-Scandinavian culture 176
churches 175–6
dress of the gentry 177
and early place-names 174
industry in 173–5
monuments 176–7
Roman character of 173
royal hall 178
and the slave trade 185
travelling to 171–2
Viking raids in 114
Ythancaestir (Saxon Shore fort) 187
Zosimus, Byzantine writer 41
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I must first thank the staffs of the following libraries for their kindness and helpfulness, without which this book would not have been possible: Corpus Christi College Cambridge, Jesus College Oxford, the Bodleian Library Oxford, the Cathedral Library Durham, the British Library, Worcester Cathedral Library, the Public Record Office, and the British Museum Coin Room.
I am indebted to Bob Meeson at Tamworth, Robin Brown at Saham Toney and Paul Sealey at Colchester Museum, who were all kind enough to let me use their unpublished researches. In Caen Michel de Boüard was unstintingly helpful to an unrepentant Anglo-Saxonist, and in Oxford John Griffiths generously gave his advice and provided me with a photograph of the Florentine manuscript of Tacitus: to both go my warm thanks. In particular I must express my gratitude to two friends: Phil Barker for his encouragement and criticism, and David Hill whose conversation always throws out new insights into Anglo-Saxon England. My editor, Sheila Ableman, has had to work on a nightmare of a typescript; without her constructive criticism this book would have been much the poorer; a special thanks to her. Finally, I must thank the producer of the In Search of … films, Derek Towers, and the cameraman, Richard Ganniclifft, both of whose special talents gave so much to the series, and the executive producer, Roger Laughton.
PICTURE CREDITS
The sections in these credits correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created.
Section One: 1 The Bridgeman Art Library (t), British Museum, London (b); 2 Colchester Museums; 3 Chatham’s Library Mabchester/www.bridgemanart.com; 4 Steve Razzetti (b); 5 Steve Razzetti (b); 4–5 Steve Razzetti (t); 6 akg-images; 7 The Trustees of the British Musuem (l), The Trustees of the British Museum (r); 8 Corbis (t), The Bridgeman Art Library (bl), The British Library (br).
Section Two: 1 With permission of the Palace of Westminster (t), The Bridgeman Art Library (b); 2 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; 3 Michael Wood (t), British Museum, London (bl & r); 4 akg-images/British Library (t), David Hill (b); 5 Michael Wood; 6 akg-images/Erich Lessing (t), akg-images/Erich Lessing (b); 7 akg-images/ Erich Lessing (t); 8 akg-images/Erich Lessing (t), British Museum, London (b).
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
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First published in hardback 1981 by BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd.
This paperback edition first published 2005
Published by BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing.
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Copyright © Michael Wood 1981, 1987, 1994, 2001, 2005
Michael Wood has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
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