A History of England Before the Norman Conquest

In History of England Before the Norman Conquest, Sir Charles Oman presents a remarkably readable narrative beginning with the advent of a geologically distinct Britain and closing with the death of Harold Godwineson in 1066. Celts, Romans, Angles and Saxons, Danes and, finally, Normans successively conquered Britain pushing it's indigenous population to the periphery: Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. With the end of Roman influence, various kingdoms arose which eventually evolved into the earldoms of Mercia, Wessex, East Anglia, Northumbria, et al. The political interplay between these competitive parties provides the bulk of Oman's effort. Indeed, the tally board of success and failure, advance and retreat is complex and unwieldly as the scope of such an effort is immense. Something of a political tennis match occurs between Northumbria and Mercia until Wessex emerges as clearly dominant. And, thus, we are introduced to Alfred the Great. From here it is but a brief jaunt, relatively speaking, to the Battle of Hastings and victory of William, Duke of Normandy, where Oman chooses to close. The first of a multi-volume history of England, England Before the Norman Conquest attains the threshold of early 20th-century mastery that is so remarkably enjoyable to read. Straightforward, yet nostalgic, detailed, yet inviting, Oman's is an era of historical scholarship that should never be ignored.