Anglo Saxon books

Ogdoad's Books

Anglo-Saxon Selection

[ Celtic books | Monthly selection | How it works ]
[ Ogdoad's Page ]


** The main link is to Amazon.com, click the Union Jack for Amazon UK **

By no means exhaustive, this list covers books currently in print and available through Amazon

General

Anglo Saxon England - Frank Merry Stenton - paperback

The classic work on the subject, first published in the 1930s. Part of the Oxford History of England series.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

An Introduction to Anglo Saxon England: Peter Hunter Blair - paperback

.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

The Anglo-Saxons - James Campbell (ed) - paperback

Useful Penguin introduction to the topic.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

The Vikings - Jonathan Wooding - hardcover

There are many books on the Vikings, Alfred's foes. This one is written by a friend. :¬)

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Wessex in the Early Middle Ages - Barbara Yorke - paperback

Alfred's kingdom.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great - Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources - Simon Keynes, Michael Lapidge - paperback

An excellent starting point, this book contains a short history of Alfred's reign, and translations of Asser's Life, a selection of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, some of Alfred's writings, his laws and his will. A wealth of Alfred source material all in one place.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

King Alfred the Great - Alfred Smyth - hardcover

The weightiest book on Alfred for many years, Smyth goes to great lengths to reveal Alfred as a man of many talents, and is not afraid to stir up controversy along the way. Most controversial is his dismissal of Asser's Life of Alfred as a later medieval work.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Alfred the Great - War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England - Richard Abels - paperback/hardcover

Alfred as warlord and scholar.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Alfred the Great - David Sturdy - paperback/hardcover

Covers the main points of Alfred's life, with particular attention to charter evidence. Some evaluation of Alfred's reputation in later centuries.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Alfred: Warrior King - John Peddie - hardcover

.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

The Life of Alfred - Robert Powell - hardcover

The earliest modern (17th century) account of Alfred's life, drawing parallels with the reign of Charles I. A fascinating little book - Only available from Amazon UK

Buy it from Amazon.uk

The Defence of Wessex - The Burghal Hidage and Anglo-Saxon Fortifications David Hill (ed) - hardcover

A comprehensive (if expensive) analysis of the Burghal Hidage and Alfred's fortifications.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Contemporary sources/culture

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - trans Dorothy Whitelock - hardcover

The full text of the chronicle in translation, a significant contemporary resource.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

A choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse - Richard Hamer - paperback

Windows into the minds and culture of the Anglo-Saxons.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Anglo-Saxon Prose - Michael Swanton - paperback

Windows into the minds and culture of the Anglo-Saxons.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

Anglo-Saxon Christianity - Exploring the Earliest Roots of Christian Spirituality in England - Paul Cavill - paperback

An interesting recent book looking at a subject very relevant to Alfred the Great.

Buy it from Amazon.uk
   

Art

Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Painting Book illumination in the British Isles 600 - 800 - Carl Nordenfalk - paperback

The art of manuscript illumination in the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon churches.

Buy it from Amazon.uk

 
Cross

Back to Alfred the Great

Back to Ogdoad's Page


Ogdoad is an associate of

 amazon.com