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Historical A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons: The Beginnings of the English Nation by Geoffrey Hindley $14.95 / Carroll & Graf/ 2006 Although entitled A Brief History of the Anglo-Saxons, Geoffrey Hindley’s book is, in fact, a thorough account of pre-Conquest England. Hindley examines the development of England from late antiquity until 1066, when William the Conqueror established Norman rule over the island. While this book’s most impressive feature is the depth of its chronological narrative, it also demonstrates that Anglo-Saxon England enjoyed a unique sense of nationhood, as well as impacted political and religious developments on the Continent. First, Hindley re-creates the settling of England by Germanic tribes after the fall of the Roman Empire, drawing upon sources such as the epic poem Beowulf and the eighth-century classic Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede. Hindley describes military, political, and social happenings across medieval England. The discussions of shires, minsters, and emporia support the idea of English nationhood by showing governmental organization and the creation of cultural and commercial centers. But these analyses are overshadowed by the detailed timeline of events, which describes battles, kingship, and the entrenchment of Christianity. The second half of the book alternates between meticulous looks at important individuals and a narrative of events. Information about St. Boniface and Alcuin of York conveys the importance of English religion and learning upon western Europe. Hindley also describes the Viking raids in England, the process of Danish settlement, and King Alfred’s consolidation of power and territory. Sandwiched between discussions of Alfred’s reign and the Norman Conquest is a chapter about English society that demonstrates the linguistic and cultural ties that bound England’s many regions. With a hint of melancholy, Hindley finally details Alfred’s successors’ internal feuds and external defeats. He acknowledges that the administrative districts, trained officials, and royal writs helped the Normans to rule once they had commandeered those governmental mechanisms. By providing a detailed chronicle and vivid descriptions, Hindley creates a solid overview of Anglo-Saxon England. Even so, at times, Hindley attempts to compare past events to present conditions, such as associating the eighth-century Islamic conquests to the modern Islamic terrorist threat. While these comparisons are sometimes overly simplistic, they are only small distractions within his larger, stirring narrative of early English history. — Rose Rankin

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