Short description
Drawing on 28 original essays, "A Companion to the Early Middle Ages" takes an inclusive approach to the history of Britain and Ireland from c.500 to c.1100 to overcome artificial distinctions of modern national boundaries. A collaborative history from leading scholars, covering the key debates and issues
Surveys the building blocks of political society, and considers whether there were fundamental differences across Britain and Ireland
Considers potential factors for change, including the economy, Christianisation, and the Vikings
Long description
This is a collection of some 30 original essays by leading scholars covering the key debates and issues involved in writing a history of Britain in the early middle ages. Until now, most accounts of the period from the end of the Roman occupation of the British Isles up to the Norman Conquest of England have either been dominated by Anglo-centrism, or at least, followed 'national' boundaries, with separate accounts given of the regions that later came to be England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Historians now see the need to create new ways of discussing developments in the British Isles, to overcome the artificial distinctions of 'national' boundaries and identify new units of comparative historical analysis.Drawing on the range of current historical scholarship, A Companion to Britain in the Early Middle Ages will be the first reference of its kind to demonstrate how a genuinely inclusive approach to the history of the British Isles from c. 500 to c. 1100 can transform our understand of the period.