The Isles A History

by Davies, Norman

• ISBN13: 9780195148312
• ISBN10: 0195148312
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Written by one of the most brilliant and provocative historians at work today, The Isles is a revolutionary narrative history that presents a new perspective on the development of Britain and Ireland, looking at them not as self-contained islands, but as an inextricable part of Europe. This richly layered history begins with the Celtic Supremacy in the last centuries BC, which is presented in the light of a Celtic world stretching all the way from Iberia to Asia Minor. Roman Britain is seen not as a unique phenomenon but as similar to the other frontier regions of the RomanEmpire. The Viking Age is viewed not only through the eyes of the invaded but from the standpoint of the invaders themselves--Norse, Danes, and Normans. In the later chapters, Davies follows the growth of the United Kingdom and charts the rise and fall of the main pillars of 'Britishness'--theRoyal Navy, the Westminster Parliament, the Constitutional Monarchy, the Aristocracy, the British Empire, and the English Language. This holistic approach challenges the traditional nationalist picture of a thousand years of "eternal England"--a unique country formed at an early date by Anglo-Saxon kings which evolved in isolation and, except for the Norman Conquest, was only marginally affected by continental affairs. Theresult is a new picture of the Isles, one of four countries--England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales--constantly buffeted by continental storms and repeatedly transformed by them.

Author Biography

Norman Davies is the author of Europe: A History. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of London, Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xiii
List of Maps	xvi
List of Tables	xvii
List of Appendices	xviii
Introduction	xxi
The Midnight Isles	1	(44)
The Painted Isles c. 600 BC to AD 43	45	(58)
The Frontier Isles 43 to c. 410	103	(48)
The Germanico-Celtic Isles c. 410 to 800	151	(76)
The Isles in the West 795 to 1154	227	(76)
The Isles of Outremer 1154 to 1326	303	(100)
The Englished Isles 1326 to 1603	403	(128)
Two Isles: Three Kingdoms 1603 to 1707	531	(128)
The British Imperial Isles 1707 to 1922	659	(212)
The Post-Imperial Isles 1900 to Present	871	(188)
Notes	1059	(32)
Appendices	1091	(92)
Index	1183