In Search of the Dark Ages

by Wood, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780816047024
• ISBN10: 0816047022
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Checkmark Books

Summary

Based on the classic BBC television series, In Search of the Dark Ages embarks on an enthralling investigation of one the world's richest -- yet overlooked -- eras: the mysterious centuries following the demise of the Roman Empire.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	6	(1)
Introduction	7	(3)
Genealogy Table	10	(3)
Boadicea	13	(24)
King Arthur	37	(24)
The Sutton Hoo Man	61	(16)
Offa	77	(27)
Alfred the Great	104	(22)
Athelstan	126	(25)
Eric Bloodaxe	151	(26)
Ethelred the Unready	177	(27)
William the Conqueror	204	(33)
Postscript	237	(6)
Book List	243	(1)
Picture Credits	244	(1)
Index	245

Excerpts

Praise for the previous edition:
First-rate popular history.–The New York Times Book Review
Once paid little interest by scholars, the Dark Ages are now viewed as a formative period in the history of Britain, one that not only determined the fate of the country, but also influenced world events for the centuries that followed this era. Written by Michael Wood, an expert in early Anglo-Saxon history and host of the classic BBC TV In Search Of... series, this volume is a readable reference on the period spanning the Roman invasion of Britain to the Norman conquest of the eleventh century. Photographs of artifacts and ruins and helpful maps complement a highly engaging narrative to describe the astonishing
discoveries about the key events of the era and the people who lived through them.
Coverage includes:
Archaeological evidence for Queen Bodicea's terrible war of resistance against the Romans
The discovery of the Sutton Hoo, a ship that offers intriguing clues about the origins of English kingdoms
Ofaa, Alfred, and Althelsan, three great kings who laid EnglandÕs
political foundations
The pivotal and fateful confrontation between King Harold and William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.