Age of Arthur: A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650

by John Morris

Overview

It's a past hitherto hidden in myth and mystery, and one so exciting to lovers of literature and history. Yet Arthur himself, both the last Roman emperor and the first medieval king, represented a form of continuity...and pointed the way to future English history. "...Morris has created more than the most devoted of Arthurian enthusiasts could ever have hoped for...in a style of great elegance..."—Times Literary Supplement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781842124772
Publisher:	Orion Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/15/2001
Series:	Phoenix Press Series
Edition description:	PBK ED
Pages:	688
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.80(d)

Table of Contents

	Introduction	xiii
Part 1	Narrative
I	Roman Britain
1	Britain in 350	1
2	The Ending of the Western Empire	10
	Rebellion 350-353	10
	Christian Dissent 350-361	12
	Imperial Recovery 361-375	14
	Huns and Goths 375-400	19
	The Fall of the West 400-410	21
	Christian Reform 361-400	23
3	Independent Britain: The Evidence	29
	The Sources; Archaeology	30
	Texts	35
	Gildas' Narrative	35
	Nennius	37
	Dates	37
	Bede	39
	Words	41
4	Independent Britain: Vortigern	44
	Civil Government	44
	The Army	49
	Vortigern	55
	Picts and Saxons	56
	The Irish	62
	Cunedda	66
	The Cornovii	68
	Vortigern's success	70
5	The Overthrow of Britain	71
	Civil War	71
	The first Saxon revolt	75
	Counter-attack	80
	Massacre and Migration	84
	The Great Raid	84
II	The Empire of Arthur
6	The War	87
	Britain and Europe in the 460s	88
	Britain in the 460s	93
	Ambrosius	95
	The Cymry	97
	The War Zone	100
	Arthur	103
	The English held	110
	Badon	112
7	The Peace of Arthur	116
	The reign of Arthur	116
	The Legend of Arthur	117
	Arthur's Frontier Wars	123
	Theodoric	126
	Arthur's Civil Government	132
	Partition	134
	Town and Country	136
	The Economy	139
	Camlann	140
III	The Successor States
8	Pagan Ireland	142
	The Sources	143
	Prehistory	147
	Tuathal	151
	Cormac	155
	Crimthann and Niall	157
	Irish Monarchy	159
	The Rise of the Dynasties	159
9	Christian Ireland	164
	The Sources	164
	Loegaire	166
	Mac Erca	167
	Diarmait	169
	The Church Triumphant	174
10	The Dal Riada Scots	177
	Geography	177
	Scot Kings	180
	Columba	181
	Aedan	181
	Aedan's heirs	183
11	The Picts and the Northerners	186
	The Picts	186
	Brochs and Duns	188
	Atecotti	190
	Christianity	191
	Bridei	192
	Art	193
	Bridei's heirs	194
	Albany	197
	Scotland	198
12	British Supremacy	200
	Gildas' Kings	201
	The Lowlands and the West	207
	The North	213
	British Political Society	219
	The plague	222
13	British Collapse	225
	The South	225
	The North	230
	Urien	232
	Catraeth	237
	Chester	238
	Catwallaun	240
	Cynddylan	241
	The Loss of Britain	245
14	Brittany	249
	Riwal and Fracan	251
	Paul Aurelian	252
	Budic	254
	Conomorus	256
	Waroc and Iudicael	258
15	English Immigrants	261
	The Homeland	261
	Hengest	266
	Icel	271
	The English in Europe	273
	After Badon	280
	Migration from Britain	286
16	English Conquest	293
	Rebellion	293
	Consolidation: Aethelferth and Aethelbert	300
	Edwin and Oswy	301
	The Mercians	303
	Expansion	303
	The North and the East	304
	The South East	306
	The West	307
	The Midlands	310
	Integration: the English	310
	The subject Welsh	312
17	English Monarchy	317
	Early Tradition	317
	Kent	318
	The Northumbrians	320
	The East Angles	322
	The West Saxons	323
	The Mercians	325
	The Mercian Empire	325
	Charlemagne's Empire	332
Part 2	Analysis
IV	Church and Letters
18	The Fifth Century Church	335
	Before 410	335
	The Early Fifth Century	338
	Germanus	343
	Palladius	345
	Later Fifth Century Britain	346
	Patrick	347
	Later Fifth Century Ireland	350
19	Sixth Century Monks	356
	Britain	356
	Samson	357
	Paul Aurelian	363
	David	367
	Cadoc	369
	The rest of Britain	370
	Ireland	372
	Finnian	374
	Columba	377
	Gildas in Ireland	379
	Art	381
	Travel	382
	Exploration	383
	Missions	386
20	The Seventh Century Church	389
	The conversion of the English	389
	Augustine and Edwin	389
	Oswald and Aedan	391
	Rome and Easter	394
	Theodore and Wilfred	395
	Bishops and Abbots	397
	The Irish Church	399
	Monks in Europe	400
21	Letters	406
	Language	406
	Education	409
	Latin Literature	414
	Welsh Literature	416
	English Literature	421
	Irish Literature	422
	Humour	424
V	Society and Economy
22	The Economy	429
	Roman Britain	429
	Arable and Pasture	431
	Ireland	431
	Enclosures	434
	The Picts	438
	The British and the English	438
	Craftsmen	440
	Exchange and Trade	441
23	Welsh, Irish and Northern Society	445
	The Family	445
	Kindred	447
	Inheritance	448
	Community, the Irish	449
	Class difference	457
	Village and Hundred	451
	The North	452
	The Clan	453
	Community, the Welsh	457
	Class Difference	457
	Village and Hundred	459
	Land Tenure	461
24	English Society	466
	Local Difference	466
	The Sources	467
	Graves	467
	Place Names	468
	Communities	468
	Individual Colonists	472
	The Regions Colonised	474
	The Organisation of Colonies	480
	The Family	483
	Kindred	484
	Inheritance	485
	Community	486
	Class Difference	486
	Wergild	486
	The Hide	487
	Military nobility	488
	In Wessex	488
	In Northumbria	489
	In the rest of England	490
	Villages	491
	The Hundred	491
	Land Tenure	495
	Charters	495
	Monastic Tenure	496
	Aldhelm and Church Right	498
	Bookland	499
	Folkland	501
	The Cultivators	502
	The Survival of the English	503
25	Arthur and the Future	506
	Table of Dates	512
	Summary of Events	518
	Abbreviations	519
	Works Cited in the Notes	522
	Notes	547
	Notes to the Maps	619
	Index	634
	Maps
1	The Shape and Soils of Britain
2	Roman Britain
3	Pagan English Settlement 1, earlier 5th century
4	The British in Gaul
5	The War Zone
6	Pagan English Settlement 2, later 5th century
7	The Demetian Campaign
8	Partition
9	Fifth Century Ireland
10	Scotland, Communications
11	The Picts
12	The Picts and their neighbours: Brochs and Duns
13	Britain about 550
14	Brittany
15	The Homeland of the English
16	English Migration in Europe
17	Pressures on the Continental English
18	Pagan English Settlement 3, 500-570
19	The English in Northern Gaul
A	Artois and Flanders
B	Normandy
20	The English Conquest of the South
21	Pagan English Settlement 4, late 6th century
22	Pagan English Settlement 5, 7th century
23	The 7th century English kingdoms
24	Monks in Wales
25	Monks in Cornwall
26	Monks in the North
27	Monks in Ireland
28	Monks in the English kingdoms
29	Monks Abroad
30-36	English Colonisation: Place names
1	The South and Midlands, names in -inga(s)
2	Central Bedfordshire, names in -inga(s)
3	Settlement by or through individuals: -worth, -cote, -ingtun
4	Kent, Surrey, Sussex
5	Essex, Hertfordshire, Middlesex
6	The North and West
7	-botl and variants in the South