Tag Archives: Anglo-Saxons

An English shield-maiden and England’s army

Posted on April 20, 2020 by smellincoffee

Time for two mini-reviews! First up, The Making of the British Army.   Retired brigadier Allan Mallinson  traces the history of Britain’s army to the creation of the New Model Army during the English civil war. Unlike armies of old, the … Continue reading →

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The White Horse King

Posted on April 8, 2020 by smellincoffee

© 2009 Benjamin Merkle 272 pages It reads like the best of high-stakes adventure stories: a young,  conscientious king watches as his neighbors fail to unite to the creeping threat of the Norsemen, and fall in their time, one by by … Continue reading →

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The Sea Wolves

Posted on October 1, 2019 by smellincoffee

© 2014 Lars Brownsworth 300 pages “Deliver us, Lord, from the hands of the Northmen!”    While that exact prayer may be apocryphal,  the sentiment certainly resounded in communities from Ireland to Cordoba to Constantinople.  In two of the final centuries … Continue reading →

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War of the Wolf

Posted on April 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

War of the Wolfpub. 2018 Bernard Cornwell333 pages Uhtred of Bebbanburg is called a priest-killer, a chief of devils. And yet when a distressed and scarred monk came to his gates and begged that he send help to Mercia, beset … Continue reading →

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The Birth of Britain

Posted on April 16, 2018 by smellincoffee

History of the English Speaking Peoples, Vol 1: The Birth of Britain521 pages© 1956 Sir Winston Churchill I’ve been reading from Sir Winston Churchill’s History of the English Speaking Peoples the last few Read of Englands, but didn’t previously have … Continue reading →

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The English Resistance

Posted on April 15, 2016 by smellincoffee

The English Resistance: the Underground War Against the Romans© 2006 Peter Rex I was scandalized to learn, in seventh grade, that once ages ago, England was conquered. Already I had acquired the mythic conception of England as an indomitable island … Continue reading →

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Warriors of the Storm

Posted on January 24, 2016 by smellincoffee

Warriors of the Storm© 2016 Bernard Cornwell320 pages “May God strike me dead this moment if I lie!”I drew Serpent-Breath, her blade scraping loud and fast on her scabbard’s throat.“Lord Uhtred!” Æthelflaed called out in alarm. “No!” Uhtred of Bebbanburg is … Continue reading →

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One by one

Posted on September 23, 2015 by smellincoffee

In the past few days I’ve knocked out several categories for the 2015 Reading Challenge, including: A Book Older than 100 Years:  Beowulf,   the story of a hero from another land who conquers a monster,  his mother , and his … Continue reading →

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Sword of the Angles

Posted on August 25, 2015 by smellincoffee

Leofric: Sword of the Angles© 2015 S. J. Arnott412 pages The days are dark for Angeln. Surrounded by enemies and increasingly depopulated as her people flee to more peaceful fields in Britain, her king has seen fit to enlist one-time … Continue reading →

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The Fall of Saxon England

Posted on May 7, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Fall of Saxon England© 1975 Richard Humble242 pages History never rests. In the middle of the first millennium, the great tide of the Roman Empire began at last to recede. Its legions stationed in distant reaches of the realm, … Continue reading →

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