Tag Archives: Anglo-Saxons

The Empty Throne

Posted on January 9, 2015 by smellincoffee

The Empty Throne© 2015 Bernard Cornwell320 pages Uhtred of Bebbanburg is an impossible man. A Saxon prince raised by Danes,  he  has nonethelessbeen the architect of a great redoubt against them, the defender of Wessex a hundred times over.  A … Continue reading →

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The Vikings

Posted on June 12, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Vikings: A History© 2010 Robert Ferguson464 pagesUK title: The Hammer and the Cross: A History of the Vikings             VIKINGS!  For students of western civilization, the word has quite the mystique. Invaders from the frozen … Continue reading →

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Daily Life in Anglo-Saxon England

Posted on March 13, 2014 by smellincoffee

Daily Life in Anglo-Saxon England© 2008 Sally Crawford224 pages             Who were the Anglo-Saxons? For a people conquered in 1066, their culture seems strangely dominant;  the land the Normans conquered remains England, not Greater Normandy, and Norman French is only … Continue reading →

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The Pagan Lord

Posted on February 7, 2014 by smellincoffee

The Pagan Lord© 2014 Bernard Cornwell320 pages Uhtred of Bebbanberg is having a bad week. First his hall was burned by an old rival-enemy, Cnut Ranulfson, in retaliation for Uhtred kidnapping his children, which Uhtred did not do. Uhtred of … Continue reading →

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Death of Kings

Posted on March 25, 2012 by smellincoffee

Death of Kings© 2011 Bernard Cornwell325 pages Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings… (Richard II, William Shakespeare) Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, lays on his deathbed. Aged and long infirm, … Continue reading →

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The Burning Land

Posted on January 2, 2011 by smellincoffee

The Burning Land© 2009 Bernard Cornwell336 pages “I see all history as being — and this is very simplistic — a contest between puritans and cavaliers, and I’m instinctively on the side of the cavaliers. As far as Uhtred is concerned, the … Continue reading →

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Sword Song

Posted on December 27, 2010 by smellincoffee

Sword Song: The Battle for London© 2008 Bernard Cornwell314 pages When King Alfred assumed the throne of Wessex, his fragile nation stood alone against the rest of England, subdued and ruled by the Danes.  Through  Alfred’s able administration and his … Continue reading →

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Lords of the North

Posted on December 14, 2010 by smellincoffee

Lords of the North© 2007 Bernard Cornwell317 pages “Where the tides of fortune take us, no man can know.” “They’re tricky, those tides…” (Sisko and Gowron, “By Inferno’s Light“. Deep Space Nine.) Only months ago, Uthred Ragnarson followed Alfred, the defeated … Continue reading →

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The Pale Horseman

Posted on December 3, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Pale Horseman© 2006 Bernard Cornwell349 pages Only the small kingdom of Wessex stands between the Danes and total control of England, and few are convinced that the sickly King Alfred is a man capable of leading the Saxons to … Continue reading →

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The Last Kingdom

Posted on November 21, 2010 by smellincoffee

The Last Kingdom© 2005 Bernard Cornwell333 pages My name is Uhtred. I am the son of Uhtred, who was the son of Uhtred and his father was also called Uhtred.[…]   I look at those parchments, which are deeds saying … Continue reading →

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