The History of the Anglo-Saxons [Paperback]

Published 17991805, this four-volume work was a benchmark in Anglo-Saxon studies, drawing on manuscripts in the British Museum.Sharon Turner (17681847) practised as a solicitor in London, but as a young man he had become involved in the study of Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic literature and history. Published 17991805, this four-volume work was a benchmark in Anglo-Saxon studies, drawing on manuscripts in the British Museum.Sharon Turner (17681847) practised as a solicitor in London, but as a young man he had become involved in the study of Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic literature and history. Published 17991805, this four-volume work was a benchmark in Anglo-Saxon studies, drawing on manuscripts in the British Museum.Sharon Turner (17681847) practised as a solicitor in London, specialising in the law of copyright, but devoted his free time to studying Anglo-Saxon literature and history. In 17991805 he published this four-volume work, still acknowledged as a turning point in Anglo-Saxon studies and a benchmark in historiography. Turner was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1800, soon after the first volume appeared. His approach of contrasting 'Anglo-Saxon freedom' with 'the Norman yoke' held particular appeal at a time of deteriorating political relations with France. Turner's lasting achievement, however, was to draw public attention to the rich and fascinating material contained in the Anglo-Saxon manuscripts he had studied at the British Museum. This work went through many editions, but was eventually superseded by Kemble's The Saxons in England (1849, also reissued). Volume 2 (1801) covers the period from 839 to the death of King Alfred in 899.Preface; Introduction; Part III: 1. The political state of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, in the eighth and ninth centuries; 2. The sea-kings and Vikings of the north; 3. The first aggression of the Northmen on the Anglo-Saxons; 4. The reign of Ethelwulph, and the invasions of the Northmen to the birth of AlfrlÃÊ