Bloodfeud Murder and Revenge in Anglo-Saxon England [Paperback]

A treacherous murder in northern England on an early spring day in 1016 is used to introduce readers to the world of the aristocratic men and women of Anglo-Saxon England, their violence, their piety, their assumptions and experiences, their hopes and fears. In this book, award-winning author Richard Fletcher illuminates British society and politics in the years around the Norman Conquest, threading together scanty documentary evidence to produce a rich narrative.

It would be hard to imagine a better, more reliable introduction to the last days of the Anglo-Saxon world than this stirring book. --Michael Dirda,Washington Post

A swift and, by necessity, highly speculative account of some murders between 1016 and 1074 that reveal much about 11th-century English politics, religion, codes of honor, and kingship....A graceful examination of the intricate tapestry of a culture so distant in time and temperament as to be virtually extraterrestrial. --Kirkus Reviews

Fletcher writes with precision and wit. He has a nose for nuance, a ready supply of pithy phrases, and no time for the jargon that besets so much contemporary academic writing...Bloodfeuddazzles and delights. --Christopher Silvester,Sunday Times

[Fletcher] enlarges skilfully on the historical context in which all the events took place and artfully on their other dimensions, taking the opportunity at the same time to expound his views on...apprehension of the millennium and the quality of the Anglo-Saxon taxation system. --Simon Keynes,TheSpectator

An excellent book. --Frank McLynn,Literary Review

Richard Fletcherrecently retired from the University of York where he was Professor of History. He is the author seven previous books, among themThe Quest for El Cidwhich won the Wolfson Literary Award and theLos Angeles TimesBook Award for History.