AEthelstanYale University Press, 12 lug 2011 - 336 pagine The powerful and innovative King AEthelstan reigned only briefly (924-939), yet his achievements during those eventful fifteen years changed the course of English history. He won spectacular military victories (most notably at Brunanburh), forged unprecedented political connections across Europe, and succeeded in creating the first unified kingdom of the English. To claim for him the title of "first English monarch" is no exaggeration.In this nuanced portrait of AEthelstan, Sarah Foot offers the first full account of the king ever written. She traces his life through the various spheres in which he lived and worked, beginning with the intimate context of his family, then extending outward to his unusual multiethnic royal court, the Church and his kingdom, the wars he conducted, and finally his death and legacy. Foot describes a sophisticated man who was not only a great military leader but also a worthy king. He governed brilliantly, developed creative ways to project his image as a ruler, and devised strategic marriage treaties and gift exchanges to cement alliances with the leading royal and ducal houses of Europe. AEthelstan's legacy, seen in the new light of this masterful biography, is inextricably connected to the very forging of England and early English identity. |
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Abbey abbot Alfred's Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Anglo-Saxon England Anglorum appears archbishop Battle of Brunanburh Beowulf bishop Breton Britain British brother Cambridge Canterbury Carolingian Cenwald Charlemagne charters Church circle claim coinage coins Constantin contemporary coronation council crown cult Danelaw Danes Danish death discussed Dumville Dunstan Eadgifu Eadgyth ealdormen early medieval ecclesiastical Edmund Edward the Elder Ethelstan Ethelstan's court Exeter father Flodoard Frankish further Gesta gifts gospel book grant History holy household Keynes King Alfred King Ethelstan king's kingdom kingship land Lapidge later Liber Vitae London manuscript marriage Mercia military Minster monastic narrative northern Northumbria Old English Oswald Ottonian Oxford perhaps poem political portrait realm reign relics role rule ruler saint Scandinavian Scots significance Sihtric sister St Cuthbert Stenton style suggested surviving tenth century thegns Timothy Reuter verse Welsh Wessex West Saxon West Saxon king William of Malmesbury Winchester witness-list Wormald Wulfhelm York