A Companion to the Early Middle Ages

Drawing on 28 original essays, A Companion to the Early Middle Ages takes an inclusive approach to the history of Britain and Ireland from c.500 to c.1100 to overcome artificial distinctions of modern national boundaries.

• A collaborative history from leading scholars, covering the key debates and issues
• Surveys the building blocks of political society, and considers whether there were fundamental differences across Britain and Ireland
• Considers potential factors for change, including the economy, Christianisation, and the Vikings

?The concise presentation of complex information in introductory form is a great talent? The fact that all chapters of the book are consistently clear and readable as introductions to the non-specialist is impressive. That they challenge us conceptually and push at the boundaries of our understanding as well as our knowledge is more so.? ?Reference Reviews

Pauline Stafford is Professor Emerita at Liverpool University, previously Professor of Medieval History. She is a specialist in the history of Anglo-Saxon England and of women and gender in England and Europe from the eighth to twelfth centuries. Her previous publications include Queens, Concubines and Dowagers, the King’s Wife in the Early Middle Ages (1983, 1998), Unification and Conquest, a Political and Social History of England in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries (1989), Queen Emma and Queen Edith (1997, 2001), Law, Laity and Solidarities (2001), Gender, Family and the Legitimation of Power: England from the Ninth to Early Twelfth Century (2006), and the jointly edited Gendering the Middle Ages (2000).

This collection of 28 original essays by leading scholars covers the key debates and issues involved in writing a history of Britain and Ireland in the early middle ages. It moves away from the Anglo-centrism which has often characterised accounts of the centuries from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain up to the Norman Conquest of England and its aftermath. The essays combine inclusive and comparative approaches with the questioning of artificial distinctions of modern national boundaries. They are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner and, taken as a whole, provide both a sophisticated and authoritative overview of the scholarship that has shaped our current understanding of the early medieval History of Britain and Ireland and a new view of that history. Drawing on the range of current historical scholarship, A Companion to the Early Middle Ages is the first reference work of its kind to demonstrate how such a genuinely inclusive approach to the history of Britain and Ireland from c.500 to c.1100 can transform our understanding of the period.

This collection of 28 original essays by leading scholars covers the key debates and issues involved in writing a history of Britain and Ireland in the early middle ages. It moves away from the Anglo-centrism which has often characterised accounts of the centuries from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain up to the Norman Conquest of England and its aftermath. The essays combine inclusive and comparative approaches with the questioning of artificial distinctions of modern national boundaries. They are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner and, taken as a whole, provide both a sophisticated and authoritative overview of the scholarship that has shaped our current understanding of the early medieval History of Britain and Ireland and a new view of that history. Drawing on the range of current historical scholarship, A Companion to the Early Middle Ages is the first reference work of its kind to demonstrate how such a genuinely inclusive approach to the history of Britain and Ireland from c.500 to c.1100 can transform our understanding of the period.

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