Saxons vs. Vikings: Alfred the Great and England in the Dark Ages

A Very, Very Short History of England #2

by Ed West

A witty and concise look at the beginnings of English history, when the nation consolidated after clashes between the Saxons and invading Vikings.In 871, three of England's four kingdoms were overrun by Vikings, the ruthless, all-conquering Scandinavian raiders who terrorized early medieval Europe. With the Norsemen murdering one king with arrows and torturing another to death by ripping out his lungs, the prospects that faced the kingdom of Wessex were bleak. Worse still, the Saxons were now led by a young man barely out of his teens who was more interested in God than fighting. Yet within a decade Alfred—the only English king known as the Great—had driven the Vikings out of half of England, and his children and grandchildren would unite the country a few years later. This period, popular with fans of television shows such as Vikings and The Last Kingdom, saw the creation of England as a nation-state, with Alfred laying down the first national law code, establishing an education system and building cities.Saxons vs. Vikings also covers the period before Alfred, including ancient Britain, the Roman occupation, and the Dark Ages, explaining important historical episodes such as Boudicca, King Arthur, and Beowulf.Perfect for newcomers to the subject, this is the second title in the new A Very, Very Short History of England series. If you’re trying to understand England and its history in the most informative and entertaining way possible, this is the place to start.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval, Humor, Medieval History, Biography, British Literature

103 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2017

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew history could be this funny?
I laughed quite a bit while listening to this, and now have to say I'm a lot more interested in finding out more about the people we call Vikings.



And while I don't think this is exactly comprehensive, it is a very fun introduction to some of what was going on during the period. And this cover quite a bit of time. Mostly it's about the weird (but surprisingly Great) King Alfred and how his interaction with the Vikings helped shape many of the changes he made for the betterment of his kingdom.



BUT.
It also gives quite a bit of the (highly condensed) history of who and what came before his reign.
So, you feel like you are getting a nice broad look without getting weighed down with all the muck.
Not to say there's anything wrong with a more in-depth study, but if you're kind of on the fence about whether or not you care about this particular period in time, this audiobook is a fantastic way to take a peek.
Recommended.

[Melindam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great on the dry humour, gentle and not-so-gentle irony and the merciless use of 1000 years' worth of hindsight, but lower on the handles I needed to get a better grip on this particular era. An attempt at better structure may have helped, as it was needed (for me). As it is, it felt like Ed West was pulling Anglo-Saxons and Vikings out of his magician's hat randomly and throwing them around without much agenda, so a bit bewildering all in all, but still very entertaining.

Great narration - as always- by Stephen Crossley.

[Noah Goats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historians aren’t particularly funny people, and when I start reading a work of popular history and it becomes apparent that the author thinks he’s a comedian, my usual impulse is to cringe. But Ed West is actually pretty funny, his jokes do not make me cringe, and he gets away with writing this history of the Saxons’ struggles with the Vikings in a comic tone.

This struggle, epic though it was, happened a long time ago, and our resources for researching it are pretty thin. West does a good job of telling the story, admitting that many of the sources simply can’t be trusted. This is a very readable entry level book on the subject.

My biggest complaint is that for a book called Saxons vs Vikings, it doesn’t even mention Cnut. This is sort of ridiculous. How can you tell the story of the Saxon struggle against the Vikings without even name dropping Cnut? If you read only this book you’d be left with the mistaken impression that after Athelstan, England was never again seriously threatened by the Vikings, but this is obviously not true. The Vikings went on to capture the whole shebang eventually, only to lose it again almost immediately, but still, give the man a shoutout.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earlier this year, I took a mini-class in Medieval English history both because it sounded fun and because I wanted to get a clear timeline in my head. I requested this library book to help me get the facts solidified in my memory. It turns out that I'm very glad that I took the class first, rather than the book.

Ed West has a quirky sense of humour, but I appreciated it (not a given for me). The book is short despite the fact that it covers a fair swathe of time. However, as the author points out, very few people were literate during this period so there wasn't really anyone capable of writing many records. We are reliant on Church records, such as they are, and The Anglo Saxon Chronicle, whose author(s) were not notably loquacious.

I did feel like I was quickly skating over history, as I'm sure was meant. The nitty-gritty of all those Anglo-Saxon names would be overwhelming. But at least when I read historical fiction in the future I will have a much better idea of where it slots into the historical record.

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of interesting titbits you might not know about Alfred the great in this book 😁

[Barbara (The Bibliophage) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com.

Saxons vs. Vikings is the first mini-history book on my shelf from Ed West. And it’s worthy of the subtitle: Alfred the Great and England in the Dark Ages. But it also contains interminable descriptions of battles and considering its brevity that’s saying a lot. Still, I have a better understanding of some parts of my heritage now.

West tackles most of the history in a chronological manner. He also builds it around the remarkable accomplishments of King Alfred of England who established national legal codes, an educational system, and a navy, among other things. Even more importantly, Alfred envisioned a unified land rather than various entities within the island nations we call Great Britain.

In the midst of all this, West explains how the area was a crossroads of various peoples, from the Picts to the Celts, Normans, Saxons, and even Vikings. Most of those folks were originally called something else, either in Olde English or their own native language. So, it gets a bit confusing even though West clarifies the names.

Speaking of confusion over names, I wish West had included a family tree of some sort. The ruling families tended to chose similar names for each of their many children, who then often carried the same convention to the next generation. So, Athelstan and Æthelstan and Ethelstan all likely had family relationships. But it’s tough to keep track of who is who.

My conclusions
West crams a boatload of history in a book just under 150 pages. And that’s a pun because most people in the book arrived in England, Sussex, Wessex, or Northumbria on ships or boats.

Let’s not forget the details about Vikings, including nuggets about the old Norse gods and beliefs. My favorite quote about the conflict between the Norse pagan beliefs and Christianity also shows West’s quirky humor:

“All in all Norse paganism looks like what you get if you let teenage boys design a religion, focused on fighting, fornication, and alcohol, whereas Christianity seemed to them like it was thought up by their mothers.”

Having recently watched all of Vikings as well as The Last Kingdom, parts of these stories were familiar to me. Reading Mudlark by Lara Maiklem is what absolutely pushed me into this book, though. Each of these other works touched on a piece of the story. In the other hand, West tells it in one unified passage. And that helps flesh out the dark corners and address the inadequacies of TV drama.

All in all, this was a history book with a narrow focus. West has four other such books that cover other parts of the historical spectrum. If you’re interested in the history of Great Britain and its various countries, these books may be your cup of tea.

Pair with Neil Gaiman’s creative retelling of Norse Mythology.

[Faith Justice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast, breezy read covering England from the time the Saxons arrived, through the Viking invasions, to Alfred's grandson. Definitely an introduction for the person who has little knowledge of this era. If you know the basics, look elsewhere for a more in-depth study.

I would have given this book 4 stars for being a fun read, except the author made a historical error on something he could have checked on Wikipedia (much less looked up in a more authoritative source). In giving background on why Rome didn't come to England's aid when the Saxon's first invaded in the 5C, he explained that Rome had barbarian problems of its own: the Goths sacked Rome and kidnapped the Emperor Honorius' aunt. The Goths actually kidnapped his half-sister Galla Placidia. I know this because I've done extensive research in this time for my novel where Galla Placidia is the protagonist.

It always jolts me when a "historian" gets these basic things wrong. I realize West is specializing in the Saxons and the Vikings, not the Romans, but when an author is sloppy about something that is easily checked on, what else has he got wrong? I'm not a specialist in his area, so I don't know, but it always leaves a lingering question in my mind about the accuracy of the other facts in the book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good short book which described the pre-1066 period in England — the waves of people who lived there, the pre indo-Europeans, the britons and celts, Romans, the Anglo-Saxon invasion, and Viking and Danish invasions. Culminates in Alfred the Great and his grandson, the start of modern united England.

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this down. FUN history--- woo hoo what a concept.

Before Chick Lit was a genre, I accidentally read Anya Seton's "Katherine" in high school. Katherine was John of Gaunt's long time mistress, eventual wife and mother of the Plantagenets(?) Imagine my surprise to find Katherine was a real person in the War of the Roses. When I heard George RR Martin's Game of Thrones was based on history, decided to find background reading. Read a few books about Vikings after watching the History Channel Viking series. Enjoyed the connections between Vikings, GOT, King Arthur and JRR Tolkien. Straightened out the difference(s) between Saxons and Normans.

GOT Seven Kingdoms based on: Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria.

Ragnar Lothbrok and all of his sons and their fates.

"Then the Guardian of Mankind adorned this middle-earth below the world for men"----Caedmon first English poet (650 AD) --->JRR Tolkien Anglo-Saxon Scholar.

Was not aware of the debate over who was the first English king. Some history books say it's William the Conqueror others Alfred the Great.

Thank you Ed West: Keep writing Very Very Short History. How about a Middle East/Levant tribal history George RR Martin references to GOT Dotraki nomadic tribes. Men of Knights Watch based on Templars, Hospitalliers (Knights of St John). Wildings north of the wall must be Vikings.

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an introduction to the subject for the general reader, written with wit and a will to entertain, and as such it succeeds. I quite enjoyed the book, especially some of the passing small details the author stops to turn over, often to edifying and humorous effect. I have to hold back a star because the book badly needed another pass by the proof-reader.

[Richard Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable gallop.

It’s an enjoyable gallop through English history from pre-roman times to the last of Alfred the Great’s direct kin. The learning is worn lightly under a chatty style but you could do a lot worse than this book if you wish to have a broad knowledge of the period.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, informative history lesson spiced up with perfect humorous sidebars! Lots of names and events in a small time but easy to digest. Kudos!

[Julie Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off the book is hilarious! So many funny little asides. Unfortunately when you only have 144 pages to cover something like 500 years the author doesn't have a lot of space to work with. The last 3 chapters are quite good, (and Chapter 10 which is all of 4 pages long.) However, I found the first 70% of the book really hard to follow. The time periods jump around weirdly -the intro is about 787 and King Alfred (who is in the title so I thought we would be spending quality time in his reign! Sadly no.) Then you jump to the 500s, the next chapter is BC, then 3 is back to 500 again. ???! All these names and dates and Kings being murdered and Saxon's being stabbed. So it's not even useful as a first introduction to Viking age England. West did convey the instability of the era quite well.

So, 3 stars for presentation but not much for the ability to present information such that I retain it. Not sure if I will read his take on 1066 - since I know so much about that time period I can read it just for the jokes.

Source: Hoopla

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series of “very, very brief” histories, packed with information, but delivered with wry humor. Helpful bibliography and notes direct the interested reader to further in-depth sources.

[Tom Metz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hodgepodge of history and biography, interesting but disjointed.

[Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good quick read. A sort of reader's digest of the dark ages in England.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a breezy, tongue-in-cheek, not-the-least-bit-scholarly look at pre-Norman English history, this little book is for you.

I’m still confused by all the different kings whose names started w/ “Ae,” and had trouble keeping the seven kingdoms straight, but he touched on my two favorite pre-Norman characters, Arthur the Saxon, and Boudicca, the queen who fought the Roman armies. I love her courage! And we get a shout out to Avalon/Glastonbury, the holy site where Arthur and Guinevere were supposedly buried and one of the oldest holy sites in Great Britain. And yup, I enjoyed finding out that George RR Martin’s seven kingdoms of Westeros were based upon these pre-Norman kingdoms!

I loved this quick history and have another of West’s history books already downloaded.

[Laura✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Covers the time period fairly thoroughly with a sarcastic joke in almost every paragraph….unusual for a historical work, but a fun change.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to refresh my knowledge of the period which I studied as an undergraduate some 50 or so years ago. I wanted a refresher to assist with a study of Viking textiles. It served the purpose admirably. It’s humorous, direct summaries and perspectives on events tell a coherent story of nation development, at least for those readers who have a prior knowledge. I’m not sure how it will serve those wanting an introduction to the period.

I found it a fun read. It is skilled writing, displaying a sharp, sceptical mind that grasps essentials, probabilities and significance. As with much humour, there are times when the sarcasm and characterisation is on the edge of stereotyping but for the most part this is rigorously avoided.

Certainly fit for my purpose.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before you complain about the hardships of life, check out how it'd have been a thousand years ago

If you can withstand the incessant name-dropping of England's first few centuries, this witty book will give you a concise and balanced overview of the rainy island's first thousand years - - a massive tug of war between viking overlords and a slowly-coalescing mosaic of kingdoms that become a unified nation just in time for the Battle of Hastings (covered in the following book of the series). The lack of maps is the greatest flaw here, as the whole could be more easily interpreted with visual cues.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, but it really needed far better editing. It jumped around like crazy, and was almost just one continuous wall of text.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please give my Amazon review a helpful vote -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

This is not a serious work of scholarship, but it isn't meant to be. Ed West surveys the history of England from the Roman to Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, in a quippy, jocular style. The sources he cites are generally secondary sources, and he doesn't spare the effort to include a couple of humorous observations in every paragraph. Nonetheless, for all that, this book is a good survey of the subject and the humor provides a way of remembering the various interesting factoids that make up this book.

I am a kind of word nerd, so I find things like this captivating:

"The Britons called the invaders the Saesneg, as the English are today called by their neighbors to the west (in Scottish Gaelic it is Sassenach and in Cornish Sowsnek). They in turn referred to the natives as Welsh, which has a variety of meanings but none of them particularly positive, either “slave,” “foreigner” or “dark stranger” (likewise the French-speaking Belgians are called Walloons and Wallachia in Romania has the same etymology, while Cornwall, Walsall, and Walthamstow in London probably all come from Wal). The Welsh, or Cymraeg, referred to the neighboring country as “Lloegyr,” literally “the lost lands.”"

Wales, Walloons, Wallachia....I never suspected there was a connection.

Another one:

"Some hangovers from pagan times still exist today: The “Boar’s Head Carol,” sung every year at Queen’s College, Oxford by a procession carrying a boar’s head, almost certainly dates back to an early Anglo-Saxon offering to Freyja."

And another one that gives a taste of the author's writing style:

"And yet not only is his great battle forgotten but the first king of England is largely unknown; his anniversary was barely noted in 1939, although in fairness we had other things to worry about, and if you asked the average person today what they thought of Athelstan, they’d probably guess it was some godforsaken place in central Asia. This “roof tree of honour of the western world” was famous in the medieval period and was even mentioned in Shakespeare, and it was only from the sixteenth century that Athelstan became increasingly forgotten, as his grandfather became more famous. Perhaps it was because Alfred’s narrative of having our backs against the wall is more attractive than Athelstan’s story of cementing the legacy, or that Alfred had commissioned a biographer to record his great achievements, and that a series of attractive stories about him fired the imagination. There was, according to some sources, a biography of Athelstan written during his lifetime but it was lost."

All in all, this makes a satisfying and fun read for the history buff.

[Frode · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. It covers Alfred the Great and the Dark Ages and is billed as a very, very short history of England. Ed West writes in an entertaining fashion, so the book moves rather quickly. It is ten chapters long, and is only 144 pages in length.

Mr. West is accurate with his facts but questions many of them as the sources are questionable. He is irreverent although witty in his expression. Consider this about the Vikings: “Vikings have traditionally got a bad press, being viewed in the popular imagination as a sort of ancient biker gang who went a bit overboard.”

The book spends the first few chapters talking about the Saxons and their coming to Britain; then the author brings in the Vikings, and he talks primarily about Alfred in the last three chapters.

It was a bloody and brutal time for England, but that was true for most of Europe during that period of history. Life was tough and generally short. There was lots of fighting, at times with armies of a few thousand, but mostly by groups of 50 to 75 men attacking one or another group or area. The Vikings fought the Saxons, and the Saxons fought among themselves. Most of it was among the aristocrats, but the farmers and merchants were drug into the conflicts often enough as well.

Alfred was the youngest of six children, all boys but one, so succession to the throne did not look to be much of an option since four older brothers had better claims. However, Alfred did become king after various mishaps befell his brothers. Alfred succeeded in defeating the Vikings and recovering much territory they had taken. While that was a great feat in itself, he also organized his realm into a political system that worked, strove to establish literacy at least among the noble class, developed a navy, made universal laws for the kingdom, and set up a system of fortified towns for defense. He is the only king of Britain ever to be called “the great.”

Alfred made two trips to Rome, but he went with his dad and was quite young at the time. He became a learned man and was generally more refined than the typical ruler in Britain of his era. He learned to read in his twenties and then both wrote and translated books. His exposure to Europe and Rome gave him ideas he implemented during his reign as king. His desire was to raise the level of life in England, and he was relatively successful.

As mentioned above, this book is a quick read. It is also a good introduction to English history from the 5th century up to the time of the Norman invasion.

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching The Last Kingdom and Vikings series and reading the first two books of Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Tales, I found this book and thought I might delve a bit into actual history.

And this book delivers! Ed West is a very funny historian. I had lots of LOL moments and he really brings history to life. This book is exactly what The Last Kingdom was portraying so I had a lot of fun reading actual historical accounts about the Vikings and the various barbarians during that epoch in time such as the Goths, Visigoths, Angles etc. and of course the Saxons which is where the The Last Kingdom story is focused.

Some of Ed West's humorous take on history:

"He also quoted liberally from the Book of Revelations, the Biblical book of choice for all lunatics down the ages,4 and his prose sometimes gets a little heated. Gildas was a sort of proto-doom-mongering newspaper columnist predicting everything was going to the dogs; and of course, he was completely right—Britain was doomed."

"What’s more surprising is that Alfred, the fifth and youngest son of King Ethelwulf, was a sickly and neurotic individual who comes across almost as a Woody Allen figure thrown into the horror of early medieval battle, forced to flee from these marauding Nordic maniacs"

"the proto-Britons had yet to domesticate horses, yet they were prepared to drag enormous stones 250 miles from Wales to Wiltshire to build this enormous monument. It would be as if Haiti suddenly announced it was sending a man to Mars. "

And so on and so forth. Lots of humurous takes on history and Ed keeps you entertained but learning historical facts during that period.

I would really recommend this book for those wanting to learn more about Alfred The Great and his family and after watching The Last Kingdom and/or Vikings. The book is not too long and very entertaining so it is easy to read and complete in a very short period of time.

[Martin Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dark Ages is a difficult period to cover with a popular history - and Ed West did what he could. I could not help but remember the passage about “Edwin and Morcar, the earls of Mercia and Northumbria” Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Mouse used this example of “dry” English history to comfort the wet creatures after the caucus race. In the Disney animation, this was in the boring book that Alice’s sister was reading and which sent her to sleep. The earls are from a later period of history than covered in this book, they feature in West’s 1066 and Before All That: The Battle of Hastings, Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, but I think the principle is right. With few reliable sources, the history risks degenerating a list of successive warlords with strange names.

West tries to keep his history light and punctuated with jokes. But for someone interested in history this is disturbing. Was the history twisted to make the jokes better? Perhaps not by much. But at least in 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England we know that the whole book is supposed to be joke and don’t have to distinguish.

[Avery Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few things: the book needs some editing for grammar and development to 'flow' better, and to keep the chapters on track (the sections wander a bit). The book feels as though self-edited, and that made it hard to stay focused which detracts from the enjoyment. Also, I'm not sure he's as tight on his premise. It's a good, enjoyable, and somewhat witty read. It's not the first witty historical window book I've read - it seems there's a trend - but I liked his humor, albeit not so much enjoyed his viewpoints on a couple of matters - for instance, he believes the Saxons were lazy because their language had no future tense. The Norse people commonly did not believe in worrying about the future (the Skein of your life is already spun...), so if you're not worried about the future as it is already pre-set, then why talk about it, and why have anything in your language reflecting that? Anyhew, I'd recommend this fun read.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed West makes history interesting - even hilarious. I've always been defeated by the Ethels and the Oswics, and keeping all the Eads distinguished. This book takes us on a roller coaster summary of the highs, lows, astonishing and demented history of the Saxons, their arrival(s), and then their endless battles to gain control over the whole of England. I chose this book to read up on the battle of Brunanburh, which I had never heard of until I read the Bernard Cornwall Saxon series. No one knows precisely where it took place, but recent archaeological finds near Chester indicate it may have been there. Huge battle! Way bigger than the Battle of Hastings! Have you heard of it?

We are visiting Chester soon and I thought this book would give me some ground guides. What it gave me was a great overview of how chaotic and non-linear history can be, and how stupid deaths happen all the time and change the already erratic course of history. West tells so many great stories.

[Brent Claflin · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are great little nuggets of information. I'm a huge fan of language and how certain words or phrases come into being. And this book has a TON of them. For Example:

After The Roman Empire fell, Britannia began governing itself. However fun guys like Saxons, then Vikings later invaded. The Wealthy Latin speaking anglos moved to an area in France called Brittany or Lesser Britain as it was called. And Thats where we get the term Great Britain from as well. Blew my mind. I have no idea thats why it was called Great Britain, because they had a Lesser Britain.

Or when the Saxons invaded and established kingdoms everywhere. The eastern kingdom of the Saxons was called Ēastseaxe (Kingdom of the East Saxons) or Essex. Same with Wessex (Kingdom of the Western Saxons)

Its fascinating to me to see where words come from.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ed West’s narrative travels across seven centuries of early English history, from the Roman conquest to the rise of Alfred the Great, who launched the country on its path out of the Dark Ages. It’s true that the book covers the conflict between the Saxons and the Danes, but West takes a wandering path, often flitting from anecdote to anecdote. He makes up for this lack of momentum with wit and sarcasm, however, and the overall feeling of the book is a playful romp through an extremely violent and unpleasant period of history. This dissonance between the tone and the content kept me interested to the end, though admittedly I am glad it wasn’t a very long book.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short overview, good narration

takeaways: pay attention to the desires of other peoples "Beware Greeks bearing gifts" Homer (I think)

Good for people that do not understand the UK. My mother's mother and her family immigrated to the USA from Liverpool in 1910. They still spoke a form of Cymraeg. So all the peoples are English; although Britons only have ruled for 115 years since Alfred the Great. The last being ER I. So it show how the country started to form in it's amalgamated culture greatly reflected in it's 'open-source' simple-adjective language.
note: on my father's side they came from Cornwall to the Carolinas in 1640. However, culture dominates DNA.