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Devon
A peaceful county today, Devon has seen clashes between Dumnonian and Welsh kings in the seventh century, Viking raids in the tenth and eleventh centuries and baronial uprisings in the fifteenth century. In 1549 the so-called Prayer Book Rebellion led to violent skirmishes at Sampford Courtney, Fenny Bridges and Clyst St Mary. It was the Civil War in the mid-seventeenth century that brought the greatest bloodshed to the county. Rupert Matthews, ‘ the History Man’ , presents eighteen guided walks around the battlefields of Devon. He provides an account of events as they unfolded on the ground along with full background and context. His expertise, descriptive powers and lively enthusiasm bring the drama of history vividly to life.
Paperback
Published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 1, 2020
An interesting little book: part history and part guided walk. I say interesting rather than good as it doesn't fulfil either purpose to full potential.
There is some interesting history in the book, much of it I wasn't aware of in the particular details, however I wasn't sure how much of it could be trusted as I picked up on a few errors: For example, the Battle of Bindon, the first battle detailed in the book, is given as 612AD... The Anglo Saxon Chronicle for the year 614 seems to disagree with this, I might put it down as a typo if the date wasn't repeated several times. Furthermore, the battle is placed firmly in the village of Bindon in East Devon, whereas the site has never been confirmed, it has been also positioned over the border into Dorset.
The author states in the introduction that where the particular information isn't available, he's had to use best guesses, however in the text he goes on to put it in such terms as: 'this is probably exactly what happened' without stating any supporting evidence. Again, for the battle of Bindon, we are given details of the forces of the opposing forces without any evidence, and the author places the battle in the very centre of the village of Bindon stating 'this is where the fighting must have occured due to the name of the battle' well, if that's a truism then the battles of Hastings and Waterloo need to be relocated! The author basically completely invented a narrative of the battle due to the lack of primary evidence and then passed it all off as fact when he's just completely made it all up. There are also details (such as primary leaders names) which he states as unrecorded, however these are uncovered with just a little bit of research.
Again with the battle of Lydford, dispositions are given with no founding evidence. Later battles seem to have more accurate accounts, I suppose due to the availablility of evidence, but it's no excuse for inventing a narrative for the earlier ones. I can't answer for the civil war battles as I'm not very well read on the period, but I was surprised at the inclusion of the battles at Modbury being as they were small affairs while also surprised that battles such as Blackpool Sands 1404, Northam 1069 and Clyst Heath 1455 were not included, but then I suppose that's the author's discretion.
I've not used the book for any guided walks, directions are given but not OS references and few maps in the book (outside of maps showing the supposed historic dispositions). I suppose the walks can be easily plotted with the aid of an OS map or in many instances just following local landmarks, but I feel the detail in the book was sparse.
Oh, as an afterthought, I was also surprised that the author mentions King Arthur several times in the opening pages, at first I thought it was a joke, but he clearly believes the legendary figure of Arthur as a king and his 12 battles have historical basis: even experts dispute hotly whether there was an Arthur and it seems likely if there was his name wasn't actually in fact, Arthur, but then I note that the author's area of expertise it seems is on the paranormal so I suppose it is the sort of stance he would take.
In summary, I'd say it's an interesting and worthwhile read with some interesting information and facts, but I wouldn't trust any of the facts without checking them elsewhere. I might have given it four stars if the author hadn't just made up some aspects of the history.
There is some interesting history in the book, much of it I wasn't aware of in the particular details, however I wasn't sure how much of it could be trusted as I picked up on a few errors: For example, the Battle of Bindon, the first battle detailed in the book, is given as 612AD... The Anglo Saxon Chronicle for the year 614 seems to disagree with this, I might put it down as a typo if the date wasn't repeated several times. Furthermore, the battle is placed firmly in the village of Bindon in East Devon, whereas the site has never been confirmed, it has been also positioned over the border into Dorset.
The author states in the introduction that where the particular information isn't available, he's had to use best guesses, however in the text he goes on to put it in such terms as: 'this is probably exactly what happened' without stating any supporting evidence. Again, for the battle of Bindon, we are given details of the forces of the opposing forces without any evidence, and the author places the battle in the very centre of the village of Bindon stating 'this is where the fighting must have occured due to the name of the battle' well, if that's a truism then the battles of Hastings and Waterloo need to be relocated! The author basically completely invented a narrative of the battle due to the lack of primary evidence and then passed it all off as fact when he's just completely made it all up. There are also details (such as primary leaders names) which he states as unrecorded, however these are uncovered with just a little bit of research.
Again with the battle of Lydford, dispositions are given with no founding evidence. Later battles seem to have more accurate accounts, I suppose due to the availablility of evidence, but it's no excuse for inventing a narrative for the earlier ones. I can't answer for the civil war battles as I'm not very well read on the period, but I was surprised at the inclusion of the battles at Modbury being as they were small affairs while also surprised that battles such as Blackpool Sands 1404, Northam 1069 and Clyst Heath 1455 were not included, but then I suppose that's the author's discretion.
I've not used the book for any guided walks, directions are given but not OS references and few maps in the book (outside of maps showing the supposed historic dispositions). I suppose the walks can be easily plotted with the aid of an OS map or in many instances just following local landmarks, but I feel the detail in the book was sparse.
Oh, as an afterthought, I was also surprised that the author mentions King Arthur several times in the opening pages, at first I thought it was a joke, but he clearly believes the legendary figure of Arthur as a king and his 12 battles have historical basis: even experts dispute hotly whether there was an Arthur and it seems likely if there was his name wasn't actually in fact, Arthur, but then I note that the author's area of expertise it seems is on the paranormal so I suppose it is the sort of stance he would take.
In summary, I'd say it's an interesting and worthwhile read with some interesting information and facts, but I wouldn't trust any of the facts without checking them elsewhere. I might have given it four stars if the author hadn't just made up some aspects of the history.
June 2, 2013
not the books fault, just not many battles in devon!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews