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Osprey Warrior #5
Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449–1066
The collapse of Roman rule in Britain was not so much a sudden catastrophe as a long and drawn-out decline. The 'Celtic' Britons retreated gradually to the highland areas of Wales, Cornwall and the south-west of Scotland. Control of the fertile eastern lowlands was lost to warriors of Germanic origin who migrated from the Continent. These Germanic conquerors have become known to history as the 'Anglo-Saxons'. They were to dominate the lowland zone of Britain until their final defeat at Hastings in 1066. This title gives an insight into the everyday life, equipment, dress, battle tactics and life on campaign of the typical Anglo-Saxon warrior of this period – the thegn.
64 pages, Paperback
First published November 25, 1993
About the author
Mark Harrison
301 books7 followersLibrarian note:
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There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 1, 2020
Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449-1066 by Mark Harrison, 60 pages, Osprey
This is an ambitious book. To cover 600 years of anything in 60 pages, broken up with lots of photos and illustrations, would be good going. By nature there are a lot of generalisations, but here the inclusion of 'it is said' does hint that there is a more complex story to be told behind what is actually included.
This book is quite a mixture of solid knowledge and surprising misses.
On the credit side:
Harrison gets: the definition of hides correct,
states that thegn originally had connotations of servant and performing service to the king,
he is aware that Guthlac raised his own unauthorised warband,
the heriot is mentioned,
good descriptions of weapons and armour,
good to see Old English terms used throughout,
hlaford is referenced and it's derivation,
good on the culture of the hall
points out that contemporary artistic depictions of warriors owed much to classical models
In the debit side:
asserting that household troops were selected out of the general masses when Bede's account of Oswine states that he attracted noblemen (from many lands) into his service,
states that Cnut ruled England from 1014 when 1016 is a lot more accurate,
he gets the use of horses incorrect,
uses early sources such as Tacitus and late Icelandic sources,
contains assumptions where a few 'seems' and 'possibies' may have been more prudent,
I'm not convinced that the Anglo-Saxons formed squares in their 'shield forts'
There are some great colour illustrations in the middle of the book and every aspect of these are fully explained over the last 11 pages, which would be a boon for re-enactors and military enthusiasts. There's no bibliography to this book, so it's hard to know what research Harrison did. I don't suspect that he read Abels (Lordship and military obligation), though and that's a shame. What you do get is a list of places to visit, which is nice, though. That would suit the casual reader, but probably not anyone who wished to look into this topic further. This is a reasonable book, but over sixty pages not detailed enough for anyone who really wants to get into the topic. That doesn't stop you enjoying the artwork, though.
This is an ambitious book. To cover 600 years of anything in 60 pages, broken up with lots of photos and illustrations, would be good going. By nature there are a lot of generalisations, but here the inclusion of 'it is said' does hint that there is a more complex story to be told behind what is actually included.
This book is quite a mixture of solid knowledge and surprising misses.
On the credit side:
Harrison gets: the definition of hides correct,
states that thegn originally had connotations of servant and performing service to the king,
he is aware that Guthlac raised his own unauthorised warband,
the heriot is mentioned,
good descriptions of weapons and armour,
good to see Old English terms used throughout,
hlaford is referenced and it's derivation,
good on the culture of the hall
points out that contemporary artistic depictions of warriors owed much to classical models
In the debit side:
asserting that household troops were selected out of the general masses when Bede's account of Oswine states that he attracted noblemen (from many lands) into his service,
states that Cnut ruled England from 1014 when 1016 is a lot more accurate,
he gets the use of horses incorrect,
uses early sources such as Tacitus and late Icelandic sources,
contains assumptions where a few 'seems' and 'possibies' may have been more prudent,
I'm not convinced that the Anglo-Saxons formed squares in their 'shield forts'
There are some great colour illustrations in the middle of the book and every aspect of these are fully explained over the last 11 pages, which would be a boon for re-enactors and military enthusiasts. There's no bibliography to this book, so it's hard to know what research Harrison did. I don't suspect that he read Abels (Lordship and military obligation), though and that's a shame. What you do get is a list of places to visit, which is nice, though. That would suit the casual reader, but probably not anyone who wished to look into this topic further. This is a reasonable book, but over sixty pages not detailed enough for anyone who really wants to get into the topic. That doesn't stop you enjoying the artwork, though.
September 19, 2023
"Anglo-Saxon Thegn AD 449–1066" offers a brief but informative overview of the period. It's not strictly about the life of thegns, though, as it covers various aspects of Anglo-Saxon life, which makes for better reading.
April 14, 2010
I've got a feeling that this is a children's book, but that doesn't stop it being of interest to people interested in the Dark Ages.
The book is short and features a selection of full-colour plates, all of them drawings of Anglo-Saxon life. There's a picture of a typical supply train, of warriors and their weaponry, of archaeological grave finds and, of course, of battles themselves.
The text explores such elements as social standing; the fyrd and how it worked; weaponry and armour; tactics of warfare and finally logistics. For me, it was most interesting when it covered areas I didn't previously know about: typical clothing, for instance, and the logistics of assembling an army, feeding it, and then getting it from A to B.
The main sources seem to be heroic poetry (THE BATTLE OF MALDON figures predominantly) and archaeology. It's very short, which is the only detraction; I wanted to read more.
The book is short and features a selection of full-colour plates, all of them drawings of Anglo-Saxon life. There's a picture of a typical supply train, of warriors and their weaponry, of archaeological grave finds and, of course, of battles themselves.
The text explores such elements as social standing; the fyrd and how it worked; weaponry and armour; tactics of warfare and finally logistics. For me, it was most interesting when it covered areas I didn't previously know about: typical clothing, for instance, and the logistics of assembling an army, feeding it, and then getting it from A to B.
The main sources seem to be heroic poetry (THE BATTLE OF MALDON figures predominantly) and archaeology. It's very short, which is the only detraction; I wanted to read more.
August 28, 2019
Really good Osprey in the Warrior series. After a short historical and social introduction, there is an extensive discussion of the equipment of the thegns. Harrison makes good use of archeological evidence from contemporary armies outside Britain.
But the best part of the book is when it goes into the experience of war and battle. Here archeological, historical and poetic sources are used complementary, and weaved into a gripping and convincing narrative. Rarely have I seen an Osprey doing this so well, so compliments to Harrison. The small detail in the paragraph on the 'beasts of battle' about the politics of leaving the dead bodies on the field of battle is just wonderful.
There's excellent and functional drawings by Gerry Embleton, combined with some interesting photographs of reenactors.
Highly recommended.
But the best part of the book is when it goes into the experience of war and battle. Here archeological, historical and poetic sources are used complementary, and weaved into a gripping and convincing narrative. Rarely have I seen an Osprey doing this so well, so compliments to Harrison. The small detail in the paragraph on the 'beasts of battle' about the politics of leaving the dead bodies on the field of battle is just wonderful.
There's excellent and functional drawings by Gerry Embleton, combined with some interesting photographs of reenactors.
Highly recommended.
August 11, 2012
This volume has exactly the structure and contents I am expecting from a book that is part of Osprey Warrior cycle. It is also a huge improvement on part of Mark Harrison, when compared with his first contribution to the series, "Viking Hersir 793-1066AD".
The book itself describes how theng warrior class fit into Anglo-Saxon society, how they trained, lived during the peace time, behaved while on campaign and fought in actual battle. The text material is supported by a multitude of photographs of archaeological finds as well as very attractive color illustrations.
The book itself describes how theng warrior class fit into Anglo-Saxon society, how they trained, lived during the peace time, behaved while on campaign and fought in actual battle. The text material is supported by a multitude of photographs of archaeological finds as well as very attractive color illustrations.
August 30, 2016
This book is good for what it is (a statement I think I've made in reviews of similar books). This is a general overview of one particular segment of Anglo-Saxon society. The book covers a variety of different elements of Anglo-Saxon thegns' culture, though it offers little depth and fairly little detail about Anglo-Saxon society, these warriors in particular, or any of the specific subsections in the book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews