Tag: Paul Hill

Anglo Saxon Warfare Book Review

Post author By lorenzoseventh
Post date 26th Jun 2020
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Paul Hill’s The Anglo-Saxons at War is a good source book. He covers the period of 800 – 1066 in themes.

Campaigns describes how the anglo saxons conducted their warfare and while often a reaction to viking raids they had a method and of course fought amongst themselves.

He discusses the use of fortified places – again I thought this was a good chapter.

Strategy and tactics left me less happy – somehow this part was too bitty although I liked the ruses discussion which included how they used the land to their advantage.

Military Organisation covered quite a few aspects and I welcome the coverage he has given on naval capability and activity. Mercenaries are dealt with as is the issue of tribute and how that impacted on military organisation. Tribute giving and taking plus exchanging hostages were all part of the fabric of warfare and should be seen as such and not detached.

He inevitably deals with cavalry and is clear they rode to war and fought “battles” on fought yet fought on horseback when pursuing for example. Similarly the bow is discussed although he is muted on its use acknowledging that before contact shieldwalls exchanged a whole array of throwable missiles. The argument for some bowmen behind these shieldwalls seems obvious – you could also I think draw parallels with late roman armies of spearmen who threw darts. Why would spear armed infantry not use a few missile men? That is a world away from massed units of bowmen which seems sometimes to be the only option in these discussions.

Paul includes the size of armies as well as recruitment – this last part feeds on another chapter (below) very well. Logistics and communciation are also discussed – I felt the logistics was of value but I did not like his approach or the content of the communciations section. I thought he could have made a better argument for more organised communciations even on the battlefield. And he could have made parallels with warfare of the time going on elsewhere. He does this to good effect in other parts of the book yet not here.

The chapter on warfare and society includes obligations and why go to war in the first place looking at the individual perspective as much as the hierarchy. This was good material. Not so good was the part on where battles were fought although some parts were interesting such as the occurence of “ford” battles. Again it felt as though there was more to be offered but either he lacked of room or the author had no desire to go beyond those limited areas that he wanted to cover.

This book is not about battles themselves and probably reads better if unlike me you have read a narrative history of the period first.

In some respects this book felt like a series of articles written maybe over time and now stitched together to form a book. This may even explain the degree of repetition. If so it was not a problem for me.

Overall this is a book I am pleased to have bought and I am not sure there is a book quite like it despite my reservations of the way some areas have been covered.

Unlike even some books I have really enjoyed this book does lend itself to being a reference book. And I aim to revisit it.

Verdict – recommended.

Tags anglo saxon warfare, anglo saxons, Paul Hill, Pen & Sword Publications

anglo saxons battle anniversaries

Recovering Athelstan?

Karwansaray Publications run a title called Medieval Warfare (MW) and its sister publication Ancient Warfare. They produce excellent image content along with detailed current views on historic subjects written by experts in their field. What more could one want?

In edition MW X.3 they will cover the Battle of Brunanburh fought in 937AD where King Constantine of Scotland was on the losing side but is maybe better known than the victor, King Athelstan – King Alfred the Great’s grandson.

King Alfred was King of Wessex although I suspect many simply view him as a King of the English (or even more incorrectly British, who in his day were really the Welsh). His son Edward the Elder became King of the Anglo Saxons, an upmarket move geographically speaking. It was Edwards’ son Athelstan who as King defeated King Constantine of Scotland at the unknown location of Brunanburh.

For the first time since the Roman occupation a single person could claim to rule the largest island (of the archipelago) called Albion by the ancient Greeks. And he was termed an English and not an Anglo Saxon or Wessex Ruler.

It will be interesting to see if MW X.3 puts Athelstan at the centre of the story. If they don’t and you want Athelstan’s full story then you can get a copy of Paul Hill’s “The Age of Athelstan”. Paul in 208 engaging pages with few photos seeks to correct the classic “english/british” teaching that between the Romans (dressed in classical uniforms of course) climbing on board their boat to sail back to Rome and William gazing down at Harold with an arrow in his eye, there was just Alfred (the only Great English/British king).

I am just pleased that Karwansaray have decided to run an edition covering such an obscure battle.

Better still get both the magazine and the book and really immerse yourself in a period usually dominated by the Vikings!

Image source wikimedia commons extract of brunanburh poem referencing Constantine
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Constantine_at_Brunanburh.jpg#/media/File:Constantine_at_Brunanburh.jpg

Tags athelstan, brunanburh, medieval warfare magazine, Paul Hill

anglo saxons Book Reviews

Take two curators

I have been reading up on the world of anglo saxons which strangely I have never read about in depth before. I have been drawn in by reading about the Normans. The fact is that the Normans are far more successful at having history written about them. I guess this is not surprising – Anglo Saxons were losers. Unless of course we are talking about King Alfred, who was singled out as a hero in the Viking Wars. The more I read, the more this is all feels quite unbalanced. History is all about being unbalanced despite the efforts of many historians and simply because of the efforts of others. Historians have their preferences like most people, so you can get a period neglected simply because no one takes that much interest in it.

Every day though, history is being rewritten, not least through the ever burgeoning efforts of archaelogists. So discoveries like the staffordshire hoard help the cause of “dark age” Britain.

So what about the two curators. Well in successive books I have enjoyed learning more about the “anglo-saxons” from Paul Hill and then Gareth Williams.

Paul Hill was Curator at Kingston Museum. Kingston upon Thames saw many Anglo-Saxon kings crowned so has a close relationship with the period. It is not surprising that a former curator should be pro Anglo-Saxon to the extent of writing a trilogy on their histroy and how it has been handled over the centuries. His writing style is what I would describe as traditional and he explores the subject in depth with balanced arguments and overall I enjoy his style.

I actually discovered Paul through his Norman Commanders book. I enjoyed that book enough to read his Anglo-Saxon warfare book. Now firstly it should be said he starts in 800 AD so for some that might be a bit frustrating because he does not start way back in 500AD to set the scene. He has much to discuss in the 200 year slot he set himself, so I think he was right to draw a line.

One reviewer complained about repetition. I think this is because Paul adopts a thematic approach yet still tries to develop the story over time. Inevitably he returns you to specific moments to expand on a different theme each time.

I had no problem with this yet for some people I think this would prove hard work esepecially if they just want a narrative approach.

I especially liked one section when the Anglo-Saxons caught a Viking force in an estuary, the story showing excellent viking seamanship and perhaps overly keen but equally expert Anglo-Saxon sailors caught by the tidal flows.

Paul Hill brings to life warfare in the Anglo-Saxon period and poses and answers questions, he rightly remains uncommitted where the evidence is just simply not sufficient.

Paul ends his story in 1066. In many respects this is the only thing in common with Osprey’s “Combat : Viking Warrior versus Anglo-Saxon Warrior”.

Gareth Williams a curator at the British Museum specialises in Anglo-Saxon and Viking periods so is an ideal author for the Osprey “Combat Series” booklet. He adopts an episodic approach to the timeline starting in 865 and again ending in 1066.

Even in the title the Anglo-Saxons play second fiddle, so you might be worried that such a populist series might play to the viking storyline. It does not and is a refreshing and in my view balanced narrative of the 200 years during which the Vikings made their biggest mark on Britain, ruled it, eventually being defeated comprehensively in 1066.

Unlike an earlier Osprey which bundled the Normans into the same title this author sticks to the two main participants. The book does have a postscript which briefly describes the subsequent events of 1066.

I enjoyed Gareths approach and as you would expect the content is not short of stunning artefacts from museums. It is this – the production and layout of a more “image” oriented approach that marks it out from Paul Hills text heavy book.

Both the books though make common cause to show the Anglo-Saxons have been too often “under” written while the Vikings have been “over” written.

Because Gareth wrote around 3 key battles – Ashdown 871AD, Maldon 991AD and Stamford Bridge 1066AD he compliments Paul Hills book where battles are discussed but always in the context of a theme – say seamanship, hostages or fortifications.

I liked the scene setting for each battle which briefly described the events that led to the battle, then tactics of the time and then the outcome. In each case Gareth uses the appropriate battle to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the warriors as individuals, within their warbands and as parts of an army or more usually a raiding force.

Overall then, two books which have increased my interest in this period significantly.

If you want a quick and accessible book on the subject then the osprey is spot on even to the extent of allowing you to read up on just one of the three battles in isolation.

If you want a more considered approach to aspects of warfare in the anglo saxon period then I recommend Paul Hill’s book.

I am now reading Paul Hill’s trilogy of the Anglo Saxons and their place in this island history.

The feature photograph shows my recently completed anglo saxons from strelets. More on them in a future post.