Reviews for Age of Arthur A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650

The average rating for Age of Arthur A History of the British Isles from 350 to 650 based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-01-28 00:00:00 Tracy Ebbert The Age of Arthur by John Morris For a man who gave his name to a period of history spanning three hundred years, the verifiable details of his life and campaigns (as opposed to the fictionalising of his life and court both in medieval literature and subsequently) are very limited, even though we know a great deal about the period as a whole. Something in Arthur captured the British imagination in the centuries that followed, and he remains a cultural icon for the nation. This isn't the book for you if you're looking for hundreds of pages solely about Arthur himself. King Arthur, the fables, the legend and the mystery have filled shelf after shelf over the years, and you won't have difficulty finding other books that cover these aspects. In terms of real, researched and documented history - military, regal, social and economic - it is a superbly written volume. The content is exceptionally detailed, and the tone is learned but accessible. Friendly, in short, without sacrificing any of the rigours of scholarship. Tables of dates, lists of works cited, sources and a bibliography of modern works by theme or area occupy over 100 pages not including the actual index. And as if that isn't enough, reference is made to a six-volume series by the author entitled 'Arthurian Period Sources'. This work is an excellent overview for the student of history, authors like me researching the period to inform their fiction, or indeed the general reader hoping to learn more about the cultural development of our island nation. Enormous effort has gone into signposting future reading, and one receives the impression that Morris intended this work to spark further interest and would be satisfied to know he's been successful.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-09-22 00:00:00 Jon Sod I've long been interested in the history of Roman Britain as well as in the 'Matter of Britain', Arthurian literature and Grail legends, but I've done little previous study of the history of the islands between the years of change covered in this lengthy tome. Although mentioning Arthur in the title, very little is actually detailed about this legendary king. Although author Morris believes his existence incontrovertible, his treatment of the man is as a symbol of the end of the old British/Roman culture and the beginning of what became the English (the various Saxons), Welsh (what the British became) and Irish cultures. Lacking much original documentary evidence for this transitional period, the author relies heavily on archaeology and sophisticated critical exegesis of later texts. For me, so ignorant of the period, reading this book was slow and often difficult. I'd not recommend it to others with a similarly weak background. Specialists, however, should be quite impressed.