To view prices and purchase online, please login or create an account now.



Aethelred the Unready (Penguin Monarchs): The Failed King

Hardback

Main Details

Title Aethelred the Unready (Penguin Monarchs): The Failed King
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Richard Abels
SeriesPenguin Monarchs
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:160
Dimensions(mm): Height 186,Width 129
Category/GenreBritish and Irish History
ISBN/Barcode 9780141979496
ClassificationsDewey:942.0174092
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Imprint Allen Lane
Publication Date 25 October 2018
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

A major new title in the Penguin Monarchs series There is a long tradition of cheering on the major monarchs of England, generally warriors such as Alfred the Great, William the Conqueror and Richard the Lionheart. But there is an argument that the more interesting monarchs are the ones who through their own fault or through having to live through terrible times, show the limits of human action and the degree to which political life can go completely wrong. In his fascinating new book in the Penguin Monarchs series, Richard Abels examines the long and troubled reign of Aethelred II the 'Unraed', the 'Ill-Advised'. It is characteristic of Aethelred's reign that its greatest surviving work of literature, the poem The Battle of Maldon, should be a record of heroic defeat. Perhaps no ruler could have stemmed the encroachment of wave upon wave of Viking raiders, but Aethelred will always be associated with that failure.

Author Biography

Richard Abels is Professor Emeritus at the United States Naval Academy. He is the author of Alfred the Great- War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England and Lordship and Military Obligation in Anglo-Saxon England. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.