Beda: A Journey to the Seven Kingdoms at the Time of Bede

Description

Written by the Oxford historian Henrietta Leyser, BEDA is a gazetteer to the remaining Anglo-Saxon ruins in England, many of them from the time of the Venerable Bede. For those who have bought Simon Jenkins' 100 Best Churches and now want something different, this is an invaluable window onto the world of the author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Concentrating on Bede himself (our most valuable historical source on Anglo Saxon England, and author of books that played a key role in the development of English national identity), BEDA is an accessible history and a guidebook simultaneously. Since Sr Benedicta Ward's book on Bede, with its endorsement by Rowan Williams, general interest in Anglo-Saxon Britain has been growing. BEDA serves as a perfect introduction to the subject, and is the only book of its kind.

Henrietta Leyser is a historian who specializes in the history of medieval England. The author of MEDIEVAL WOMEN (1998), she is an emeritus fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford.

With great clarity and charm Leyser offers a bracing and necessary corrective to the notion of a cloistered life in the Dark Ages... The book is clearly and cogently organized, with an excellent referencing system of cross-referencing, and a well-designed and highly necessary index' * Spectator * If only academics would stop writing for each other and address the general public, whose interest in their own homes and history is easily awakened. But that is exactly what Henrietta Leyser is doing and has done. We need more books like hers * Literary Review * Beda (Bede) is our most valuable historical source on Anglo-Saxon England, and this is a perfect introduction to the man, his work and the world in which he lived * Britain * Leyser provides details of visible remains, of archaeological investigations and places where their discoveries can be viewed * Times Literary Supplement *