The Beginnings of English Society

It is the aim of this book to draw together from all types of sources evidence relating to the life and thought of the Anglo-Saxons, from the time when they first took possession of the Romanized province of Britain until their unsuccessful stand for freedom at the Battle of Hastings, It deals with their religion in heathen times, with the ethics on which their society was based, with their institutions, and with their standards of living. It shows how all these things were modified by the acceptance of the Christian faith, and how, under the influence of the wider contacts then established, there resulted in this outpost of the civilized world a remarkable culture. There are also chapters on church organization and on the achievements in literature, Latin or vernacular, and in art. The whole account is obtained by fitting together the actual evidence, and where, as often happens, this is fragmentary, no attempt is made to fill the gaps with a fancy picture which cannot be substantiated.