The discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard in 2009 has captured the public imagination and stimulated renewed interest in the history and culture of the Anglo-Saxons. The discovery poses interesting questions. Who owned the treasure and how did they acquire it? Was it made locally or did it originate elsewhere? Why was it buried in an obscure field in the Staffordshire countryside? To answer these questions the author takes us on a journey into a period...

It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages, and England faces attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Life is hard, and those with power wield it harshly, bending justice according to their will - often in conflict with the king. With his grip on the country fragile and with no clear rule of law, chaos and bloodshed reign. Into this uncertain world three people come to the fore: a young boatbuilder, who dreams of a better future...

Rupert Matthews puts forward his ground breaking new theories on the collapse of the post-Roman order in Britain and the formation of England. Drawing on newly analysed written sources and the growing mass of archaeological finds he presents a very different picture of post-Roman Britain than that usually put forward.

To many, the word 'Viking' brings to mind red scenes of rape and pillage, of marauders from beyond the sea rampaging around the British coastline in the last gloomy centuries before the Norman Conquest. It is true that Britain in the Viking Age was a turbulent, violent place. The kings and warlords who have impressed their memories on the period revel in names that fire the blood and stir the imagination: Svein Forkbeard and Edmund Ironside, Ivar...

Frankia 780 AD. Sigwulf, a minor Saxon prince, is saved from execution after his family is slaughtered by the ruthless King Offa of Mercia. Thanks to his Devil's Mark, Sigwulf is exiled to the Frankish court of King Carolus, the future Charlemagne. There he survives on his wits while at the same time trying to come to terms with disturbingly prophetic dreams.

This text not only tells the story of the Vikings in Britain but also uses advanced DNA testing to show how the influence of the Vikings has lingered genetically in modern Britain.

An introduction to the daily life of men, women and children living in England from the end of Roman occupation to the Norman conquest.

A richly illustrated guide to life in Anglo-Saxon and Viking Britain, using as a starting point the sites and artefacts that have survived to build up a picture of everyday life at the time.

Warlords battle across Britain to become the first king of the English. After a stunning victory against the native Waelisc, Beobrand returns a hero. His valour is rewarded with wealth and land by Oswald, king of Northumbria. He retires to his new estate with his bride only to find himself surrounded by enemies old and new. With treachery and death on all sides, Beobrand fears he will lose all he holds dear. On a quest for revenge and redemption,...

Greed and ambition threaten to tear the north apart. War rages between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy. When Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the North, setting in motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation between Oswiu of Bernicia and Oswine of Deira. While the lord of Ubbanford...