Books in the Anglo-Saxon England 34 Volume Paperback Set series

The contents of this first volume typify the range of interests that will be covered throughout the series. The topics treated include the first two centuries of Christianity in East Anglia; geographical knowledge in King Alfred's court and the contemporary state of our knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon house.

Four very different kinds of Anglo-Saxon thinking are clarified in this volume - traditions, learned and oral, about the settlement of the country, study of foreign-language grammar, interest in exotic jewels as reflections of the glory of God, and (surprisingly, no doubt, to some) a mainly rational attitude to medicine.

Several unusual fields of study are extensively explored in this volume: a distinctive politico-religious cult, penitentials, inscriptions, the Sutton Hoo whetstone and medical knowledge; while treatments of more 'standard' subjects like late Anglo-Saxon law, King Alfred's Boethius and Beowulf, lead to unusual conclusions.