Lost Realms: Histories of Britain from the Romans to the Vikings

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With so few facts to make generalisations, the author appears happy to meander off-topic, for example to discuss differences between the calculation of the date of Easter between Roman and British Christians. Not too much of the x son of y, brother of z (which I always find a bit dry) and the author manages to pique and then satisfy the reader's interest by bringing places to life and putting some historical perspective into them. My personal favourite to read about was Elmed, located in what is now West and South Yorkshire, because I’m familiar with the area! The author manages to create something from almost nothing with really solid scholarship and layering over that with a poetic vision.

Just place names that once referred to Elmet and other place names that refer to a British church in Old English (Eccles). These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.This book focuses on the “Lost realms” of Britain, those that we know less of, smaller kingdoms that came and went alongside more well-known places that tend to hog the limelight due to the fact we know way more about them and that they were larger and longer established (think the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria and Wessex). If you are interested in Britain’s history from the Romans to the Vikings, then you will like this book.

The same might be said for the frequent over written passages that attempt to evoke the fading kingdoms. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. It's a shame, since the author does draw parallels between developments in different geographical areas.The over all effect, and 'horny relish' is a good example, is of a style that sounds like the worse kind of tv history sacrificing accuracy for sound bites. In restoring some of these voices, he raises questions matching many we face today: how do nations form and why do some fail? Actually rather beautifully written in its account of the people and realms that came and then disappeared from time leaving such fleeting and barely discernable remains.