We all love a good story, and history has some of the best. But the further back we go, the less we really know. In looking for answers about the Vikings, I followed who came before them – all the way through history to the land of uninhabitable ice and tundra that was Britain 10,000 years ago. This book is an account of the re-colonisation of our island since then – up to the reign of the first acknowledged King of England. It’s a story which is as relevant today as ever. [Read More…]
The approach
On the shelves in front of my desk there are rows of history books of all kinds, sizes and styles, many displaying a depth of learning and detail I could not hope to emulate. Ice to Athelstan – The Emergence of England seeks to be different. In just over 250 pages it summarises in 12 short chapters what we think happened in the 10,000 years after the ice finally melted. It’s a story of migration and a changing landscape, where events and periods flow, often unpredictably, into one another, until we reach something close to an early, but recognisable, England.
Charles Boundy
Author.
This new book goes back to the roots of England by presenting the story of the country’s origins in a succinct and accessible way. There was nothing inevitable about England emerging as it did, so what happened when the ice melted?
‘Ice to Athelstan’, my first non-legal book, was inspired many years ago by researching the origins of Normandy for a talk. This showed me that much of early English history was heavily influenced by what was happening elsewhere, notably in Denmark and in France, especially the emerging Normandy, a state within a state created by Vikings!
When I finally had time to return to the Vikings, I was drawn back to the Anglo-Saxons, then the Romans, then pre-Roman tribes and kingdoms and all the way back over 10,000 years to the emptiness of the last ice age! Starting with a land devoid of people gave me the chance to follow who came into the country, when and why. But where to stop? My answer was with Athelstan, Alfred’s grandson, and the first crowned king of England (even if the country was not yet called that!)
In telling the story I’ve been keen to highlight some of the great landscape and other features of the wonderful English countryside. This is a primarily a book about history, but to my mind our landscape is a key part of what has made us, a countryside that we ignore at our peril. The same goes for our neighbours, not just Scotland and Wales in Britain, but also Ireland, France and Scandinavia. This may be a book about England, but our neighbours are an intrinsic part of the story of England just as we are part of theirs.
As I explain in the book, the Vikings indirectly helped make England. And I’ve not yet done with them; the worst is still to come! But that is another story, which is waiting on the shore, ready to cross the literary waters when the time is right!”
Introduction, Author’s Notes and Maps
Chapter 1 – Land and Sea – 10,000 to 4,000 BCE
Chapter 2 – Beliefs and Monuments – 4,000 to 1,200 BCE
Chapter 3 – Metals, Cultures and Celts – 1,200 to 55 BCE
Chapter 4 – Roman Britain – 55 BCE to 290 CE
Chapter 5 – Crisis and Exit – 290 to 410
Chapter 6 – The ‘Dark Ages’ – 410 to 600
Chapter 7 – Meaning, Migration and Myth
Chapter 8 – Christianity and Northumbria – 400 to 700
Chapter 9 – East Anglia and Mercia – 600 to 825
Chapter 10 – Life in Anglo-Saxon England
Chapter 11 – Enter the Northmen – 790 to 900
Chapter 12 – Wessex from Disaster to Triumph – 825 to 939
Postscript – The Emergence of England
Get in Touch
I’ll be adding further thoughts (and possibly corrections!) in this blog. I’d love to hear from you with any thoughts on the book, including possible improvements for a future edition, or with any anecdotes or snippets of information you feel might be useful for me to share here with others.
“I grew up in Liverpool, took a gap year working (including two months in Germany) and then a law degree. Subsequently I’ve had a busy professional career, mainly as a partner in London law firms. In the early days I set up and ran my own practice before merging with a much larger firm. My work mostly involved advising and representing a wide range of clients in relation to their business affairs and transactions. After a period in management I wrote some articles for the Media Guardian, published three books on business contracts, and took an MPhil degree in Leadership and Management. After that I moved on to become Group Legal Director for a major publishing group.
Over recent years I’ve been able to return to my love of history alongside many years of intensive environmental work, taking The Thame Green Living Plan from blank slate concept through to formal adoption and implementation by the town council. It’s still left time for some exciting travel destinations, a passion for long and short distance walks in Britain and keeping in touch with an ever-evolving family.”