The Isles
Subtitle: a history
By: Norman Davies.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 1222
Subjects: Great Britain -- History; Great Britain -- Civilization -- European influences; Ireland -- Civilization -- European influences; Great Britain -- Relations -- Europe; Europe -- Relations -- Great Britain; Ireland -- Relations -- Europe; Europe -- Relations -- Ireland; Ireland -- History
Description: "The Isles is a revolutionary narrative history that takes a new perspective on the development of Britain and Ireland, looking at them not as self-contained islands, but as an inextricable part of Europe.".

"At the early stages, The Isles connects offshore development with parallel events on the Continent. This richly layered history begins with prehistory and the Celtic Supremacy in the last centuries B.C., which is presented in the light of a Celtic world stretching all the way from Iberia to Asia Minor. Roman Britain is seen not as a unique phenomenon but as similar to the other frontier regions of the Roman Empire, such as Germany.

The Viking Age is viewed not only through the eyes of the invaded but from the standpoint of the invaders themselves - Norse, Danes, and Normans. Plantagenet England is perceived, like the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as an overseas extension of medieval France.

In the later chapters, Davies follows the growth of the United Kingdom and British Empire and charts the rise and fall of the main pillars of "Britishness" - the Royal Navy, the Westminster Parliament, the constitutional monarchy, the aristocracy, the Protestant supremacy, the Civil Service, law, the imperial economy, the sporting tradition, and the English language." "The book ends with the crisis confronting Britain now - the emergence of the European Union."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [1059]-1090) and index.