Myth and history
Subtitle: ethnicity and politics in the first millennium British Isles
By: Stephen J. Yeates
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Oxford; Oakville
Language: eng
Number of pages: 348
ISBN-13: 9781842174784
Subjects: Historiography; Romans; Historical geography; Anglo-Saxons; Ethnic groups; History
Description: Our recent understanding of British history has been slowly unravelling thanks to new techniques such as DNA analysis, new archaeological data and reassessment of the literary evidence. There are considerable problems in understanding the early history of Britain; sources for the centuries from the first Roman invasion to 1000 AD are few and contradictory, the archaeological record complex and there is little collaboration or agreement between archaeologists, Roman and Anglo-Saxon historians. A common assumption concerning the development of the English language and, therefore British history, is that there was an invasion from northern Europe in the fifth century, the so-called Anglo-Saxon migration; a model based on the writings of Bede. However the Bedan model has become increasingly unsustainable and is on the verge of collapse. Myth and History offers a comprehensive re-assessment of the present scientific, historical, archaeological and language evidence, debunking the model of British history based on Bede, and showing how Roman texts can be used in conjunction with the other evidence to build an alternative picture.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [304]-325) and index.
Table of contents: title: Science; title: Language; title: Roman history; title: A time for myth; title: Medieval history; title: Archaeology; title: The Roman model: a new framework.