Aethelstan: The First King of England

This is an exceptional book. Very academic in tone so for those readers that have a deep interest in pre Conquest England. Not recommended to those that are after popular history.

The author has delved into every source available to give a thorough coverage of Æthelstan and his reign. No stone has been left unturned to cover areas from his early life, an area very bereft of information through to his modern legacy.

There are 8 chapters and an epilogue covering debates as to Æthelstan place in English history, coverage of his family, his role in the church, his kingdom and wars. The epilogue made wonderful reading on his initial popular memory to the disappearance of such as time went by.

On finishing this book I looked at 2 popular history's of England that I have at hand, Seaman's A New History of England from 1981 and the recent Foundation by Ackroyd. Seaman makes reference to Æthelstan on page 22 calling him “one of the most successful Kings” based on his overlordship of other British kings via the Battle of Brunanburh. This is covered by all of a scant paragraph. Æthelstan receives a short mention in relation to laws on page 38. Ackroyd does better with coverage from page 69 to 72. Ackroyd says that Æthelstan was “revered for centuries” and covers the meaning of his name, Noble Stone, his lineage through to the precedents he set as to lordship and landownership. Considering the scope of Foundation Ackroyd seemingly does a fine job considering the limitations of his subject.

With that I came away considering that Sarah Foot has produced one of the most important biographies from Anglo Saxon England. My 2 popular histories are fairly scant on the subject but do both make mention of Æthelstan's importance to English history. This is why this book by Sarah Foot is of such importance. Her research of the source's is superb, they lack any form hyperbole with interpretation, she makes it abundantly clear as to their limitations and with that brings us up to date with what little information is available. Her footnotes and bibliography are of the highest quality. Highly recommended.