Marc Morris (1) (1973–)

This is a wonderfully done volume. Mr. Morris has managed to capture the timeline of Anglo-Saxon Britain. The text is very thorough with a ton of legitimate references to veer the reader off into areas of interest. He does not go off the subject and confuse the reader and makes it very clear that this book is about post Roman Britain. Some reviews take a star of two off for the constant mention of Rome. Well...that is kind of important. The fact that they documented everything and left a world where nearly nothing was documented is very important to the development of the timeline. The author does make a point to emphasize who did and did not attempt to move this time line forward in a positive and constructive manner. It does seem that he sugar coated the fact that the Church did everything in their power to stymie overall growth, knowledge and development outside its own walls. Morris does a good job mentioning the rulers and chroniclers that sought to make their world bigger for not only themselves but for their subjects.
The fly in the ointment for the Kingdoms of Britain of course were the Vikings. Many myths are debunked and the light is shed on just who the Danes were and what they were attempting to achieve. 60 percent plunder 40 percent migration. These parts of the book leave us with questions about why the Danes were moving and while not giving us all the answers Morris encourages the reader to look over the horizon for the solution.
The last chapters with the Normans come to a bloody roar and a skin peeling stop. Mr. Morris knows where to draw the line in the sand and upon reading the last page you instantly want to jump into the hard and concrete beginnings of the departure of Britain into England.… (meer)

I came close to setting this book aside at the start, as the opening tone was so jocular that it seemed inappropriate to the subject at hand. However, Morris firms up quickly, and launches on a step-by-step journey through Edward's life, as one follows the path to the man's great mistake; the attempt to impose a strong over-lordship on Scotland, in the wake of that nation's experience of dynastic collapse.

Early on though, through conflicts with his parents, the fight with the party of Simon de Montfort, the wars with the Welsh, and the conflicts Edward had with his own nominal overlord, the King of France, Morris is essentially tracing two key characteristics of Edward's personality. One, a strong sense of having to fight for his entitlements as King of England; particularly when it came to control of land and wealth. Two, Edward's feeling that there were "final solutions" available to his problems; though the latter tendency seems to have moderated for a bit in the man's prime, Edwards displaying a knack for diplomacy when it mattered.

Still, though Morris has to conclude that Edward was a man of his age, and that most of his acts likely would have been committed by any English king, particularly in regards to the expulsion and expropriation of the Jews, the grand play for Scotland was the start of nothing but trouble which led to Edward's long-term legacy of violence for the British Isles.

As for my other main thought having finished this biography, I particularly like the way Morris uses fiscal matters as a backbone for his narrative. Let's just say that Edward would have agreed with the modern quip that the answer to all your questions is money.… (meer)