Anglo Saxon Times

I like history, and find that the more I learn about it, the bigger the gaps of the periods and events that I know nothing about seems. I also love audiobooks, because it turns wasted driving time into wonderful learning time, and when downloaded onto an iPod, can be done while exercising or working around the house and yard. It didn't take much to get my interest when David Plotz of Slate mentioned an audiobook on his Gabfest Podcast. He recommended Anglo Saxon Times.

I had purchased a book about the era some years back when I realized that this time during the dark ages was mostly a mystery to me. The book was slow and plodding, and I could never make much headway in it. So the audiobook suggestion was perfect.

This book is actually a Modern Scholar series, college level classes in audiobook form. It was delivered by Professor Michael Drout. He teaches at Wheaton and has degrees from Loyola, the University of Missouri, and Stanford. He has done extensive studies of Beowulf and believe it or not the learned Anglo Saxon scholar J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy). The best part about the book is that Professor Drout is fluent in Old English (aka Anglo Saxon) and opens each lecture with a reading in Old English of some poetry, history, or saga in Anglo Saxon lore. His Wikipedia entry does not mention this Modern Scholar audiobook.

"Anglo Saxon" covers the gap in time between the fall of Roman control of England (in the 400s) to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. England had always been a frontier under the Romans with border skirmishes and battles. There were various walls built by the Romans to keep the "barbarians" out. The most famous of these is Hadrian's Wall, but lesser known and farther north was the Antonine Wall. The Romans managed to maintain trade with the Empire on the continent and build a high level of civilization in southern Britain for centuries.

Soon after the Romans left, the invasions began. Areas were repeatedly conquered back and forth between various invaders. What at first was a series of hit and run raids, later became invasion, conquering, and settlement. English lands were considered rich, so many invaders discovered a place worth staying. Even the modern Scots are mainly the settlement of invading Irish, believe it or not. I kept thinking that this explained the eventual development of the British Empire. What else are you going to do when your bloodlines run so thick with the best of the barbarian conquerors of Northern Europe?

The reason little is know of Anglo Saxon times is because little written history survives the era. This is partly because most people didn't read, and partly because most civilized places, including libraries and other repositories of books were constantly being destroyed by invaders. This is not to say that no one read, or that there were no records. There were a couple of great leaders that not only encouraged learning (by then, little remained of Roman era records), but even encouraged translating the bible into Anglo Saxon and conducting church services in the native language. This was not enough for any kind of continuous record to survive, so there are broad gaps in the history of the era. The result is a shadowy and mythical feel to the era, where such stories as King Arthur have a strange stature of semi-believed legend.

One thing I realized when contemplating what it would be like for the people of Anglo Saxon Britain is the irony of their status. The people were "free" of Roman control and taxation, but also free from Roman protection. Sure they had the rule of law and they weren't allowed to do anything they wanted during Roman times, but in exchange, they were not subject to constant predation and invasion by every little tribe seeking booty. It has its parallels in modern times where people are clamoring for less regulation and smaller government. People have always wanted what they perceive to be oppressive authorities off their backs, and it is usually too late when they realize that their government was also covering their backs. I think the ideal balance lies somewhere in between. A good government is one that is heavy enough for you to feel the weight of, but protective enough to allow you room to thrive and grow.