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Peter Marren
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Battles of the Dark Ages: British Battlefields AD 410 to 1065 Kindle Edition

by Peter Marren (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 75 ratings
A look at what world history might have been like if not for the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
 
This is a fascinating exploration of how the history of Europe, and indeed the world, might have been different if the Western Roman Empire had survived the crises that pulled it apart in the fourth and fifth centuries.
 
The author starts by showing how that survival and recovery might plausibly have happened if several relatively minor things had been different. He then moves on to discuss a series of scenarios which might have altered the course of subsequent history dramatically. Would the survival of a strong Western Empire have assisted the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire in halting the expansion of Islam in the Middle East and North Africa? How would the Western Roman Empire have handled the Viking threat? Could they even have exploited the Viking discovery of America and established successful colonies there? While necessarily speculative, all the scenarios are discussed within the framework of a deep understanding of the major driving forces, tensions, and trends that shaped European history and help to shed light upon them. In so doing they help us understand why things panned out as they did, as well as what might have been.
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  1. Print length
    349 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pen & Sword Military
  4. Publication date
    September 18, 2006
  5. File size
    4.9 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Marren is an author and historian.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005D7TITE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword Military; Reprint edition (September 18, 2006)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 18, 2006
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4.9 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 349 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 75 ratings

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Peter Marren

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4.2 out of 5 stars
75 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Douglas E. Libert
    5.0 out of 5 stars hard to put down for a Darkager
    Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2008
    This book deals solely with dark age battles in England and the British Isles,there are no battles on the continent in this book.He seems to use the Anglo-Saxon chronicles for alot of the info. An interesting page or two on Arthur,saying basically it would have been better had he not existed because too much effort is being wasted trying to discover who he was.Since sources on Arthur are slim to none,a person could say about anything and "prove their point"?The author figures if he existed at all, it was probably in the 400's AD. The book covers battles between the Saxons and other numerous tribes including the Viking invasions from 400 to 1022,all pre-Norman conflicts.There is a good description of weapons and tactics,alot of these battles were war-band type smaller conflicts but some battles may have had as many as 5,000 warriors involved,and there is always a tendency in the old records for exaggerations
    The reasons for the battles is basic conflict over power and influence and never ending rivalries between kingdoms as well as bids for power by "newcomers" from other regions.It makes for easy reading when you don't have to try to understand complex political issues,just simply,"I think i can take this,I have no respect for you,take a chance at cost of life and limb to prove me wrong".There are some good maps and in addition there are B&W photos of where the author believes the battles took place,but not a detailed map to use for a driving tour if you could afford the petrol.Alot of info on the Viking(Danes and Irish)invasions from 800-1020 AD and how the different English ethnic groups tried to use the Vikings for their own purposes only to be used themselves.Battles of Brunanburh and Maldon covered well with pictures and diagrams,considering that there is little to nothing available from ancient sources on these battles besides a line or two in an epic poem.The author has done alot of scholarly rersearch here.
    16 people found this helpful
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  • J. B.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I like it so far. Easy to read and entertaining. Learning a good amount about medieval battles.
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  • Chuck
    3.0 out of 5 stars Battles of the Dark Ages
    Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is a very detailed and interesting book about relatively unknown battles fought in Dark Age Britain. That said, it is somewhat tedious and requires a great amount of knowledge regarding Britain's geography and early history. Most of the battle descriptions were based on scant and often contradictory accounts. Indeed, at times even the locations of the battles were not definitive. Nonetheless, those looking for current thinking about warfare in this era will appreciate it.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Charles R. Patterson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2007
    I really liked this book, it gives something of an archaologially minded, strategically savvy look at battles for which there are few accounts. Damned fine read.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Ken Hafer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good report
    Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Lots of excellent battle reports. Many ground explorations. Good desriptions of the weapons and armor used during the covered period.
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  • H. M. Wiseman
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not terribly reliable or useful
    Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2015
    Peter Marren is an amateur historian who writes engagingly about the landscapes and circumstances of dark age battles in Britain. One can learn a lot from this book. Unfortunately, some of what one might pick up is wrong or dubious. Just to give a few examples of errors about 6th century battles (which is what I know most about):

    1. The Saxon capture of the Isle of Wight in 530 is confirmed in Welsh annals. (It is not in any I know of).

    2. Gildas describes Aurelius Caninus as "the bad son of a good king", who might have been Ambrosius Aurelianus (It is Vortiporius who is so described, and his father according to the genealogies was Aircol)

    3. Dunaut "from the Pennines" was the brother of Peredur of York who, with Peredur, made war on Gewndoleu. (Peredur's brother was Gwrgi; Dunaut was a later king who *might* have ruled in the Pennines.)

    4. Taliesin wrote of Urien's battles that "sometimes the enemy, sometimes our countrymen, were victorious." (This is from the much later Historia Brittonum, and was a borrowing from Gildas).

    Also the footnotes are very far from complete. e.g. no reference is given for the "plausible legend [that] Cerdic was a British nobleman from Winchester who emigrated to the Saxons on the continent".

    I also agree with another reviewer (UK site) that what is really missing is detailed maps showing the location (or possible locations) of the sites, for people who would want to follow in Marren's footsteps and visit them.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Cato
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but difficult for a yank
    Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2013
    Overall, I found this book to be extremely enjoyable and a nice introduction for me into post-roman Britain. I wish the author had included some maps in the book so someone who is unfamiliar with UK geography could follow along a little easier. About 60% of the book is devoted to discussing the battles, tactics, major players, etc. The other 40% is spent playing "battlefield detective" trying to site particular battles. Confusing at times, as the battlefield searches sometimes break up the narrative. But, overall a good read. Be prepared for a lot of Aethel's Egg's and Wulf's.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good insight on the weapons and strategies used during this ...
    Reviewed in Australia on May 19, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Good insight on the weapons and strategies used during this historical time. I really enjoyed it and didn't want to stop reading.
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  • CFive
    5.0 out of 5 stars ILLUMINATING
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    This is a gem of a book. The author covers all the basics of dark age battles fought in the UK as far as he is able, in a refreshingly enjoyable, pretence free, style. His explanations are clear and lucid and, this is the first book on the subject I have read which takes into account the (probably) small size of the forces involved in the various battles. However, the title should give it away but just in case, don't expected detailed discussions on the tactics used - we just don't have the sources to provide that sort of information for the majority of the fights that are covered in the text. What you do get is a rational discussion with the most likely scenarios clearly presented. There is also a very good chapter on the reality of King Arthur and the possible locations of 'his' wars. Highly recommended.
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  • Neil Lucock
    4.0 out of 5 stars I still dont know where Brunanburh is!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    This book is well written and very readable.If you are interested in the wars of the Dark Ages it's worth buying. There's a slight problem, though, and it's not really the author's fault. Most of the source materials give the name of a battle and sometimes tell us either who fought or who was killed. They rarely say where, exactly, the named place was. The author has done a good job of drawing together materials from various sources and presenting the reasons why a battle might have been in one place or another, but a lot of the time, no one really knows. For example, the battle of Brunanburh could have been fought on The Wirral, south of the Humber, in the east Midlands, at Burnley or in Scotland. The detailed discussions that take you to the "we don't really know" conclusion are really fascinating, the journey is far more interesting than the destination. If you want an overview of Anglo Saxon warfare and history, it's a good book to have. One part I really liked was the "military probability" assessment the author made. He's been to the sites and looked at it from a tactical point of view. This is the book's real strength, the author suggests that some sites wouldn't be the place to have a battle because they had no military importance.
    Less useful were the wargame accounts. If you don't have reliable evidence for the location, the number of men, their weapons and morale, then you've just made it up and fought your tabletop war for your own entertainment. Conjectural maps of the tactical deployment of the Viking and Saxon armies are of little value; maps showing the supposed locations would have been better. There are lots of nice black and white photos of the locations mentioned in the text and the book is crammed full of historical and geographical details. It is a great book to use for a historical tour of Old English battlefields, it has photos of the plaques and monuments as well as the odd pub sign. If you want to know about the wars of the period and don't read Latin or Saxon, this is a good book to have. I still don't know where many key battles were fought, but I now know a lot more about them. Despite its minor faults, it's one I'd recommend.
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  • H. M. Wiseman
    3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but not terribly reliable or useful
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 16, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Peter Marren is an amateur historian who writes engagingly about the landscapes and circumstances of dark age battles in Britain. One can learn a lot from this book. Unfortunately, some of what one might pick up is wrong or dubious. Just to give a few examples of errors about 6th century battles (which is what I know most about):

    1. The Saxon capture of the Isle of Wight in 530 is confirmed in Welsh annals. (It is not in any I know of).

    2. Gildas describes Aurelius Caninus as "the bad son of a good king", who might have been Ambrosius Aurelianus (It is Vortiporius who is so described, and his father according to the genealogies was Aircol)

    3. Dunaut "from the Pennines" was the brother of Peredur of York who, with Peredur, made war on Gewndoleu. (Peredur's brother was Gwrgi; Dunaut was a later king who *might* have ruled in the Pennines.)

    4. Taliesin wrote of Urien's battles that "sometimes the enemy, sometimes our countrymen, were victorious." (This is from the much later Historia Brittonum, and was a borrowing from Gildas).

    Also the footnotes are very far from complete. e.g. no reference is given for the "plausible legend [that] Cerdic was a British nobleman from Winchester who emigrated to the Saxons on the continent".

    I also agree with another reviewer that what is really missing is detailed maps showing the location (or possible locations) of the sites, for people who would want to follow in Marren's footsteps and visit them.
    Report
  • Sy Fortune
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting & informative
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 3, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    A very readable account of various Dark Age battles from the Alleluia Battle in c.429 to the battle of Hereford in 1055.
    Report

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