"Englands historia" is a two-volume work by Swedish professor Dick Harrison. Yes, it´s a book in Swedish about English, British and Imperial history! The first volume is subtitled "Från forntiden till 1600". The work is intended as a popularized introduction, but it feels surprisingly comprehensive nevertheless. Harrison is an extremely good writer, and has an uncanny ability to present both an avalanche of facts and some kind of analyses in a reader-friendly manner.
The first volume of "Englands historia" starts already 720,000 years ago, before Homo sapiens even existed, with Homo heidelbergensis or "Heidelberg Man", the first human species to roam the territory much later known as England (at the time, the British Isles were still connected to the Eurasian landmass through a land bridge known as Doggerland). The book must mention every Celtic tribe (and all their mints) in pre-Roman England, and every petty Anglo-Saxon fiefdom in post-Roman England. At least it doesn´t mention every Viking raid! The "game of thrones" of all the Richards, Henrys and Edwards is described with remarkable scholarly restraint, as are the frequent wife-swaps of one Henry VIII. Somewhat ironically, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I only get a few chapters each, perhaps because Harrison already devoted another book exclusively to the former.
Apart from the rulers and their never-ending conflicts, the book also tries to paint a picture of English medieval society in general, including life on the village level. An underlying theme of the presentation is the inherent unstability of the medieval body-politic, where so much is dependent on the personal abilities of a few select individuals. It´s also interesting to note that despite this, society seems to have been relatively well organized, with a kind of "middle class" standing between the nobility and the peasantry, and an incipient parliamentarism. The only thing I somehow lacked was a background chapter on the European Reformation in general, since Henry VIII´s break with Rome otherwise seem more idiosyncratic than it really was.
If you´re into alternative history (English version), Harrison´s book might disappoint you. No Atlantis, king Arhur was a myth, Jesus never walked England´s green and pleasant land, and William Shakespeare really did wrote the plays attributed to him. Only in the case of Robin Hood and some of his merry companions does Harrison allow that there might have been *some* historical figures behind the stories. "Ivanhoe" isn´t a good source for historical knowledge either, it seems!
Final point. This really is a history of England specifically, with Wales playing a supporting role. Thus, don´t expect too much information on Scotland or Ireland. Personally, I think Harrison really should write a sequel on Scotland, which historically had closer ties with Scandinavia than Merry Old England, but that´s me (there might be a few strange alternative history claims to crack there, too).
It will be interesting to see how the second volume (from 1600 until today) turns out. I´m already reading it as we speak, and it´s quite promising so far...
No comments:
Post a Comment