Rory Naismith reconstructs the career of Offa, the Mercian king who dominated much of southern England in the late eighth century. Drawing on charters, coins, archaeology and continental evidence, he places Offa at the centre of a competitive political world rather than treating him merely as the builder of the dyke that bears his name.
The biography examines conquest, royal administration, church politics and relations with Charlemagne and the papacy. It also considers why Offa’s formidable supremacy did not survive intact after his death, while showing how his experiments in coinage and kingship anticipated later developments in a united England.
Alison Weir
35 books
Peter Ackroyd
1 book
Gareth Russell
Charles Spencer