Alex Burghart
Ashgate
Hardback
256
All too often the kingdom of Mercia is judged either in relation to its neighbours such as Frankia or the united kingdom of England that succeeded it. In this new study Dr Burghart offers an alternative view of Mercia one that assesses the kingdom upon its own terms in within the context of its own time as well as exploring its wider political-cultural place in Anglo-Saxon history. Rejecting previous historiographical obsessions with 'royal power' the book instead views royal prerogatives as one dynamic amongst many rather than the crucial framework of government on which all else hung. It concludes by arguing that the structure of the eighth- and ninth-century kingdom of Mercia was not substantially different from those of its neighbours but that it may have had important differences with the tenth-century kingdom of England which was to succeed it.
Ashgate
Hardback
256
All too often the kingdom of Mercia is judged either in relation to its neighbours such as Frankia or the united kingdom of England that succeeded it. In this new study Dr Burghart offers an alternative view of Mercia one that assesses the kingdom upon its own terms in within the context of its own time as well as exploring its wider political-cultural place in Anglo-Saxon history. Rejecting previous historiographical obsessions with 'royal power' the book instead views royal prerogatives as one dynamic amongst many rather than the crucial framework of government on which all else hung. It concludes by arguing that the structure of the eighth- and ninth-century kingdom of Mercia was not substantially different from those of its neighbours but that it may have had important differences with the tenth-century kingdom of England which was to succeed it.