The power, sophisitcation, unity and wealth of the late Anglo-Saxon state have long been underestimated. The shadow of defeatin 1066, and an assumption that the Normans brought about strong government and a unification that had not previously been there, has prevented many of the remarkable features of Anglo-Saxon society from being seen. In The Anglo-Saxon State James Campbell shows how strong, unified and well-governed Anglo-Saxon England was and how numerous and wealthy its inhabitants were. Late Anglo-Saxon England was also a country with a political class considerably wider than just the earls and thegns. William Stubb's vision of Anglo-Saxon England as a country with real representative institutions may indeed be truer than that of his denigrators. James Campbell's work demands the re-thinking of Anglo-Saxon history.
These essays make a case for how unified and well-governed Anglo-Saxon England was, and how numerous and wealthy its inhabitants were. By asking questions about the Anglo-Saxons, and by offering answers to people that question historical orthodoxy, this work demands the rethinking of assumptions.
