Badon and the Early Wars for Wessex, circa 500 to 710

by David Cooper

Overview

David Cooper’s book reappraises the evidence regarding the early battles for Wessex territory. It charts the sequence of battles from the c. AD 500 siege of Badon Hill, in which the Britons defeated the first Saxon attempt to gain a foothold in Wessex territory, to Langport in 710, which consolidated King Ine's position and pushed the Britons westwards. Discussion of the post-Roman British and Germanic factions provides context and background to Badon Hill, which is then covered in detail and disentangled from Arthurian legend. In considering how the opposing commanders are likely to have planned their campaigns, enduring principles of military doctrine and tactics are discussed, using examples from other periods to illustrate how these principles applied in Dark Ages Britain. Going on to follow subsequent campaigns of the West Saxons in southern Britain, a credible assessment is made of how these resulted in the establishment of a viable Wessex kingdom, two centuries after Badon. Grounded in the latest academic and archaeological evidence, David Cooper offers a number of new insights and ideas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526733580
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	436,006
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

David Cooper OBE is a retired British Army Lieutenant Colonel with 36 years’ service. He was initially taught military history and doctrine by the Burnham lecturers at Sandhurst and later gained a Masters degree in Defense and International Affairs. In the latter part of his career David instructed young officers in doctrine and tactics and wrote related publications for the British Army. Due to an abiding interest in the period he began to study the Dark Age Wessex campaigns in detail in 2002, and this book is the result.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction ix

List of Maps and Illustrations xv

Chapter 1 The Fifth-Century Tribes of Britain 1

Chapter 2 The Hampshire Avon Frontier 33

Chapter 3 Doctrine, Organisation and Tactics 57

Chapter 4 The British in the South West 83

Chapter 5 The Badon Campaign 107

Chapter 6 The Siege of Badon Hill 133

Chapter 7 Cerdic to Ceawlin - The Early Gewisse 157

Chapter 8 The Fall of British Glastenning 183

Chapter 9 Wessex, Mercia and Dumnonia 209

Chapter 10 Conclusions 231

Endnotes 239

Bibliography 247

Index 255

Editorial Reviews

"...an entertaining and thought provoking examination of an obscure period…"

History of War