{"title":"Michael John Key","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"edward-the-elder-book-michael-john-key-9781445684772","title":"Edward the Elder","description":"Edward the Elder succeeded his father Alfred the Great to the kingdom of Wessex, but was largely overlooked by his contemporaries (at least in terms of the historical record) and to a greater or lesser extent by later historians. He is the forgotten son of Alfred. Edward deserves to be recognised for his contribution to Anglo-Saxon history and a new assessment of his reign is overdue. He proved equal to the task of cementing and extending the advances made by his father, and paved the way for the eventual unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the nation-state of England. The course of English medieval history after his death was a direct outcome of military successes during his reign.  Edward was a ruthlessly efficient military strategist and commander, a strong and stable ruler and administrator, and the most powerful figure during the early decades of the tenth century. He and his famous sister Æthelflæd constructed fortresses to guard against Viking attacks and Edward conquered the southern Danelaw. He should be acknowledged as a great Anglo-Saxon king in his own right, and is entitled to stand comparison with every English monarch in the millennium that has passed since his reign.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49504883998993,"sku":"GOR010145915","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49732494622993,"sku":"NGR9781445684772","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50811183694097,"sku":"GOR010750674","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445684772.jpg?v=1777714760"},{"product_id":"house-of-godwin-book-michael-john-key-9781445694061","title":"The House of Godwin","description":"Godwin and his family dominated English politics for almost half a century, establishing themselves as the most influential and powerful dynasty in Anglo-Saxon England. At the height of its power, it took a matter of weeks for the dynasty to fall.Earl Godwin established himself as Cnut's most senior advisor and continued that role to become even more influential during the reign of Edward the Confessor, seeing his daughter Edith become queen and his two eldest sons, Swegn and Harold, given earldoms. After Godwin's death four of his sons held earldoms, and Harold was to emerge as Edward the Confessor's senior earl and eventually become king of England.This book considers the key events throughout this period, including Godwin's emergence, the succession dispute after Cnut's death, the rise to prominence of his eldest children, the family's exile and dramatic return, the quarrel between Harold and Tostig, and the Norse and Norman invasions. Specific chapters are devoted to Godwin's involvement in the Anglo-Danish succession, the family's exiling, Harold's trip to Normandy, William of Normandy's claims to the English throne, re-assessments of the accepted Norman landing site and traditional site of the battle of Hastings, and the fate of the remaining Godwinsons post-1066.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49545374499089,"sku":"GOR012545735","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49739226317073,"sku":"NGR9781445694061","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50012461990161,"sku":"GOR012744436","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50120044380433,"sku":"GOR012710957","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50953711517969,"sku":"CIN1445694069G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51026718097681,"sku":"NIN9781445694061","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445694069.jpg?v=1765619672"},{"product_id":"edward-the-elder-book-michael-john-key-9781398112384","title":"Edward the Elder","description":"New in paperback - The first biography of Alfred the Great's son, the forgotten king who was crucial to uniting England.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49739066179857,"sku":"NGR9781398112384","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50519904289041,"sku":"GOR012971758","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51171620323601,"sku":"CIN1398112380G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53131675336977,"sku":"GOR014761837","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1398112380.jpg?v=1777715006"},{"product_id":"house-of-godwin-book-michael-john-key-9781398117273","title":"The House of Godwin","description":"Godwin and his family dominated English politics for almost half a century, establishing themselves as the most influential and powerful dynasty in Anglo-Saxon England. At the height of its power, it took a matter of weeks for the dynasty to fall.  Earl Godwin established himself as Cnut’s most senior advisor and continued that role to become even more influential during the reign of Edward the Confessor, seeing his daughter Edith become queen and his two eldest sons, Swegn and Harold, given earldoms. After Godwin’s death four of his sons held earldoms, and Harold was to emerge as Edward the Confessor’s senior earl and eventually become king of England.  This book considers the key events throughout this period, including Godwin’s emergence, the succession dispute after Cnut’s death, the rise to prominence of his eldest children, the family’s exile and dramatic return, the quarrel between Harold and Tostig, and the Norse and Norman invasions. Specific chapters are devoted to Godwin’s involvement in the Anglo-Danish succession, the family’s exiling, Harold’s trip to Normandy, William of Normandy’s claims to the English throne, reassessments of the accepted Norman landing site and traditional site of the battle of Hastings, and the fate of the remaining Godwinsons post-1066.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49745393942801,"sku":"NGR9781398117273","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50602821058833,"sku":"GOR014010932","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50853804802321,"sku":"GOR013394930","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1398117277.jpg?v=1765619895"},{"product_id":"kings-of-wessex-book-michael-john-key-9781445694122","title":"The Kings of Wessex","description":"This is a history of the kingdom of Wessex told through its regnal kings, of which there were over twenty, from its early foundations under Cerdic circa 500 to its apogee in 886 under Alfred the Great. Its roots are traced to the migration of Germanic tribes in the fifth century, with two of these tribes, the West Saxons of Hampshire and the Gewisse of the Upper Thames Valley, eventually uniting to form what would become the kingdom of Wessex.We move from the post-Roman period, where Cerdic and Cynric vied for land with Romano-British tribes across southern England, through periods of warfare and assimilation to the sixth and seventh centuries, and the succession of Ceawlin, Cynegils and Cenwealh, warrior kings who expanded Wessex westwards against the British tribes.Warfare against other Anglo-Saxon tribes saw Caedwalla briefly conquer the kingdoms in south-east England, and his successors, Ine, Cuthred and Cynewulf, saw consolidation against the backdrop of further warfare, not least against Mercia, the major power of the period. Under Ecgberht, Wessex superseded Mercia as the dominant power across England by the ninth century, the kingdom stretching from Cornwall to Kent, with his grandsons  thelred and Alfred later facing the Viking invasions wherein Wessex would be the last kingdom standing. Alfred was the last man to claim the title of King of Wessex. In 886, he re-titled himself King of the Anglo-Saxons, thus ending nearly four centuries of the regnal kings of Wessex.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51201851261201,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51201852178705,"sku":"NGR9781445694122","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52098701099281,"sku":"GOR014488760","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52696689672465,"sku":"NIN9781445694122","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445694123.jpg?v=1750857880"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-michael-john-key.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}