The English (The Peoples of Europe) - Softcover

Elton, Geoffrey

  • 3.12 out of 5 stars
    32 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780631196068: The English (The Peoples of Europe)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0631196064 ISBN 13: 9780631196068
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 1994

Synopsis

A survey of the English experience through a thousand years and more, this book concentrates on the lasting characteristics of a people who early on discovered the fact of a national identity. The outstanding hallmarks of this experience were the existence of a strong central authority (in the monarchy), the provision of a system of law, and with these two the possibility of preserving individual rights and liberties in the face of a long sequence of historical vicissitudes.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Professor Sir Geoffrey Elton was fellow of Clare College, Cambridge since 1954 and between 1967 and 1983 was Professor of English Constitutional History. He was President of the Royal Historical Society between 1972 and 1976, of the Selden Society between 1983 and 1985 and of the Ecclesiastical History Society in 1983-84.

From the Back Cover

During the fifth century following the withdrawal of the Roman military establishment from England, the armed incursions of the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and others of the Barbarian tribes from across the North Sea increased, and soon became a surge. After a relatively short time the subjugation of the British was complete and England a patchwork of warring domains and isolated settlements. Yet within the space of two centuries the English (as the tribes may collectively be called) had achieved a sense of themselves that may fairly be described as nationhood. It is the evolution of this sense and of the distinctive characteristics of England and the English that gave it form and substance which Geoffrey Elton traces through twelve centuries. The result is the first one-volume history of the English nation from its origins to the present for over twenty years: it is a tour de force.

From the Inside Flap

During the fifth century following the withdrawal of the Roman military establishment from England, the armed incursions of the Angles, Saxons, Jutes and others of the Barbarian tribes from across the North Sea increased, and soon became a surge. After a relatively short time the subjugation of the British was complete and England a patchwork of warring domains and isolated settlements. Yet within the space of two centuries the English (as the tribes may collectively be called) had achieved a sense of themselves that may fairly be described as nationhood. It is the evolution of this sense and of the distinctive characteristics of England and the English that gave it form and substance which Geoffrey Elton traces through twelve centuries. The result is the first one-volume history of the English nation from its origins to the present for over twenty years: it is a tour de force.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Publication date
1994
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0631196064
ISBN 13 
9780631196068
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
263
Rating
  • 3.12 out of 5 stars
    32 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780631176817: The English (The Peoples of Europe)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0631176810 ISBN 13:  9780631176817
Publisher: Blackwell Pub, 1992
Hardcover