Religion and Literature in Western England 600 800

Even The Venerable Bede Knew Little About The Two Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms Described In This Book. In The Sixth And Seventh Centuries The Pagan Peoples Of The Hwicce And Magonsaetan Occupied The Frontier From Stratford-Upon-Avon As Far As The Welsh Kingdoms West Of Offa''S Dyke. They Retained Their Own Kings Aristocracy And Independent Monasteries Into The Eighth Century. Using Archaeological Place-Name And Historical Sources Dr Sims-Williams Describes The Early Conversion To Christianity Of These People The Origins Of The Dioceses Of Worcester And Hereford And The Precocious Growth Of Anglo-Saxon Monasticism. Drawing On Many Neglected Documents He Reveals A Wide Range Of Continental Irish And Anglo-Saxon Influences On The Church And Shows That The Monasteries Were As Varied In Character As The Northumbrian Foundations Described By Bede.