Michael Kenneth Lawson

By his death in 1035, King Cnut was the most powerful monarch of Northern Europe. With his father, Swegen Forkbeard, king of Denmark, he invaded England in 1013, driving its king, Aethelred II into temporary exile in Normandy. Aethelred’s son, Edmund Ironside, took up the struggle; but the deaths of Swegen and both Aethelred and Edmund in 1016 left Cnut master of the entire kingdom. He subsequently added Denmark itself and Norway to his territories, and probably a part of Sweden too. King Cnut was able, ruthless, and more than just a successful opportunist.

England's Viking King

Cnut

Sidney Greenbaum

Randolph Quirk

A Students Grammar of the English Language draws on the most recent research, including new findings not only in grammar but also in the neighbouring fields of semantics, pragmatics and text linguistics. Discourse features are dealt with throughout, as well as being the theme of a major chapter entitled form 'sentence to text' The authors are careful to point out those features of grammar which distinguish spoken from written, formal from informal, and British form American English.

The Danes in England in the Early Eleventh Century

The events of 1066 need no introduction and many would claim that we have said all that there is to be said on the subject. Clearly they would be wrong. This thorough and detailed study, "the most detailed treatment of its subject for over a hundred years", reassesses the English and French sources that comment on the size, nature and tactics of the French and English armies and the events of the battle itself. This study breaks from the consensus of opinion in many ways and is a well-illustrated, highly readable account. 1066 remains the most evocative date in English history: King Harold was defeated by William the Conqueror, and the rule of England passed abruptly from the control of Saxon to that of Norman kings. M.K. Lawson re-writes this pivotal turning point in English history by subjecting the sources to the most detailed analysis ever undertaken. As a result, the consensus of opinion about many aspects of the battle, established in the late nineteenth century (and hardly questioned since), is shattered. Many of the facts about the battle have been deduced from the Bayeux Tapestry. M.K. Lawson takes a critical new look at this vital source subjecting it to a searching analysis. His conclusions are explosive. He advances powerful reasons for believing that the figure long accepted as being Harold hit in the eye by an arrow was originally simply one of the king's bodyguards throwing a spear. He also suggests that far more troops were involved than previously believed, operating over a significantly larger area and deploying more sophisticated tactics. - Publisher.

Michael Kenneth Lawson

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