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The First Kingdom

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The First Kingdom

By: Max Adams
Narrated by: Kris Dyer
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About this listen

The best-selling author of The King in the North turns his attention to the obscure era of British history known as 'the age of Arthur'.

Somewhere in the dim void between the departure from Britain of the Roman legions at the start of the fifth century and the days of the venerable Bede, the kingdoms of Early Medieval Britain were formed. But by whom? And out of what?

Max Adams scrutinises the narrative handed down to us by later historians and chronicles, stripping away the most lurid nonsense about Arthur and synthesising the research of the last 40 years to tease out strands of reality from myth.

His central theme evolves from an apparently simple question: how, after the end of the Roman state, were people taxed? Rejecting ethnic and nationalist explanations for the emergence of the Early Medieval kingdoms, Adams shows how careful use of a wide range of perspectives, from anthropology to geography, can deliver a picture of the emergence of distinct polities in the sixth century that survive long enough to be embedded in the medieval landscape, recorded in the lines of river, road and watershed and in place names.

©2021 Max Adams (P)2021 W F Howes Europe Great Britain Middle Ages Royalty Imperialism
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Great book ruined by the terrible narrator. No research whatsoever into how to pronounce current Gaelic/Welsh words, let alone OE words. Disappointed.

Pronunciation

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In contrast to others on this site I did not find the performance monotonous. It was fine.

Not monotonous

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Max Adams has prepared for the reader an historical view of an era fogged with legend and wishful thinking. We are given an insight into Britain as a living entity in keeping with those times, covering many aspects of a land still living with the echoes of a long occupation.
Whereas conventionally studies are often drawn to the one character of Arthur real, possible or fictional, this work concentrates on the various tribes, their regions and cultures within the post-roman, pre-saxon era.
Naturally a work on this length and scope will tend to the academic, but is worth the investment in time and attention.

Turning to the narration. There is nothing wrong with this. The performance is delivered in a clear and steady manner, ideally suited to an academic work. Having an audio collection of some 200 works, factual and fiction, my advice is to concentrate on the subject matter and not nit-pick about delivery. Why when there is a preview, and a small number of reviews critical of the narration others then chose the book simply take offense at the narration is a mystery to me.

Comprehensive Assessment of the Arthurian Era

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Max Adams strikes a perfect balance between the academic and the accessible in The First Kingdom: Britain in the Age of Arthur. I am perennially peeved when books about Britain turn out to be clearly – in your face - books about England, written by chaps for chaps. The First Kingdom is not like that. Max Adams uses the evidence that is, not what he would have liked the evidence to be, and so, what we get is clarity and reality - brilliantly written. Just don’t expect an historical Arthur. He is in the title because every post-Roman-Britain history book has to have Arthur in the title. This detracts from a reading of the title but not from a reading of the book. The narration by Kris Dyer is precise and engaging. The First Kingdom - highly recommended. Adam Ardrey
PS One thing only – Constantine, “tyrant whelp of the filthy lioness,” was from Damnonia, Scotland, not from Dumnonia, England. The Latin says Damnonia. This was “translated”, or, rather, 'changed' to Dumnonia in the English. Arthurian Sources. vol. 7, Ed. John Morris. This sets Arthur, not in Scotland, in England. No big deal - Even Homer...

Academic and accessible... oh, and enjoyable.

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Excellent book but very robotic reader unfortunately. At times this made this interesting book difficult to listen to.

Excellent book but not an easy listen

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