Summary of Max Adams' The King in the North

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The dark ages were not weird, but they were not normal either. They were a time of magic and miracles, of superstition and making offerings to spirits. The people who survived the age were pragmatists and keen observers of their world. #2 The first English king to be a martyr, Oswald ruled Northumbria for eight years, from 634 to 642. He was the overlord of almost all the other kingdoms in Britain, and his death was displayed on stakes at a place which came to be known as Oswald’s Tree. #3 The life of Oswald was a prime example of how the politics of the Early Medieval period were played out between competing elite families. He was the product of such rivalries. #4 Acha was the daughter of Ælle, king of the region called Deira between the rivers Humber and Tees. She was married to King Æthelfrith, and they had two sons, Oswald and Oswiu. Acha may have traveled far to the north and west with her children after Æthelfrith’s death.