The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria

A stunning recreation of the life and times of Oswald of Northumbria: Christian warlord founder of Lindisfarne monastery and the first great English monarch Oswald Whiteblade lived one of the most influential and colorful lives in early English history. Before his death in battle against the pagans of Mercia cut short his reign as king of Northumbria (634-42) he remodeled his northeastern English homeland as a Christian kingdom founded the monastery of Lindisfarne introduced a culture of learning which influenced all Europe and became the most powerful ruler in Britain. Max Adamss thrilling account rescues Oswald from Dark Age obscurity to reveal an unjustly forgotten English heroa king whose return from exile to reclaim his birthright was the inspiration for J. R. R. Tolkiens Aragorn inThe Lord of the Rings. But this is more than just a biography of the first great English monarch; it is a stunningly researched wide-ranging beautifully written and revelatory portrait of early medieval England in all its aspects.