Max Adams (1) (1961–)
Author of The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria
For other authors named Max Adams, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Max Adams is also the author of The Viking Wars, available from Pegasus Books. A university professor, Max lives in the northeast of England.
Works by Max Adams
Unquiet Women: From the Dusk of the Roman Empire to the Dawn of the Enlightenment (2018) 55 copies, 2 reviews
The Mercian Chronicles: King Offa and the Birth of the Anglo-Saxon State, AD 630–918 (Bloomsbury Publishing) (2025) 32 copies
Associated Works
The Public Domain Review: Selected Essays, The First Three Years, 2011-2013 (2014) — Contributor — 33 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1961
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of York
- Occupations
- archaeologist
TV presenter
woodsman
author - Short biography
- Max Adams was born in London in 1961. In a varied career as an archaeologist, woodsman and broadcaster he has explored themes of landscape, knowledge and human connectedness with the earth. His first major work Admiral Collingwood: Nelson’s own hero was published in 2005. His group biography of the maverick artist John Martin and his circle The Prometheans was published in 2010 by Quercus and was a Guardian book of the week.
He has published many articles in both popular magazines and academic journals and written and presented a number of documentaries. His latest biography The King in the North is published by Head of Zeus and was Tom Holland’s book of the year in History Today. His latest book is The Wisdom of Trees, and Max is now working on a series of Dark Age journeys.
A Consultant Fellow for the RLF, he specialises in working with sportspeople and athletes to develop their writing skills and sits on the RLF’s higher education panel. He has lived and worked in North-east England since 1993.
http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowships/max... - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
A very readable but detailed introduction to the end of Roman rule of Britannia in the fourth century and what might have happened thereafter before the Anglo-Saxons came to dominate the majority of England in the seventh century. Adams brings together recent research and archaeological evidence to create a collage presenting possibilities of the process by which England moved from Roman villas to Anglo-Saxon settlements (there is not really much about Scotland and Wales).
Although I have show more read some books about this period in Britain’s history in the past, this book was excellent at trying to synthesise recent research, providing the author’s educated assessment of likely events where necessary, with suitable caveats for the reader to understand the judgements being made.
Although the subtitle of the book refers to the age of Arthur, the author does not spend much time considering whether Arthur might have been an historical figure, or just legendary, as there is very little contemporary written evidence to substantiate the name of a particular individual. Indeed the author spends some time explaining how, because of the non-existence or loss of written records, we have little evidence of the names of many individuals from this period, and interestingly there is one kingdom, Rheged, where we are not sure of its exact location, other than it is west of the kingdom of Northumbria.
Adams also provides plenty of fascinating detail and explanation, for example, I had not appreciated that kings moved around their kingdoms as the right to a share of an area’s surplus output needed to be consumed locally, if a monetary economy didn’t really exist after the withdrawal of Roman rule from Britain in about 410 BCE. I didn’t find that these minor digressions interrupted the overall narrative flow.
For those unfamiliar with British geography, which is complicated by currently small towns and villages being significant sites in this time period, there are some useful maps, although they don’t detail all of the locations discussed.
An excellent overview of the period provided that you have some familiarity with the subject or patience to identify places, otherwise you may become lost amongst the many names and locations used to build up Adams’ convincing collage of England’s development over the centuries discussed. show less
Although I have show more read some books about this period in Britain’s history in the past, this book was excellent at trying to synthesise recent research, providing the author’s educated assessment of likely events where necessary, with suitable caveats for the reader to understand the judgements being made.
Although the subtitle of the book refers to the age of Arthur, the author does not spend much time considering whether Arthur might have been an historical figure, or just legendary, as there is very little contemporary written evidence to substantiate the name of a particular individual. Indeed the author spends some time explaining how, because of the non-existence or loss of written records, we have little evidence of the names of many individuals from this period, and interestingly there is one kingdom, Rheged, where we are not sure of its exact location, other than it is west of the kingdom of Northumbria.
Adams also provides plenty of fascinating detail and explanation, for example, I had not appreciated that kings moved around their kingdoms as the right to a share of an area’s surplus output needed to be consumed locally, if a monetary economy didn’t really exist after the withdrawal of Roman rule from Britain in about 410 BCE. I didn’t find that these minor digressions interrupted the overall narrative flow.
For those unfamiliar with British geography, which is complicated by currently small towns and villages being significant sites in this time period, there are some useful maps, although they don’t detail all of the locations discussed.
An excellent overview of the period provided that you have some familiarity with the subject or patience to identify places, otherwise you may become lost amongst the many names and locations used to build up Adams’ convincing collage of England’s development over the centuries discussed. show less
A delightful book, taking us through the history and scope of the ways human cultures have used and continue to use wood since earliest times. Adams is a professional archaeologist and a woodsman by conviction, who clearly has hands-on experience of a lot of the technologies he is talking about, and does a very good job of talking about how they were developed and what they might have meant to the people working with them.
After a fairly detailed run-through of the ways stone, bronze and show more iron tools were developed by ancient people largely to work with wood, and some discussion of how they would have worked in practice, Adams then looks at the ways we have used wood to construct buildings, in vehicles to provide transport over land and water, to build mills and industrial machinery, in complex cultural contexts like theatre (Shakespeare’s ”wooden O”), religion, music, etc., and in the most simple an basic ways to make furniture, boxes and barrels. And much else. Fun, fascinating and thought-provoking. show less
After a fairly detailed run-through of the ways stone, bronze and show more iron tools were developed by ancient people largely to work with wood, and some discussion of how they would have worked in practice, Adams then looks at the ways we have used wood to construct buildings, in vehicles to provide transport over land and water, to build mills and industrial machinery, in complex cultural contexts like theatre (Shakespeare’s ”wooden O”), religion, music, etc., and in the most simple an basic ways to make furniture, boxes and barrels. And much else. Fun, fascinating and thought-provoking. show less
This is a superb history. It offers the nearest we will ever get to a biography of a very early medieval king who was not only the central character of the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of England, but also Tolkien's inspiration for Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. But it goes much wider than that, and gives a good feel for the fabric of the social order at a very transitional time, the seventh century, when kings such as Oswald of Northumbria were the first leaders to be what one show more might term heads of a state that could outlive that king, as opposed to warrior leaders whose rule collapsed after their deaths. It was also very much a transitional time in religious terms, with not only battles between Christianity and paganism, but also between the Celtic Christian tradition, introduced by St Columba in Scotland in the 560s, and the Roman Christian tradition introduced slightly later by St Augustine in Kent in 597. The decision of the Synod of Whitby in 664 to go with the Roman variety shaped the future of religion in England and is a date that should probably be much better known than it is. The author also brings into play archaeology and an exploration of features of the Medieval mindset that are hardest for us in the twenty first century to understand, the veneration of saints' remains and the belief that miracles and magic are perfectly valid and unremarkable elements of a narrative of events. Great stuff, supplemented by genealogies, chronologies and pictures. show less
’Emerging from these themes is a conviction that history is polyphonic - that it must be told by many voices; that the ear must be tuned, and tuned finely, to the individual and the collective at one and the same time.’’
It is not a secret that historians have done no justice to the notion of equality in their chronicles. There are so many men of less than average deeds and yet, most of us know their names. And there have been so many women worthy of recognition throughout the course of show more mankind that no one knows about. Sometimes they are mothers, wives, mistresses. Always referred to in connection with a male figure. In this lovely effort, Max Adams attempts to shed some light on a number of fascinating women whose lives were much more eventful than their contemporary men, even though they were eventually eclipsed and silenced.
Starting well before the Dark Aged and ending at the end of the 17th century, across continents and civilizations, we meet women whose offer to History was crucial on a number of fields. Science, Religion, Literature, Art. Fields honoured by extraordinary women whose voice was smothered on purpose. Obviously. Pilgrims whose faith gave them the strength to fight against enormous adversities. Hypatia of Alexandria who was crushed by an uneducated mob. St Brigid of Kildare, one of the most unique religious Celtic figures. Empress Wu Zhao who was feisty and sassy and made room for no man. Queen Aethelflaed of Mercia, Anna Comnena. Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, völvas, and Viking warrior women. Christina of Markyate, the enigmatic woman of the tapestry of Bayeux. Heloise and her legendary relationship with Abelard. The alluring, educated graces of the Chambres des Dames. Malintzin and Ana De La Calle. Artemisia Gentileschi, Celia Fiennes and many more. Women as peacemakers, helpers, seeresses, warriors, scholars, queens, lawmakers. Women devoted to God, women devoted to their own free will. Women who deserve a prominent place in History.
Adams’s writing is fresh, informative, educated but not didactic. I assure you won’t feel as if you’re reading a boring textbook. He approaches each woman with utmost respect. Even when some of them were actually misbehaving girls, he writes about their dubious deeds in a way that is engaging, approachable and entertaining. I only have two complaints. The first is the inclusion of Hestia, the Greek goddess of Hearth, who obviously never existed. I still can't understand why she was given a chapter, The second gripe is the shortage of illustrations included. Portraits, sketches, maps, tapestries, photos. Anything that would give the reader a more concrete sense of each era and country. Since my copy was an ARC I hope this omission has been taken care of in the final edition.
Don’t hesitate. If you love History, biographies and the gloriously fascinating lives of women who were forgotten and silenced by the envy and incompetence of their contemporaries, you’ll hate to miss the book…
‘’You insult me still further because I am a woman, which according to you makes me fickle, mad and pretentious, for daring to correct and reprimand such a reputable scholar as you claim this author to be.’’
Many thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less
It is not a secret that historians have done no justice to the notion of equality in their chronicles. There are so many men of less than average deeds and yet, most of us know their names. And there have been so many women worthy of recognition throughout the course of show more mankind that no one knows about. Sometimes they are mothers, wives, mistresses. Always referred to in connection with a male figure. In this lovely effort, Max Adams attempts to shed some light on a number of fascinating women whose lives were much more eventful than their contemporary men, even though they were eventually eclipsed and silenced.
Starting well before the Dark Aged and ending at the end of the 17th century, across continents and civilizations, we meet women whose offer to History was crucial on a number of fields. Science, Religion, Literature, Art. Fields honoured by extraordinary women whose voice was smothered on purpose. Obviously. Pilgrims whose faith gave them the strength to fight against enormous adversities. Hypatia of Alexandria who was crushed by an uneducated mob. St Brigid of Kildare, one of the most unique religious Celtic figures. Empress Wu Zhao who was feisty and sassy and made room for no man. Queen Aethelflaed of Mercia, Anna Comnena. Guðríður Þorbjarnardóttir, völvas, and Viking warrior women. Christina of Markyate, the enigmatic woman of the tapestry of Bayeux. Heloise and her legendary relationship with Abelard. The alluring, educated graces of the Chambres des Dames. Malintzin and Ana De La Calle. Artemisia Gentileschi, Celia Fiennes and many more. Women as peacemakers, helpers, seeresses, warriors, scholars, queens, lawmakers. Women devoted to God, women devoted to their own free will. Women who deserve a prominent place in History.
Adams’s writing is fresh, informative, educated but not didactic. I assure you won’t feel as if you’re reading a boring textbook. He approaches each woman with utmost respect. Even when some of them were actually misbehaving girls, he writes about their dubious deeds in a way that is engaging, approachable and entertaining. I only have two complaints. The first is the inclusion of Hestia, the Greek goddess of Hearth, who obviously never existed. I still can't understand why she was given a chapter, The second gripe is the shortage of illustrations included. Portraits, sketches, maps, tapestries, photos. Anything that would give the reader a more concrete sense of each era and country. Since my copy was an ARC I hope this omission has been taken care of in the final edition.
Don’t hesitate. If you love History, biographies and the gloriously fascinating lives of women who were forgotten and silenced by the envy and incompetence of their contemporaries, you’ll hate to miss the book…
‘’You insult me still further because I am a woman, which according to you makes me fickle, mad and pretentious, for daring to correct and reprimand such a reputable scholar as you claim this author to be.’’
Many thanks to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less
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- 14
- Also by
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- 1,352
- Popularity
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- Rating
- 3.9
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- 29
- ISBNs
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