Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/125

Hodgkin : England to the N'ornian Conquest 1 1 5 In the first pages the author goes back to the earhest appearance of man in Britain and describes conditions as they were before the coming of Caesar; but as neither the Stone-worker nor his successor the Celt left any records of much value to " political history " this discussion is necessarily brief. On the other hand, the story of the Roman conquest and occupation is told with a great variety of details in seventy pages out of a total of less than five hundred. Next follows an interesting discussion of the sources dealing with the Anglo-Saxon invasion, with the usual meagre results. An effort is ma de to tell the whole te dious story of theJiTtermixiablp quarrels thal_roakejip the^first four centuries of Old English history, but when the author reaches the eighth century he wisely refrains from continuing the detailed account. In these chapters the emphasis is placed on the activities of the Church, not so much as a civilizing force, but as a power that made for national unity. When we come to the accession of Egbert we are surprised to find that the work is already more than half finished. The remainder of the book gives a large place to that other and greater unifying force, the Norse migration. Of the many problems that the student meets in this period. Dr. Hodgkin attempts to solve but a very few. He believes that Caesar landed at Deal rather than at some port west of Dover (p. 24). - out attempting to fix the date when the Anglo-Saxon conquest began, he is inclined to believe that the first effort to conquer and settle was made in 441; the earlier expeditions were mere piratical raids (p. 106). He discredits the story that the Germans were called in to help fight the northern tribes, and attributes the migration to the fear of Attila (p. 109). The British patriot Arthur was in all probability merely a Ro- mano-British general, as native kingdoms could hardly have sprung up so soon after the Roman occupation (p. 107). Dr. Hodgkin does not agree with Professor Freeman that the native population was to any great extent exterminated ; on the contrary he is prepared to " accept and glory in the term Anglo-Celt rather than Anglo-Saxon, as the fitting designation of our race" (p. in). Recent English writers, notably Sir James Ramsay, have begun to see that the overlordship of Egbert was a relatively unimportant matter, as we have no evidence that it was exercised or even claimed by his immediate successors. This view is accepted and stated quite forcibly in the present work. The author holds, it seems, the apparently correct view that the founder of England was Alfred the Great. The old statement that the treaty of Wedmore made Watling Street a boundary line is again refuted. Dr. Hodgkin also appears to see that in Alfred and Guthrum's frith the boundary (as Dr. Steenstrup pointed out some years ago) is drawn to, not along Watling Street (p. 287). He believes, how- ever, that this Street " practically " became the boundary of the Danelaw. A fairly successful attempt is made to show how extensively English territory was actually occupied by Danish settlers, the author's con-