The Making of England - Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900

In England, the centuries between the Christian mission led by St. Augustine to the Anglo-Saxons in 597 and the death of King Alfred in 899 produced some of the greatest works of medieval European art and learning. Over 350 outstanding artistic and cultural treasures from the period have now been gathered together for the first time in a catalogue which celebrates these extraordinary achievements and the profound transformation of Anglo-Saxon England which they reflect. Intricately illuminated manuscripts, sophisticated metalwork and sculpture, documentary materials and the developing coinage are set firmly within the changing political and intellectual currents of the time, and the close relationship between Anglo-Saxon England and the Continent is examined. This book surveys the historical and cultural background to the art of the period and provides an authoritative, fully illustrated discussion of all the works included.