Book Review Finis Britanniae: A Military History of Late Roman Britain and the Saxon Conquest, by Murray Dahm

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Murray Dahm’s Finis Britanniae is an engaging exploration of one of the most dramatic turning points in British history: the collapse of Roman rule and the emergence of Anglo-Saxon Britain.

What sets this book apart is its military focus, moving beyond the familiar story of the Romans leaving and the Saxons arriving, examining warfare, fortifications, armies and the changing political landscape that shaped Britain’s transformation.

 
I particularly liked the occasional asides, which show the period as brutal as anything in ‘Game of Thrones’:

Hengist prepared an entertainment, to which he invited the king, the nobles and military officers. He ordered three hundred Saxons to conceal each a knife under his feet, and to mix with the Britons, and when they are sufficiently inebriated, he would cry out, ‘Nimeder Sexa!’ the let each draw his knife and kill his man, by which were slain three hundred nobles of Vortigern. (Save the king, held for ransom.)

Accessible and thought-provoking, Finis Britanniae is recommended to anyone interested in Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon England or early medieval warfare. It brings a fascinating but often misunderstood period to life.

Tony Riches

(I would like t thank Amberley Publishing for providing a review copy.)