Offa

Rory Naismith is professor of early medieval history at the University of Cambridge and the author of prize-winning books Money and Power in Anglo-Saxon England, The Coinage of Southern England 796–865, Citadel of the Saxons, and Making Money in the Early Middle Ages.

“Naismith has brought to life Offa’s actions, their consequences and his interactions with his peers in a way that places him and Mercia back where they belong, at the centre of English history.”—Philip Parker, Literary Review“Artfully assembled from the fragments that remain.”—Unseen Histories“In this brilliant piece of historical detective work, Rory Naismith restores Offa to his proper dimensions, revealing a hardnosed but pious ruler who changed the course of English (and indeed British) history. Authoritative and eminently readable, it will long be the standard work on the subject!”—Levi Roach, author of Empires of the Normans“Offa was the most powerful English king before the mid-tenth century, but he resists analysis. . . . Naismith shows a remarkable skill in bringing all the threads together to produce a compelling picture of how an eighth-century king in England could make himself central, to both English and European politics.”—Chris Wickham, author of Medieval Europe“A dependable biography of this most elusive of English rulers. It captures what would otherwise be only fleeting impressions of a fascinating individual.”—Christine Rauer, author of Beowulf and the Dragon