Claire Breay – författare

The Anglo-Saxon period stretches from the arrival of Germanic groups on British shores in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. During these centuries, the English language was used and written down for the first time, pagan populations were converted to Christianity, and the foundations of the kingdom of England were laid.This richly illustrated new book - which accompanies a landmark British Library exhibition - presents Anglo-Saxon England as the home of a highly sophisticated artistic and political culture, deeply connected with its continental neighbours. Leading specialists in early medieval history, literature and culture engage with the unique, original evidence from which we can piece together the story of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, examining outstanding and beautiful objects such as highlights from the Staffordshire hoard and the Sutton Hoo burial.At the heart of the book is the British Library's outstanding collection of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, the richest source of evidence about Old English language and literature, including Beowulf and other poetry; the Lindisfarne Gospels, one of Britain's greatest artistic and religious treasures; the St Cuthbert Gospel, the earliest intact European book; and historical manuscripts such as Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. These national treasures are discussed alongside other, internationally important literary and historical manuscripts held in major collections in Britain and Europe.This book, and the exhibition it accompanies, chart a fascinating and dynamic period in early medieval history, and will bring to life our understanding of these formative centuries.

'No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions ... nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.'These statements, buried deep in the text of King John's Magna Carta, lie at the root of its fame but they were not central to its original purpose. Yet the intrinsic adaptability of such clauses elevated Magna Carta to its subsequent iconic status.This book, the first in a new series, explores the roles of the protagonists involved in Magna Carta's creation in 1215 and describes the political situation in England at the time - the wars with France, the king's exploitation of the feudal system, the barons' financial grievances, abuses in the administration of justice and the king's relationship with the Church. Illustrated throughout, and with a complete text translation, the book explores the context in which Magna Carta was issued, in order to understand what it really meant to its creators and to those who have used and revered it since.

The Magna Carta is one of the most celebrated documents in English history and one of the British Library's greatest treasures. But despite this, the reinterpretations of it since 1215 have tended to obscure its real meaning for King John and his baronial opponents. Magna Carta was not intended to be a lasting declaration of legal principle, still less an embryonic code of human rights. It was a practical solution to a political crisis and it served the interests of the highest ranks of feudal society by reasserting the power of custom to limit arbitrary behaviour by the king. This work explores the context in which Magna Carta was issued to discover what it really meant to its creators and how it came to be an iconic historical document. This updated edition includes full colour illustrations.

In 2018, the British Library staged a landmark exhibition, the largest ever to deal exclusively with Anglo-Saxon England. Presenting over 180 objects, the exhibition and its book were a critical and commercial success and led the way for a cultural re-appraisal of Anglo-Saxon culture. This expanded edition of the bestselling exhibition book includes new retrospective material on the influence of this exhibition and subsequent discoveries in the field.The Anglo-Saxon period stretches from the arrival of Germanic groups on British shores in the early 5th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. During these centuries, the English language was used and written down for the first time, pagan populations were converted to Christianity, and the foundations of the kingdom of England were laid.This richly illustrated book presents Anglo-Saxon England as the home of a sophisticated artistic and political culture, deeply connected with its continental neighbours. Leading specialists in early medieval history, literature and culture engage with the unique, original evidence from which we can piece together the story of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

15c cartulary of Benedictine nunnery illuminates relationship with Ely, estate management, and life of women religious.Takes its place as perhaps the finest available study of a house for women religious. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW The fifteenth-century cartulary of the Benedictine nunnery of Chatteris Abbey in Cambridgeshire (founded in the early eleventh century) has important implications for the study of women religious, especially in the light of the small number of surviving cartularies from English nunneries, yet until now it has received little attention, perhaps due to its damage in the Cotton Library fire of 1731. This critical edition of the manuscript, which contains documents copied into it from the mid-twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, offers a full transcription, together with historical notes and apparatus. The introduction draws on the cartulary itself, as well as manorial and episcopal records, to analyse the nunnery's relationship with its patron, the bishop of Ely, and the development and management of its estates; it also examines the location and layout of the abbey, the social and geographical origins of the nuns, and the production and organisation of the cartulary. The edition is accompanied by an annotated listof all known abbesses, prioresses and nuns.CLAIRE BREAYgained her Ph.D. at the Institute for Historical Research at the University of London; she is currently a curator of medieval manuscripts at the British Library.