The First King of England - ¿helstan and the Birth of a Kingdom

From one of today’s leading historians of the early medieval period, an enthralling chronicle of -helstan, England’s founder king whose achievements of 927 rival the Norman Conquest of 1066 in shaping Britain as we know it

The First King of England is a foundational biography of -helstan (d. 939), the early medieval king whose territorial conquests and shrewd statesmanship united the peoples, languages, and cultures that would come to be known as the “kingdom of the English.” In this panoramic work, David Woodman blends masterful storytelling with the latest scholarship to paint a multifaceted portrait of this immensely important but neglected figure, a man celebrated in his day as much for his benevolence, piety, and love of learning as he was for his ambitious reign.

Set against the backdrop of warring powers in early medieval Europe, The First King of England sheds new light on -helstan’s early life, his spectacular