In this major survey, three distinguished historians produce an exciting introduction to the field.
Although the "Lost Centuries" between AD400 and 600 suffer from a scarcity of written sources, and only two writers, King Alfred and the Venerable Bede, dominate our understanding of later times, the authors have created a rich and thought-provoking account of the stormy era when Britain became Christian and sustained several waves of Viking invaders. A single nation, they suggest, slowly emerged from the rivalries and fluctuating fortunes of separate kingdoms like Mercia, Wessex and East Anglia. Major figures such as Offa, Alfred, Edgar and Cnut are discussed in detail, while the stunning illustrations convey the immense achievements of Anglo-Saxon centuries were 'simply a barbarous prelude to better things'.
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (August 6, 1991)
Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford History of England)
Discussing the development of English society, from the growth of royal power to the establishment of feudalism after the Norman Conquest, this book focuses on the emergence of the earliest English kingdoms and the Anglo-Norman monarchy in 1087. It also describes the chief phases in the history of the Anglo-Saxon church, drawing on many diverse examples; the result is a fascinating insight into this period of English history.
Paperback: 812 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 3 edition (September 20, 2001)
The Anglo-Saxon period, stretching from the fifth to the late eleventh century, begins with the Roman retreat from the Western world and ends with the Norman takeover of England. Between these epochal events, many of the contours and patterns of English life that would endure for the next millennium were shaped. In this authoritative work, N. J. Higham and M. J. Ryan reexamine Anglo-Saxon England in the light of new research in disciplines as wide ranging as historical genetics, paleobotany, archaeology, literary studies, art history, and numismatics. The result is the definitive introduction to the Anglo-Saxon world, enhanced with a rich array of photographs, maps, genealogies, and other illustrations.
The Anglo-Saxon period witnessed the birth of the English people, the establishment of Christianity, and the development of the English language. With an extraordinary cast of characters (Alfred the Great, the Venerable Bede, King Cnut), a long list of artistic and cultural achievements (Beowulf, the Sutton Hoo ship-burial finds, the Bayeux Tapestry), and multiple dramatic events (the Viking invasions, the Battle of Hastings), the Anglo-Saxon era lays legitimate claim to having been one of the most important in Western history.
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press; Reprint edition (October 27, 2015)
Love
Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. (p. 2018) “Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world.” (p. 2047) “Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.” (p. 2047) The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows. (p. 1289) The secret of a better civilization is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust. (p. 2065)
Prayer
Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth in the very face of conflict. (p. 1002) The sincerity of any prayer is the assurance of its being heard. … (p. 1639) God answers man’s prayer by giving him an increased revelation of truth, an enhanced appreciation of beauty, and an augmented concept of goodness. (p. 1002) …Never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment. (p. 999)
Suffering
There is a great and glorious purpose in the march of the universes through space. All of your mortal struggling is not in vain. (p. 364) Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (p. 556)
Angels
The angels of all orders are distinct personalities and are highly individualized. (p. 285) Angels....are fully cognizant of your moral struggles and spiritual difficulties. They love human beings, and only good can result from your efforts to understand and love them. (p. 419)
Our Divine Destiny
If you are a willing learner, if you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights, if you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal, then the divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress. (p. 381) …They who know that God is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him—immortal. (p. 1449) God is not only the determiner of destiny; he is man’s eternal destination. (p. 67)
Family
Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. (p. 765) The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement. ... (p. 939)
Faith
…Faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. (p. 1766) “Now, mistake not, my Father will ever respond to the faintest flicker of faith.” (p. 1733)
History/Science
The story of man’s ascent from seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation is indeed a romance of biologic struggle and mind survival. (p. 731) 2,500,000,000 years ago… Urantia was a well developed sphere about one tenth its present mass. … (p. 658) 1,000,000,000 years ago is the date of the actual beginning of Urantia [Earth] history. (p. 660) 450,000,000 years ago the transition from vegetable to animal life occurred. (p. 669) From the year A.D. 1934 back to the birth of the first two human beings is just 993,419 years. (p. 707) About five hundred thousand years ago…there were almost one-half billion primitive human beings on earth. … (p. 741) Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. (p. 828)
From the Inside Flap
What’s Inside?
Parts I and II
God, the inhabited universes, life after death, angels and other beings, the war in heaven.
Part III
The history of the world, science and evolution, Adam and Eve, development of civilization, marriage and family, personal spiritual growth.
Part IV
The life and teachings of Jesus including the missing years. AND MUCH MORE…
Excerpts
God, …God is the source and destiny of all that is good and beautiful and true. (p. 1431) If you truly want to find God, that desire is in itself evidence that you have already found him. (p. 1440) When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen. (p. 1467)
The Origin of Human Life, The universe is not an accident... (p. 53) The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. (p. 21) The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin…Urantia [Earth] is your starting point. … (p. 1225) In God, man lives, moves, and has his being. (p. 22)
The Purpose of Life, There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. (p. 365) This new gospel of the kingdom… presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (p. 1778)
Jesus, The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. (p. 1091) What an awakening the world would experience if it could only see Jesus as he really lived on earth and know, firsthand, his life-giving teachings! (p. 2083)
Science, Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator. (p. 909) Mortal man is not an evolutionary accident. There is a precise system, a universal law, which determines the unfolding of the planetary life plan on the spheres of space. (p. 560)
Life after Death, God’s love is universal… He is “not willing that any should perish.” (p. 39) Your short sojourn on Urantia [Earth]…is only a single link, the very first in the long chain that is to stretch across universes and through the eternal ages. (p. 435) …Death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery. (p. 159)
About the Author
The text of The Urantia Book was provided by one or more anonymous contributors working with a small staff which provided editorial and administrative support during the book's creation. The book bears no particular credentials (from a human viewpoint), relying instead on the power and beauty of the writing itself to persuade the reader of its authenticity.
Leather Bound: 2097 pages
Publisher: Urantia Foundation; Box Lea edition (August 25, 2015)
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Old English Books)
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the great history authored by King Alfred the Great, is published here complete with a scholarly introduction by James Ingram.
One of the most famous works of history ever written about Saxon times, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a group of chronologically arranged annals of the major events throughout the history of the Anglo-Saxon peoples. The original manuscripts survived in parts, which are complexly interrelated, with some updated during the early Middle Ages to record historical events that following the death of King Alfred. This edition is an amalgamation of several surviving manuscripts, with the final record concluding in 1154.
There is some confirmed bias in the text regarding events which were politically contentious at the time. However, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a work of gargantuan and undisputed importance and thoroughness. It excels at providing historians and readers alike a portrait of England through the years between the departure of the Roman Army and the Norman conquest of the country, and has proven good grounding for further historical investigations of the era.
The work is originally thought to have been commissioned by King Alfred in around 890 as part of the monarch's overall enthusiasm for education and the need for historical records. It is likely that the King reviewed aspects of the text, although historians generally agree that most of the writing itself was likely accomplished by a scribe of the royal court.
The translation from Old English to Modern English is by two men; the Reverend James Ingram, and Dr. J. A. Giles. Both boast a great experience with the early forms of the English language, and their interpretation of King Alfred's history remains one of the most respected ever published.
Paperback: 170 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 23, 2016)
Anglo-Saxon Britain (Classic Reprint)
Excerpt from Anglo-Saxon Britain
This little book is an attempt to give a brief sketch of Britain under the early English conquerors, rather from the social than from the political point of View. For that purpose not much has been said about the doings of kings and statesmen; but attention has been mainly directed towards the less obvious evi dence afforded us by existing monuments as to the life and mode of thought of the people themselves. The principal object throughout has been to estimate the importance of those elements in modern British life which are chiefly due to purely English or Low Dutch influences.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Paperback: 262 pages
Publisher: Forgotten Books (April 23, 2017)
Anglo-Saxon Britain: History Anglo-Saxon period, 449-1066
Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (February 24, 1848 – October 25, 1899) was a Canadian science writer and novelist, and a proponent of the theory of evolution.Allen was born near Kingston, Canada West (known as Ontario after Confederation) - the second son of Catharine Ann Grant and the Rev. Joseph Antisell Allen, a Protestant minister from Dublin, Ireland. His mother was a daughter of the fifth Baron of Longueuil. He was educated at home until, at age 13, he and his parents moved to the United States, then to France and finally to the United Kingdom. He was educated at King Edward's School in Birmingham and at Merton College in Oxford, both in the United Kingdom. After graduation, Allen studied in France, taught at Brighton College in 1870–71 and in his mid-twenties became a professor at Queen's College, a black college in Jamaica. Despite [citation needed] his religious father, Allen became an agnostic and a socialist. After leaving his professorship, in 1876 he returned to England, where he turned his talents to writing, gaining a reputation for his essays on science and for literary works. A 2007 book by Oliver Sacks cites with approval one of Allen's early articles, 'Note-Deafness' (a description of what became known as amusia, published in 1878 in the learned journal Mind). His first books dealt with scientific subjects, and include Physiological esthetics (1877) and Flowers and Their Pedigrees (1886). He was first influenced by associationist psychology as expounded by Alexander Bain and by Herbert Spencer, the latter often considered[by whom?] the most important individual in the transition from associationist psychology to Darwinian functionalism. In Allen's many articles on flowers and on perception in insects, Darwinian arguments replaced the old Spencerian terms, leading to a radically new vision of plant life that influenced HG Wells and helped transform later botanical research. On a personal level, a long friendship that started when Allen met Spencer on his return from Jamaica grew uneasy over the years. Allen wrote a critical and revealing biographical article on Spencer that was published after Spencer's death.After assisting Sir W. W. Hunter in his Gazeteer of India in the early 1880s, Allen turned his attention to fiction, and between 1884 and 1899 produced about 30 novels. In 1895, his scandalous book titled The Woman Who Did, promulgating certain startling views on marriage and kindred questions, became a bestseller. The book told the story of an independent woman who has a child out of wedlock.In his career, Allen wrote two novels under female pseudonyms. One of these, the short novel The Type-writer Girl, he wrote under the name Olive Pratt Rayner. Another work, The Evolution of the Idea of God (1897), propounding a theory of religion on heterodox[citation needed] lines, has the disadvantage[original research?] of endeavoring to explain everything by one theory. This "ghost theory" was often seen[by whom?] as a derivative of Herbert Spencer's theory. However, it was well known and brief references to it appear in a review by Marcel Mauss, Durkheim's nephew, in the articles of William James and in the works of Sigmund Freud. The young G. K. Chesterton wrote on what he considered the flawed premise of the idea, arguing that the idea of God preceded human mythologies, rather than developing from them. Chesterton said of Grant Allen's book on the evolution of the idea of God "it would be much more interesting if God wrote a book on the evolution of the idea of Grant Allen".
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 3, 2016)
The first installment of Bernard Cornwell's New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, "like Game of Thrones, but real" (The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit Netflix series.
In the middle years of the ninth century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king.
From New York Times bestselling storyteller Bernard Cornwell comes a rousing epic adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love, and battle as seen through the eyes of a young warrior who straddled two worlds.
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; Repack edition (January 3, 2006)
'Uhtred the Bold'
The Real Uhtred of Bebbanburgh
From cavaecoronam.wordpress.com
'Uhtred the Bold'
The Real Uhtred of Bebbanburgh
The BBC's historical drama The Last Kingdom has just begun its long awaited second series. The first series aired in 2015 and quickly gained a large fan following, including myself. Based on the Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell, the series takes place in 9th century Britain, a land divided, and dominated by the Danes. The main protagonist, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, is partly based on a real Anglo Saxon man, Uchtred or Uhtred the Bold.
Vicious Vikings
In the fifth century, Britain was divided by loosely defined borders, the communities ruled by chieftains or kings. After the Romans left for good in 408 AD, the Britons faced wave after wave of invaders, the Anglo-Saxons being among them. After failed invasion attempts during the 4th century, they succeeded and settled in around 450 AD. Britain was then split into regions, known as The Heptarchy, from the Greek hepta for seven, and arkho, 'to rule'. The first mention of these kingdoms comes from a 12th century manuscript, Historia Anglorum. These regions were Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Northumbria and Wessex, each with their own King. The Vikings first invaded in 793 AD.
By the 9th century, eviscerated by the Danes, only Wessex remained solely under Saxon rule when the story takes place, led by King Aethelred (865–871). His brother Alfred, however, is the main focus. A pious Christian, and his brother's heir, he is intent on uniting the country; one England, worshipping one God, under one king. He became king of Wessex in 871 on the death of King Aethelred, and would later become known as Alfred 'the Great'. His brother Aethelred had left two young sons, Aethelhelm and Aethelwold. However, the brothers had agreed that whoever outlived the other would inherit the property that King Aethelwulf, their father, had left them both in his will, and thus the throne (this agreement is not mentioned in the episode). By translating the works of Bede, Alfred would begin to create a country that knew its history, and which was governed by unified laws and justice for the first time since the Romans departed. But it would not be him, but his grandson, that would be crowned the first king of England.
Fact and fiction
In the series, ten year old Uhtred Uhtredson, born Osbert, becomes ealdorman (the equivalent of an earl) of Bebbanburg in the kingdom Northumbria after losing his elder brother and soon after, his father, in the struggle against the Danes. During the battle that killed his father, young Uhtred is kidnapped and taken as a slave by Ragnar 'the fearless', a Danish warlord. Admiring his fighting spirit, Ragnar refuses Aelfric, Uhtred's uncle, in his attempt to buy him back, and raises him as his own, as a Dane. Uhtred embraces their lifestyle and beliefs, casting aside his Christian upbringing.
His namesake, Uhtred 'the Bold' of Northumbria, was the ealdorman of Banburg, what we now know as Bamburgh, from 1006 till his death in 1016. Uhtred's birth date is unclear; various sources claim 971, or 989. He is recorded as helping to move the remains of St Cuthbert in the year 995, which would make 971 seem the most likely, putting his age at the time at 24. He was born to Waltheof of Bamburgh, the son of Osulf I, the first recorded high-reeve (believed to be a deputy to an ealdorman) of Bamburgh. His is a Scandinavian name, which suggests Viking heritage. His mother appears to be unknown. At this point, Ethelred II 'the Unready' (978–1016) was king of England.
Little is known of Uhtred's earlier years. As aforementioned, he is recorded by Symeon of Durham, a chronicler and monk at Durham Priory, in his Historia Eccleiae Dunelmensis as helping the monks move relics from Chester-le-Street to Durham in 995, and clearing a site for the cathedral. One Bishop Aldhun founded the cathedral, and Uhtred would marry his daughter, Ecgfrida around this time. In doing so he inherited a portion of church lands in Durham. He and Ecgfrida would have two children together, Eldred and Eawulf. In 1006, Durham was taken under siege by Malcolm II of Scotland. Uhtred's ageing father left the defence to him. Uhtred rallied men from all over Bernicia (Northern Northumbria, consisting of Northumberland and Durham, also Berwickshire and East Lothian, now belonging to Scotland) and Yorkshire. It was a heavy defeat for the Scots, their severed heads displayed on Durham's walls. Malcolm however lived. As a reward for his actions, Uhtred was appointed ealdorman of Northumbria by King Ethelred in 1007, while his father still lived. Aelfhelm of York, who had taken no action during the siege, was murdered on the king's orders. Uhtred then succeed Aelfhelm as ealdorman of York, uniting northern and southern Northumbria.
In 1016, Uhtred faced King Malcolm once more. The Scottish king allied himself with Owain the Bald, King of Strathclyde. Together they razed much of Northumbria to the ground, and faced Uhtred's local force at the Battle of Carham, which took place south of the River Tweed. Symeon of Durham describes the battle:
"In the year of our Lord's incarnation ten hundred and eighteen, while Cnut ruled the kingdom of the Angles, a comet appeared for thirty nights to the people of Northumbria, a terrible presage of the calamity by which that province was about to be desolated. For, shortly afterwards, nearly the whole population, from the river Tees to the Tweed, and their borders, were cut off in a conflict in which they were engaged with a countless multitude of Scots at Carrun."
It was Uhtred's forces this time who suffered heavy losses. By this point, parts of north Northumbria had been reclaimed by the Scots. The date of the battle is disputed, between 1016 and 1018. Uhtred however, is believed to have been murdered in 1016, but it is also claimed that he was killed in the battle. Bishop Aldhun, his father in law, is said to have died of grief after hearing of his death. This seems slightly odd, considering that in 1007 Uhtred dismissed his first wife Ecgfrida after roughly 12 years of marriage, in order to marry Sige, the daughter of Styr, a rich York citizen. In doing so he consolidated his place as ealdorman of York, and fathered a further two sons, Eadulf and Gospatric. All did not go to plan however, as the marriage did not sit well with Styr's enemy, Thurbrand the Hold. This leads us onto Uhtred's supposed murder. When Sweyn Forkbeard landed his army in 1013, many of the nobles, disillusioned with Ethelred, submitted to him, Uhtred included. Sweyn was declared King of England, but his reign was short. After he died in 1014, Elthelred returned. In a bid to win back Uhtred's support, he offered his daughter Aelfgifu to Uhtred as his bride. He accepted, divorcing Sige. Women of the era were often seen as 'peace weavers', and marriages such as Uhtred's were common. When in 1015, Sweyn's son Cnut made a claim to the throne, Uhtred of course sided with his brother in law, Ethelred's son Edmund Ironside. But Cnut had allied with Thurbrand. Cnut's forces were too large, and Uhtred was forced to submit to him as king. He attempted to negotiate his position, and was summoned to a meeting with the new King Cnut. On his way, he and 40 of his men were murdered by Thurbrand, with Cnut's consent. Uhtred's brother, Eadwulf, inherited Bamburgh, but Cnut created Norwegian Eric of Hlathir, his brother in law and ally, ealdorman of southern Northumbria. North and south, united under Uhtred, were now separate again. Uhtred's murder triggered a blood feud, and Uhtred's son Ealdred would eventually avenge his father by killing Thurbrand, only to later be murdered by Thurbrand's son Carl. Years later, in 1070 Ealdred's grandson would avenge him by having Carl's sons and grandsons killed.
Uhtred's sons would continue to rule Bernicia; Ealdred until his murder in 1038, and Eadwulf until his death in 1041. It then passed to his son, Osulf, until 1067, when he was killed. Uhtred's third marriage produced a daughter, Ealdgyth,(Edith) who married Maldred, the brother of Duncan I of Scotland. Their son, Gospatric, was Earl of Northumbria from 1068 to 1072. (Another possibility is that Gospatric was Uhtred's youngest son, born to his second wife Sige. A third possibility is that he was a grandson of Ecgfrida, through her second marriage). With battles, changing political alliances and murder, the life of Uhtred the Bold was just as dramatic as that of his fictional counterpart.
Sources
http://cybergata.com/roots/1660.htm
Birth of England: The Wessex Kings
A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain: England, Scotland and Wales, C.500-c. 1050, Ann Williams, Alfred P. Smyth, D.P Kirby, 2014
Battle Trails of Northumbria, Clive Kristen, 2004
Bloodfeud: Murder And Revenge In Anglo Saxon England, Richard Fletcher, 2004
The Anglo Saxon Chronicles, translated by Rev. James Ingram, 1823.
Horrible Histories: Vicious Vikings, Terry Deary.
History of Britain by Simon Schama, documentary.
Disclaimer:
Some material presented will contain links, quotes, ideologies, etc., the contents of which should be understood to first, in their whole, reflect the views or opinions of their editors, and second, are used in my personal research as "fair use" sources only, and not espousement one way or the other. Researching for 'truth' leads one all over the place...a piece here, a piece there. As a researcher, I hunt, gather and disassemble resources, trying to put all the pieces into a coherent and logical whole. I encourage you to do the same. And please remember, these pages are only my effort to collect all the pieces I can find and see if they properly fit into the 'reality aggregate'.
Personal Position:
I've come to realize that 'truth' boils down to what we 'believe' the facts we've gathered point to. We only 'know' what we've 'experienced' firsthand. Everything else - what we read, what we watch, what we hear - is what someone else's gathered facts point to and 'they' 'believe' is 'truth', so that 'truth' seems to change in direct proportion to newly gathered facts divided by applied plausibility. Though I believe there is 'truth', until someone representing the celestial realm visibly appears and presents the heavenly records of Facts And Lies In The Order They Happened, I can't know for sure exactly what "the whole truth' on any given subject is, and what applies to me applies to everyone. Until then I'll continue to ask, "what does The Urantia Book say on the subject?"
~Gail Bird Allen
In this major survey, three distinguished historians produce an exciting introduction to the field.
Although the "Lost Centuries" between AD400 and 600 suffer from a scarcity of written sources, and only two writers, King Alfred and the Venerable Bede, dominate our understanding of later times, the authors have created a rich and thought-provoking account of the stormy era when Britain became Christian and sustained several waves of Viking invaders. A single nation, they suggest, slowly emerged from the rivalries and fluctuating fortunes of separate kingdoms like Mercia, Wessex and East Anglia. Major figures such as Offa, Alfred, Edgar and Cnut are discussed in detail, while the stunning illustrations convey the immense achievements of Anglo-Saxon centuries were 'simply a barbarous prelude to better things'.
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (August 6, 1991)
Discussing the development of English society, from the growth of royal power to the establishment of feudalism after the Norman Conquest, this book focuses on the emergence of the earliest English kingdoms and the Anglo-Norman monarchy in 1087. It also describes the chief phases in the history of the Anglo-Saxon church, drawing on many diverse examples; the result is a fascinating insight into this period of English history.
Paperback: 812 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 3 edition (September 20, 2001)
The Anglo-Saxon period, stretching from the fifth to the late eleventh century, begins with the Roman retreat from the Western world and ends with the Norman takeover of England. Between these epochal events, many of the contours and patterns of English life that would endure for the next millennium were shaped. In this authoritative work, N. J. Higham and M. J. Ryan reexamine Anglo-Saxon England in the light of new research in disciplines as wide ranging as historical genetics, paleobotany, archaeology, literary studies, art history, and numismatics. The result is the definitive introduction to the Anglo-Saxon world, enhanced with a rich array of photographs, maps, genealogies, and other illustrations.
The Anglo-Saxon period witnessed the birth of the English people, the establishment of Christianity, and the development of the English language. With an extraordinary cast of characters (Alfred the Great, the Venerable Bede, King Cnut), a long list of artistic and cultural achievements (Beowulf, the Sutton Hoo ship-burial finds, the Bayeux Tapestry), and multiple dramatic events (the Viking invasions, the Battle of Hastings), the Anglo-Saxon era lays legitimate claim to having been one of the most important in Western history.
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press; Reprint edition (October 27, 2015)
Love
Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. (p. 2018) “Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world.” (p. 2047) “Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.” (p. 2047) The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows. (p. 1289) The secret of a better civilization is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust. (p. 2065)
Prayer
Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth in the very face of conflict. (p. 1002) The sincerity of any prayer is the assurance of its being heard. … (p. 1639) God answers man’s prayer by giving him an increased revelation of truth, an enhanced appreciation of beauty, and an augmented concept of goodness. (p. 1002) …Never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment. (p. 999)
Suffering
There is a great and glorious purpose in the march of the universes through space. All of your mortal struggling is not in vain. (p. 364) Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (p. 556)
Angels
The angels of all orders are distinct personalities and are highly individualized. (p. 285) Angels....are fully cognizant of your moral struggles and spiritual difficulties. They love human beings, and only good can result from your efforts to understand and love them. (p. 419)
Our Divine Destiny
If you are a willing learner, if you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights, if you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal, then the divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress. (p. 381) …They who know that God is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him—immortal. (p. 1449) God is not only the determiner of destiny; he is man’s eternal destination. (p. 67)
Family
Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. (p. 765) The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement. ... (p. 939)
Faith
…Faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. (p. 1766) “Now, mistake not, my Father will ever respond to the faintest flicker of faith.” (p. 1733)
History/Science
The story of man’s ascent from seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation is indeed a romance of biologic struggle and mind survival. (p. 731) 2,500,000,000 years ago… Urantia was a well developed sphere about one tenth its present mass. … (p. 658) 1,000,000,000 years ago is the date of the actual beginning of Urantia [Earth] history. (p. 660) 450,000,000 years ago the transition from vegetable to animal life occurred. (p. 669) From the year A.D. 1934 back to the birth of the first two human beings is just 993,419 years. (p. 707) About five hundred thousand years ago…there were almost one-half billion primitive human beings on earth. … (p. 741) Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. (p. 828)
From the Inside Flap
What’s Inside?
Parts I and II
God, the inhabited universes, life after death, angels and other beings, the war in heaven.
Part III
The history of the world, science and evolution, Adam and Eve, development of civilization, marriage and family, personal spiritual growth.
Part IV
The life and teachings of Jesus including the missing years. AND MUCH MORE…
Excerpts
God, …God is the source and destiny of all that is good and beautiful and true. (p. 1431) If you truly want to find God, that desire is in itself evidence that you have already found him. (p. 1440) When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen. (p. 1467)
The Origin of Human Life, The universe is not an accident... (p. 53) The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. (p. 21) The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin…Urantia [Earth] is your starting point. … (p. 1225) In God, man lives, moves, and has his being. (p. 22)
The Purpose of Life, There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. (p. 365) This new gospel of the kingdom… presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (p. 1778)
Jesus, The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. (p. 1091) What an awakening the world would experience if it could only see Jesus as he really lived on earth and know, firsthand, his life-giving teachings! (p. 2083)
Science, Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator. (p. 909) Mortal man is not an evolutionary accident. There is a precise system, a universal law, which determines the unfolding of the planetary life plan on the spheres of space. (p. 560)
Life after Death, God’s love is universal… He is “not willing that any should perish.” (p. 39) Your short sojourn on Urantia [Earth]…is only a single link, the very first in the long chain that is to stretch across universes and through the eternal ages. (p. 435) …Death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery. (p. 159)
About the Author
The text of The Urantia Book was provided by one or more anonymous contributors working with a small staff which provided editorial and administrative support during the book's creation. The book bears no particular credentials (from a human viewpoint), relying instead on the power and beauty of the writing itself to persuade the reader of its authenticity.
Leather Bound: 2097 pages
Publisher: Urantia Foundation; Box Lea edition (August 25, 2015)
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the great history authored by King Alfred the Great, is published here complete with a scholarly introduction by James Ingram.
One of the most famous works of history ever written about Saxon times, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a group of chronologically arranged annals of the major events throughout the history of the Anglo-Saxon peoples. The original manuscripts survived in parts, which are complexly interrelated, with some updated during the early Middle Ages to record historical events that following the death of King Alfred. This edition is an amalgamation of several surviving manuscripts, with the final record concluding in 1154.
There is some confirmed bias in the text regarding events which were politically contentious at the time. However, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a work of gargantuan and undisputed importance and thoroughness. It excels at providing historians and readers alike a portrait of England through the years between the departure of the Roman Army and the Norman conquest of the country, and has proven good grounding for further historical investigations of the era.
The work is originally thought to have been commissioned by King Alfred in around 890 as part of the monarch's overall enthusiasm for education and the need for historical records. It is likely that the King reviewed aspects of the text, although historians generally agree that most of the writing itself was likely accomplished by a scribe of the royal court.
The translation from Old English to Modern English is by two men; the Reverend James Ingram, and Dr. J. A. Giles. Both boast a great experience with the early forms of the English language, and their interpretation of King Alfred's history remains one of the most respected ever published.
Paperback: 170 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 23, 2016)
Excerpt from Anglo-Saxon Britain
This little book is an attempt to give a brief sketch of Britain under the early English conquerors, rather from the social than from the political point of View. For that purpose not much has been said about the doings of kings and statesmen; but attention has been mainly directed towards the less obvious evi dence afforded us by existing monuments as to the life and mode of thought of the people themselves. The principal object throughout has been to estimate the importance of those elements in modern British life which are chiefly due to purely English or Low Dutch influences.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
Paperback: 262 pages
Publisher: Forgotten Books (April 23, 2017)
Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (February 24, 1848 – October 25, 1899) was a Canadian science writer and novelist, and a proponent of the theory of evolution.Allen was born near Kingston, Canada West (known as Ontario after Confederation) - the second son of Catharine Ann Grant and the Rev. Joseph Antisell Allen, a Protestant minister from Dublin, Ireland. His mother was a daughter of the fifth Baron of Longueuil. He was educated at home until, at age 13, he and his parents moved to the United States, then to France and finally to the United Kingdom. He was educated at King Edward's School in Birmingham and at Merton College in Oxford, both in the United Kingdom. After graduation, Allen studied in France, taught at Brighton College in 1870–71 and in his mid-twenties became a professor at Queen's College, a black college in Jamaica. Despite [citation needed] his religious father, Allen became an agnostic and a socialist. After leaving his professorship, in 1876 he returned to England, where he turned his talents to writing, gaining a reputation for his essays on science and for literary works. A 2007 book by Oliver Sacks cites with approval one of Allen's early articles, 'Note-Deafness' (a description of what became known as amusia, published in 1878 in the learned journal Mind). His first books dealt with scientific subjects, and include Physiological esthetics (1877) and Flowers and Their Pedigrees (1886). He was first influenced by associationist psychology as expounded by Alexander Bain and by Herbert Spencer, the latter often considered[by whom?] the most important individual in the transition from associationist psychology to Darwinian functionalism. In Allen's many articles on flowers and on perception in insects, Darwinian arguments replaced the old Spencerian terms, leading to a radically new vision of plant life that influenced HG Wells and helped transform later botanical research. On a personal level, a long friendship that started when Allen met Spencer on his return from Jamaica grew uneasy over the years. Allen wrote a critical and revealing biographical article on Spencer that was published after Spencer's death.After assisting Sir W. W. Hunter in his Gazeteer of India in the early 1880s, Allen turned his attention to fiction, and between 1884 and 1899 produced about 30 novels. In 1895, his scandalous book titled The Woman Who Did, promulgating certain startling views on marriage and kindred questions, became a bestseller. The book told the story of an independent woman who has a child out of wedlock.In his career, Allen wrote two novels under female pseudonyms. One of these, the short novel The Type-writer Girl, he wrote under the name Olive Pratt Rayner. Another work, The Evolution of the Idea of God (1897), propounding a theory of religion on heterodox[citation needed] lines, has the disadvantage[original research?] of endeavoring to explain everything by one theory. This "ghost theory" was often seen[by whom?] as a derivative of Herbert Spencer's theory. However, it was well known and brief references to it appear in a review by Marcel Mauss, Durkheim's nephew, in the articles of William James and in the works of Sigmund Freud. The young G. K. Chesterton wrote on what he considered the flawed premise of the idea, arguing that the idea of God preceded human mythologies, rather than developing from them. Chesterton said of Grant Allen's book on the evolution of the idea of God "it would be much more interesting if God wrote a book on the evolution of the idea of Grant Allen".
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 3, 2016)
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Urantia Book, 44:0.11 - The Celestial Artisans
Never in your long ascendancy will you lose the power to recognize your associates of former existences. Always, as you ascend inward in the scale of life, will you retain the ability to recognize and fraternize with the fellow beings of your previous and lower levels of experience. Each new translation or resurrection will add one more group of spirit beings to your vision range without in the least depriving you of the ability to recognize your friends and fellows of former estates.
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Princess Bride 1987 Wallace Shawn (Vizzini) and Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya)
Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. -
Urantia Book, 117:4.14 - The Finite God
And here is mystery: The more closely man approaches God through love, the greater the reality -- actuality -- of that man. The more man withdraws from God, the more nearly he approaches nonreality -- cessation of existence. When man consecrates his will to the doing of the Father's will, when man gives God all that he has, then does God make that man more than he is.
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Urantia Book, 167:7.4 - The Talk About Angels
"And do you not remember that I said to you once before that, if you had your spiritual eyes anointed, you would then see the heavens opened and behold the angels of God ascending and descending? It is by the ministry of the angels that one world may be kept in touch with other worlds, for have I not repeatedly told you that I have other sheep not of this fold?"
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Urantia Book, Foreword - 0:12.12 - The Trinities
But we know that there dwells within the human mind a fragment of God, and that there sojourns with the human soul the Spirit of Truth; and we further know that these spirit forces conspire to enable material man to grasp the reality of spiritual values and to comprehend the philosophy of universe meanings. But even more certainly we know that these spirits of the Divine Presence are able to assist man in the spiritual appropriation of all truth contributory to the enhancement of the ever-progressing reality of personal religious experience—God-consciousness.
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Urantia Book, 1:4.3 - The Mystery Of God
When you are through down here, when your course has been run in temporary form on earth, when your trial trip in the flesh is finished, when the dust that composes the mortal tabernacle "returns to the earth whence it came"; then, it is revealed, the indwelling "Spirit shall return to God who gave it." There sojourns within each moral being of this planet a fragment of God, a part and parcel of divinity. It is not yet yours by right of possession, but it is designedly intended to be one with you if you survive the mortal existence.
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Urantia Book, 1:4.1 - The Mystery Of God
And the greatest of all the unfathomable mysteries of God is the phenomenon of the divine indwelling of mortal minds. The manner in which the Universal Father sojourns with the creatures of time is the most profound of all universe mysteries; the divine presence in the mind of man is the mystery of mysteries.
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Urantia Book, 1:4.6 - The Mystery Of God
To every spirit being and to every mortal creature in every sphere and on every world of the universe of universes, the Universal Father reveals all of his gracious and divine self that can be discerned or comprehended by such spirit beings and by such mortal creatures. God is no respecter of persons, either spiritual or material. The divine presence which any child of the universe enjoys at any given moment is limited only by the capacity of such a creature to receive and to discern the spirit actualities of the supermaterial world.
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Urantia Book, 11:0.1 - The Eternal Isle Of Paradise
Paradise is the eternal center of the universe of universes and the abiding place of the Universal Father, the Eternal Son, the Infinite Spirit, and their divine co-ordinates and associates. This central Isle is the most gigantic organized body of cosmic reality in all the master universe. Paradise is a material sphere as well as a spiritual abode. All of the intelligent creation of the Universal Father is domiciled on material abodes; hence must the absolute controlling center also be material, literal. And again it should be reiterated that spirit things and spiritual beings are real.
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Urantia Book, 50:6.4 - Planetary Culture
Culture presupposes quality of mind; culture cannot be enhanced unless mind is elevated. Superior intellect will seek a noble culture and find some way to attain such a goal. Inferior minds will spurn the highest culture even when presented to them ready-made.
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Urantia Book, 54:1.6 - True And False Liberty
True liberty is the associate of genuine self-respect; false liberty is the consort of self-admiration. True liberty is the fruit of self-control; false liberty, the assumption of self-assertion. Self-control leads to altruistic service; self-admiration tends towards the exploitation of others for the selfish aggrandizement of such a mistaken individual as is willing to sacrifice righteous attainment for the sake of possessing unjust power over his fellow beings.
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Urantia Book, 54:1.9 - True And False Liberty
How dare the self-willed creature encroach upon the rights of his fellows in the name of personal liberty when the Supreme Rulers of the universe stand back in merciful respect for these prerogatives of will and potentials of personality! No being, in the exercise of his supposed personal liberty, has a right to deprive any other being of those privileges of existence conferred by the Creators and duly respected by all their loyal associates, subordinates, and subjects.
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Urantia Book, 54:1.8 - True And False Liberty
There is no error greater than that species of self-deception which leads intelligent beings to crave the exercise of power over other beings for the purpose of depriving these persons of their natural liberties. The golden rule of human fairness cries out against all such fraud, unfairness, selfishness, and unrighteousness.
