This, the first volume of Medieval European Coinage, surveys the coinage of Western Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in the fifth century to the emergence of recognizable ???national??? political units in the tenth. It starts with the Vandals, Visigoths, Burgundians and other Germanic invaders of the Empire, whose coins were modelled on contemporary issues of the Western or Eastern emperors. The coinage of the Franks is followed from early Merovingian times through to the establishment and subsequent fragmentation of the Carolingian empire. Italy is represented by the...

It is red-letter day in Anglo-Saxon studies when a previously unknown Old English text comes to light. In 2002, as the result of some outstanding scholarly detective work, a fragmentary homiliary, containing exegetical homilies for the Sundays after Pentecost, came to light in the Somerset County Records Office in Taunton. The manuscript apparently dates from the middle years of the eleventh century; but questions of when and where and by whom the homiliary was composed can only be answered by close philological study of the Old English text itself. The present volume of Anglo-Saxon England...

Ideas about the whole sweep of Anglo-Saxon history and in particular the importance of combining skills from many disciplines are at the centre of this volume. Walter Goffart invites us to think again about what Bede meant by ???the true law of history???, while Joanna Story argues that the early Frankish annals give us important insight into the raw material available to Bede. J. R. Madicott traces the rapid development of Mercian power in Bede??'s time, and a team of textual scholars and scientists report on their experiments to test the efficacy of Anglo-Saxon medical prescriptions. At the...

Ideas about Anglo-Saxon history and the importance of combining skills from many disciplines are at the centre of this volume.

Traditional tattooing designs are depicted from the exotic Pacific Polynesian cultures of Easter Island, Hawaii, the Marquesas, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga. The actual process and ceremonies involved in tattooing are described and illustrated with over 250 drawings and color illustrations of native people. Included are actual 19th century photographs as well as early exploration art, paintings, drawings, engravings, and artifacts all relating to tattooing.

Hula and surfing represent the quintessential Hawaiian experience. Over 270 original photographs and postcard images are presented chronologically from 1870 to 1940 to powerfully portray the evolving styles and popularity of these icons of Hawaii. The Hula and surfing traditions both are deeply rooted in legend and myth and Hula dancing was actually outlawed for over 60 years. Surfboards were highly prized by the ancients and the sport became reserved for Hawaii's kings. These enchanting images include famous personalities like Duke Kahanamoku, as well as unknown practitioners of their arts.

This is the first book to combine a detailed history of surfing, surfboards, and related collectible items with an accurate price guide. It gives a complete overview of sport surfing from its ancient beginnings in Polynesia and Hawaii until 1969, the end of the longboard era. Included are several innovative features, such as a grading guide for surfboards, Duke Kahanamoku's handprints, and collectible surfing books with their current valuations. The items pictured are from many of the best private collections worldwide, and represent the enormous range of popular surfing memorabilia. The...

This book represents the ultimate Hawaiian experience and art form: the Hula, through photographs taken in the 1880s and 1890s. These images were gathered by the last reigning monarch of Hawaii, Queen Liliuokalani (1839 -1917), who reigned from 1891 until 1893, and were presented in an album to her personal nurse as a token of her Aloha. For the most part, the photographs were previously unknown and unpublished, and represent some of the most powerful and poignant images of Hula known to exist. Several non-Hula images are among the photos, adding interest to the album's contents. A brief...

Beautiful Polynesian women will tempt you to linger on each page of this stunning new book. Be transported to Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, Naratonga, Fiji, and the Maori regions of New Zealand to view their beguiling native inhabitants through 380 historic and rare color postcard images that date from 1898 to 1920. Concise text for each locale presents interesting pertinent facts about the geography, people, and local history that make them distinct. These include first sightings by European explorers, local crafts, and traditional customs. The women in Polynesian societies, as reflected in...