This work constitutes an appraisal of the development of kingship and royal administration in the kingdoms which, by the seventh century AD, had been established in the former Western Roman Empire. By viewing the seventh century in its own terms, and providing a detailed critique of the primary sources, the author sets out to show that kings were stronger than has often been thought, and their administration more sophisticated. A feature of his analysis is its setting of the evidence for early Anglo-Saxon England alongside that relating to the continental kingdoms. The evolution of...