Never greater Slaughter
By Michael Livingston
A look into English history with a remarkable story of struggle survival and the acts of war that cost us the most. A look into our past to show us or human nature..

Thank you, NetGalley, Michael Livingston, and Osprey Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. It releases May 11th, 2021

The Battle of Brunanburh is one of the most decisive and bloody battles in English history, but it is not as well known as other battles such as Agincourt, The Battle of Hastings, or the Battle of Waterloo. Why is that? Well, Michael Livingston dives into that history in Never Greater Slaughter: Brunanburh and the Birth of England. In order to fully understand what was at stake in this battle, Michael Livingston goes back to when the Celtic tribes of Britain. Then the arrival of the Romans and their departure–this actually left Britain in disarray. The Romans brought their religion which clashed with the Pagan beliefs of the Natives. There is religious turmoil and then enter the Saxons, who migrated from mainland Europe to Britain. As the years pass, there is the formation of the main British Kingdoms like Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. It is the goal of King Alfred to have a United England. It isn’t an easy task with the Scots to the North, Wales, and the invading Danes. The Battle of Brunanburh was found in 937 between the Kingdoms of England led by King Aethelstan and the Scots and Norse led by Anlaf and Constantine. According to Michael Livingston, this battle is one of the most significant battles in English history.

One of the things that I enjoyed about this historical and military history is how Michael Livingston studies history. He views it as a puzzle. One must look at history from different angles. History is often written by the conquerors or the winners. In the early chronicles, he is aware of the bias. Some of the sources he uses to piece together information of the battle and its location are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Egil’s Saga. It is a matter of finding similar information and finding evidence of the location. Michael Livingston’s theory is that is Bromborough on the Wirral. They are hoping to get permits to excavate the site.

I have read The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell which tells the story of Uhtred who is a Northumbrian but is raised by Danes. This epic goes through the political climate of Alfred the Great and eventually leads to the Battle of Brunanburh. Reading this nonfiction, really makes the fictional account more realistic in my opinion. It made me love the books and Bernard Cornwell’s dedication to bringing historical facts to life even more. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

The site of the Brunanburh battlefield has been lost through the centuries and translations of the few sources, like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and the Annals of Ulster and a few others, are still debated on. The place names hat have survived are still debated on as well. However, it is agreed that in 937 a large battle took place that killed thousands of fighters and left Athelstan king of what became England. The Scots and Vikings fled for a time. Author and Historian Dr. Michael Livingston believes the battle took place on the Wirral peninsula in northwest England. He presents his arguments in a highly readable manner and also presents the arguments of other historians. He also includes a helpful bibliography for more study. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Never Greater Slaughter tells the story of the Battle of Brunanburh, which Livingston argues is the battle where England came of age. The battle took place in the mid-tenth century and involves the English, Scottish, Welsh and Vikings. As battles tend to be rather short, the book has a lot of build up and goes into enough detail on the history of England up to that point that if you didn’t know anything about the history of the period then you would be suitably caught up.

I found Never Greater Slaughter to be a very interesting read. Livingston writes clearly and it is very easy to read. He argues his case for where the battle was held well (because the exact location is not clear) and the conclusion he comes to is logical. I don’t know any other guesses as to where the battle was held but Livingston presents his case and it’s a good a place as any. I also really liked how Livingston discussed the issues with sources because they can, and this is putting it politely, be rather incomplete or completely exaggerated in this period.

Never Greater Slaughter was an interesting and quick read. It gives a good insight into the period and it is not inaccessible to readers who know nothing about Britain pre-1066. I had never heard of this particular battle so I learned something new, which I always enjoy.

review will be posted on hobbleit.wordpress.com 14/5/2021

An absolutely fascinating look at 10th C England and the cultural and literal clashes between the Viking peoples and the settled Saxons. The author makes great use of sparse historical record and is very up front regarding the difficulties presented in researching such a time period. The Battle of Brunanburh, which decided the fate of England as a power and a country, is little known about and the site of the battle is much debated. Livingston – like many others – has only been able to hypothesise on its location and occurrence but I found his theories to be well-reasoned and plausible. His style is easy and enaging making what could have been a hefty historical tome a joy to read.

Thank you Netgalley and to the publishers Osprey Publishing for allowing me to read this book and give an honest review.
I do enjoy historical factual books, this one written and researched by Michael Livingston is a deep dive through early British history, the one they very rarely touch on in history lessons, Alfred the great featured in my school days burning the oat cakes ! A very intense detailed historical treatise on the pivotal battle of Brunanburh, (never heard of it !) possibly located near the Wirral in Cheshire during AD 937. A battle setting the foundations for Britain as we know it today.. Lots of reading required, lots of dates to remember and lots of names, beware this is not fiction or has cuddly endings only for serious readers who are interested in early British history.

I had previously read articles by this author in publishers' newsletters and Medieval Warfare magazine so I was very interested to read one of his books and it did not disappoint. I had never heard of the Battle of Brunanburh, even though I am an Anglophile, so I found this account fascinating. What most impressed me about this book is how well the author explained the difficulties and limitations of historical research due to the dearth of contemporary sources and having to account for biases written into those sources. I also felt the author did an excellent job supporting his hypothesis of where the battle took place and giving reasons why other possible sites are problematic. Of course, since this is the only book I've read about this battle, I cannot say if this author's choice of site is more logical than those chosen by other historians, but Livingston's arguments were compelling.

This book is for fans of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Chronicles and the tv show, The Last Kingdom, based on that series of books. In fact, Cornwell wrote the forward for Never Greater Slaughter.

Author Michael Livingston investigates the battle that confirmed England as a country and a power in “Never Greater Slaughter.” This is about the Battle of Brunanburh; its importance is not widely known, and its location has never before been positively and absolutely identified.

First, the narrative goes back in time to long before the Battle of Brunanburh, with a discussion of Roman Britain, Picts, Scots, and Vikings. The Vikings are discussed at length, especially those in Dublin. I found the discourse on the different groups of Vikings in England and Ireland to be very interesting; they weren’t necessarily of one mind or allied on one side. The history of the Anglo-Saxons is interwoven with the Vikings that raided, and ultimately settled there. Surprisingly, some Vikings were soldiers or mercenaries for the English against other Vikings.

Further, the reign of the English King Athelstan (Æthelstan in some texts) is examined at length. His actions in battling nearby kings, defeating them, and making them not only swear loyalty to him but also pay tribute made the later battle at Brunanburh inevitable. Athelstan, as the author points out, took York from Guthfrith the Viking while ravaging Scotland and humbling King Constantine. He also humbled King Owain of Strathclyde, and forced the Welsh to pay tribute. This created a situation in which the conquered waited for their time and then struck back as an alliance at Brunanburh. Athelstan prevailed; had he not, history and the modern map would certainly have been different.

There are many historians and enthusiasts who are attempting to uncover the facts about the Battle of Brunanburh. The author uses analogies of other battles to illustrate relevant points about the Battle to put it into context. There is an explanation of how facts about, and locations of battles from long ago are determined. Conflict analysis is explained and how it is used to find the truth of an event; archeology in determining facts is another key. Additionally, various documentary sources are used to prove up a location, date, etc. This is called multi-source verification. The author explains all of this and then uses these tools to set up logical arguments about the location of the Battle, troop movements, etc. In the Appendix, he uses this methodology to disprove what other historians are presenting as their hypotheses about the Battle.

I really enjoyed reading this eGalley, but it was difficult to assess many of the logical points as the publisher left nearly all numeric values out of this advance copy. I was faced with stretches of the author’s logical fact-proving arguments filled with question marks. These were shown as “??,??? or ???,??? men” or “???? year to ???? year” for example. Hard to evaluate a premise based upon question marks. That being said, the author writes with an easy fluidity and is a joy to read. History books can be dry as dust; not this one. You can tell that the author is excited about this topic. And enthusiasm is infectious. I also appreciated his treatment of the Bibliography at the end of this book; having brief notes about other books is quite helpful in determining what you will read next in the subject.

Thank you to Osprey Publishing, Michael Livingston, and NetGalley for providing me with an eGalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brunanburh was a battle fought between a famous,irish,Viking chieftain named Analf who had a claim to the kingdom of Northumbria,England and united five kings under his banner to take on Alfred the Great's grandson Athelstan.The outcome would forever change what England became.Due to the great lack of sources during this period the author quickly claims that this account is based on his own opinions and research along with the known archaeology of the area and over a thousand years of research to find this site.The author then goes on to set the stage for the battle going through the major players on the board,the locations given as possible battle sites and the logistics and tactics of the two armies themselves.I really enjoyed his writing and his deep dives into his subject.He also gives a fascinating account of the battle and its aftermath.