A01=Maxwell Craven
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Ancient History & Civilisation
Ancient Roman History
Author_Maxwell Craven
automatic-update
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HBLA
Category=NHC
COP=United Kingdom
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
Emperor of Britain
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
History
History of Civilisation & Culture
History of Rome
Language_English
Magnus Maximus
PA=Available
Price_€20 to €50
PS=Active
Social Sciences
softlaunch
Product details
- ISBN 9781398111363
- Weight: 639g
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 15 Mar 2023
- Publisher: Amberley Publishing
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
This is an in-depth re-assessment of the life of Magnus Maximus, Roman Emperor ruling in the west from 383 to 388, drawn from Classical sources and archaeology, which provides a very different impression of his life to the one created by the post-Roman and medieval British insular sources. While most historians tend to dismiss Maximus as an ephemeral usurper, his time in the sun shows every sign of having been a success. He cast a long shadow in Britain, where he was originally proclaimed. Yet early non-Roman sources, notably Gildas, condemn him for leaving the island bereft of defences due to his usurpation.
In contrast, subsequent writers cast him as the progenitor of several British dynasties on the frontiers, while the medieval Mabinogion story ‘The Dream of Maxen Wledig’ presents him as an all-conquering figure of Romance who allied himself with a powerful British dynasty and facilitated the settlement of Brittany by the British.
Following an introductory account of Roman Britain, its troubles and imperial adventures from Clodius Albinus in 193 to the end of the so-called ‘barbarian conspiracy’ in 368, Maxwell Craven examines all the sources to show how important the ardent Christian Maximus was to the settlement of the British frontiers. It was his work that kept the British tribes from being overwhelmed by Germanic invaders during the following centuries. Because of Maximus, the last remnant of the Roman west ‒ Wales ‒ remained unconquered until 1282, nine hundred years after Maximus was proclaimed.
Maxwell Craven has written extensively on architecture and antiques for the Georgian Group Journal, Country Life, and various local magazines. Whilst he has written extensively on the history of Derby and Derbyshire, on architecture and on the Midlands Enlightenment, his real love is for Roman history and post-Roman Britain. His most recent book is 'Magnus Maximus, a Neglected Roman Emperor and his British Legacy' and he has written a comprehensive guide to the Saxon Shore forts of Britain. He is a former chairman of Derby Conservation Area Advisory Committee, a member of Derby Cathedral FAC, a Trustee of Derby Bridge Chapel and the Derby Museums Trust, was Derby Museum Assistant Keeper of Archaeology and from 1982 Keeper of Antiquities. He was awarded an honorary DLitt.by the University of Derby; he was made MBE and elected FSA in 1999.
