Mark Harrison was born in Castleford, Yorkshire in 1954 and has a Batchelor's degree in Medieval Studies from Lancaster University. He has worked as a Curator at the Royal Armouries, Tower of London since 1986 and has a strong interest in the early medieval world. He lives in Colchester with his wife and son.

Gerry Embleton has been a leading historical illustrator since the early 1970s specialising in the medieval period, but with a keen interest in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. An illustrator, and author, of a number of Osprey titles he has lived in Switzerland since the early 1980s.

The collapse of Roman rule in Britain was not so much a sudden catastrophe as a long and drawn-out decline. The 'Celtic' Britons retreated gradually to the highland areas of Wales, Cornwall and the south-west of Scotland. Control of the fertile eastern lowlands was lost to warriors of Germanic origin who migrated from the Continent. These Germanic conquerors have become known to history as the 'Anglo-Saxons'. They were to dominate the lowland zone of Britain until their final defeat at Hastings in 1066. This title gives an insight into the everyday life, equipment, dress, battle tactics and life on campaign of the typical Anglo-Saxon warrior of this period - the thegn.

Table of contents

• Origins of the Anglo-Saxons
• Chronology
• Who Were the Thegns?
• Recruitment and Organisation
• Equipment of the Thegn
• Clothing · Everyday Life
• On Campaign
• The Thegn in Battle
• Museums
• Collecting
• Re-enactment
• Bibliography
• Glossary