Little Kingdoms: An A-Z of Early Medieval Britain

By Alex Harvey

Little Kingdoms uncovers sixty-two early medieval realms in a travelogue of place-names, artefacts, and landscapes, revealing a multiplicity of cultures that shaped Britain before England, Wales, and Scotland formed.

Before England, Wales, and Scotland were created, before Alfred the Great and the Great Viking Army, before even a raid on Lindisfarne, the kingdoms that made up the British Isles were a squabbling, kaleidoscopic mosaic of realities. Some centred their livelihood around rivers, others dug deep to harvest resources from the ground beneath them. There were kingdoms that straddled the sea, others divided by marshes, and some that stuck to rugged mountainsides, or even caves. All these places, remembered now in place-names, artefacts, and obscure chronicles, have become obscured and forgotten, in many cases lost entirely. Little Kingdoms peels back the veil on sixty-two unique realms, listed alphabetically like a travelogue, showcasing the most diverse corners of Early Medieval England, sandwiched in that tantalising gap between the Roman and Viking periods. By using a mixture of disciplines, folklore, and a little imagination, all sixty-two (and many more besides) are brought to life through careful detective work, inventive illustrations, and detailed maps, highlighting the multicultural people of this island and their many, many origins.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1036125815
• ISBN13: 9781036125813
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Pen and Sword History
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.2" x 9.3"