Where does England begin and end? University of Winchester academic Ryan explores the earliest frontiers and edges of the “English” territory in his new book Border Land.
The earliest written record of a political boundary in England dates from around 880, when King Alfred and Danish warlord Guthrum agreed a treaty to divide lands between them.
Before that there were recognised territorial boundaries such as Offa’s Dyke but from the late Saxon period, they moved ‘from the land to the page’.
In Border Land: Frontiers of Early England Ryan takes his readers on a journey around the around the borders and fuzzy edges of early medieval England starting under the seventh century branches of ‘Augustine’s Oak’ in the West Country and proceeding clockwise.
The book has earned praise from fellow historians including broadcaster Michael Wood who wrote: “Fascinating and strikingly original…Lavelle uncovers the hidden history of the ways our ancestors organised and defined themselves and sought consensus with their neighbours. This is a story from which we still have much to learn.”
Border Land (Yale University Press) is published on 10 November. In the run up to publication Ryan is hosting a series of three podcasts - Border Land: A Podcast on the Frontiers of Early England.
In the first of these he is joined by Catherine Clarke Professor of the University of London and author of A History of England in Twenty-Five Poems (Penguin, 2025). Listen to it HERE from 23 October.
Future episodes will feature Dr Courtnay Konshuh, Assistant Professor in Medieval History, at the University of Calgary, Canada – formerly a research student at the University of Winchester, and Professor Levi Roach, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Exeter.
Ryan will also be hosting a launch event at P&G Wells Bookshop in Winchester on 12 November from 7pm. A limited number of free tickets are available – to book follow this link.
Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Winchester, Ryan is the author of several books, including Aethelred II, Alfred’s Wars, and Cnut: The North Sea King. He was also historical advisor for the hit TV drama The Last Kingdom and the video game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Back to media centre