The Meadhall: The Feasting Tradition in Anglo-Saxon England Paperback – November 4, 2022

Stephen Pollington is an excellent writer who has an uncanny ability to write in a down-to-earth style and not diminish the complexity of the knowledge being related. This is a wonderful book on the subject.

I enjoy reading from historians as a partitioner of Paganism. Pagans tend to plagiarize each other's works without doing proper research. I recommend this for every Druid or Heathen/Norse/Germanic Pagan Practitioner.

This is a gift for my niece who is a Phd in Medieval Archaeology and it was $40 for a paperback which is the price for the new book. Great content but for that price I would expect the edges not to be cut and banged up. Disappointing especially since the cover has such an awesome photo the condition of the book takes away from that. When you are excited about a new book you want to get it into your hands in that brand new condition.Excellent illustrations and appendixes. Comprehensive and well written. Wish I could give it 5 stars.

Stephen Pollington happens to be one of my favorite authors. While his works are academic in nature, they are written in an accessible manner. This book is no different in that respect. It draws heavily upon archaeology and primary sources.The Mead-Hall covers just about any subject you might think of in regards to topic, including socio-political issues and customs, ritual aspects, food and feasting equipment, living space, entertainment, etc.There is only one other work that I know of that covers the various aspects of the mead hall, and while good it isn't as thorough as this one is. For reference, it's titled Mead Halls of the Eastern Geats.The book is hardcover and presents well. It features several diagrams and black and white pictures of archaeological finds.All in all, this is a valued addition to my Anglo Saxon library.

This was for my wife. It is a book used in a class she took through a club we both belong to. The class was a brief overview, and she wanted the book so she could learn more and use it as a reference. I understand it is one of the best books available on this topic.

The legends are true.Buy it.

Great resource

Stephen Pollington's The Mead-Hall: Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, is a marvelous resource for anyone interested in the role of mead-halls in Anglo-Saxon England in particular or of feasting-halls in early Germanic culture in general. Pollington draws on a variety of resources from the literary to the historical to the archeological to give the most complete picture of everything you could possibly want to know about mead-halls. In particular, he always includes the literary references with both the original Old English text and the modern English translation, which is particularly useful in gaining a knowledge of the exact terms used and what they meant for everything involved in mead-hall culture. Pollingon also includes a number of well-drawn illustrations of mead-hall artifacts from actual archeological finds which help the reader to visualize Anglo-Saxon crafts and styles.It would be impossible to lay out everything there is to learn from this book. The only way to even approximate it is to simply give you a partial look at the table of contents, which in itself gives you an idea of the breadth and depth of work this book encompasses:1. Feasting and Society- A Window on Early English Society- Feasting in the Hall- Meals and Mealtimes- Symbel...- Oaths and Boasts...- Feasts, Marriages and Alliances2. Living Space: The Hall in Reality- The Hall and its Settlement- Construction & Layout- Building Techniques...- Hearth- Seating...- Hall Development in Anglo-Saxon England3. Ritual Space: The Hall in Ideology- The Hall as the Ideal Dwelling...- The Joys of the Hall4. Food and Feasting Equipment- Consumables- Food- Drink- Tableware...- Drinking Vessels...- Cauldrons & Hanging Bowls- Textiles & Clothing- Female Dress- Male Dress- Table Linen, Tapestry & Embroidery5. Positions of Power- Lord (Hlaford)- Lady (Hlafdige)- Household (Hlafaetan)- Pyle- Flyting and Verbal Duelling- Unferp and The Role of the Pyle- Poet (Scop)- Hall Attendants6. Entertainment- Storytelling & Poetry- Music- Harp or Lyre- Riddles- Board gamesAppendices- Hall and Feasting Themes in Old English Verse- Some Old English Sources- The Structure and Origins of the WarbandIn addition to the wealth of detail presented, Pollington writes in a eminently readable style that makes the information accessible to both the layman and the researcher. For example this bit from the section on gift-giving:"Gift-giving was a central act in Germanic society, cementing the bonds among the free classes. It was neither random, spontaneous, nor purely emotional, but rather was strictly controlled by rules of reciprocation. Warlords handed out weapons to their followers, but the weapons were not 'given away', they were held by the hearth-troop to be used in defence of the leader.... Broadly speaking, when any man gave a gift he expected a return, a counter-gift. What form that return might take would depend on the relative social status of giver and recipient. A gift to a superior would be rewarded by favour; to an equal, by counter-gift; to an inferior, by service. The concept survives into our own times."I learned an enormous amount from this book and found it a fascinating and enjoyable read as well. Highly, highly recommended to anyone interested in the subject.

Like other books which I have read by Pollington, this is highly accessible, many-sided (yet not rambling but well-compiled), very well-researched, and not taking too many liberties in interpreting it's archeological and literary sources. Very much recommended reading for anyone interested in Anglo-Saxon life.

Excellent book. There is a lot of historical facts about the English way of life before and after christianity which makes a nice change. Not only this point but a nicely written book with not a lot of complete nonsense.

great