Synopsis (from book cover):

Sarum is the towering story of five families through 100 centuries of turmoil, tyranny, passion and properity.  In a novel of extraordinary richness the whole sweep of British civilisation unfolds through the story of one place, Salisbury, from beyond recorded time to the present day.  The landscaped – as old as time itself – shapes the destinies of five families.  The Wilsons and the Shockleys, locked in a cycle of revenge and rivalry for more than 400 years.  The Masons, who pour their inspired love of stone into the creation of Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral.  The Porters, descended from a young Roman Soldier in exile.  And the aristocratic Norman Godefrois, who will fall to the very bottom of the social ladder before their fortunes revive.

Book Review:

This is an epic saga that takes the reader from the dawn of civilisation as the iceage retreats right through to more recent times. The history is well researched and the story unfolds to reveal how Salisbury started, grew and developed over the years.

The characters within the story tell us of the unfolding social history of the different eras.  I was sad to leave some of the characters behind when the book moved forward to the next era.  I enjoyed reading about the building of Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral.  The book inevitably covered more unpleasant topics such as the effects of the recurring plague.

The book is well worth a read, but it will take a bit of time to get through its 1344 pages.

Synopsis (from book cover):

The Hereford mappa mundi is the largest an most elaborate world map surviving from before teh fifteenth century.  Designed at Lincoln by one Richard of Holdingham, it was made for Hereford in about 1300 and Hereford has been its home ever since.

There has been much speculation as to the identity of the author of the map, and the purposes for which it might have been made.  More than just a map, it can be seen as an encuuclopaedia of distant lands, their peoples, myths and natural history, all held to gether within a framework of Christian belief – the figure of Christ in judgement is placed in a prominent position at the top of the map.  It presents an illuminating view of the world as it appeared to a cultured and will read person in theirteenth-century England.

In this book P. D. A. Harvey provides an authoritative introduction to the map, based on recent work, showing how it was made, what it depicts and what sources the author used.  Many detailed photgraphs, specially commiddioned for the purpose, together with illustrations of othe related medieval maps, accompany the text.

Book Review:

I picked this book up in Hereford Cathedral, when I visited the Mappa Mundi.  The book dated 2010 is an updated version of an earlier book that was first published in 1996.  The book covers the most recent research and findings regarding the map.

The book covers the making of the map, the history of the map and sources of information for the content of the map.  The book also sets the map into context with other similar world maps.  The text is enhanced by many colour photographs showing the Hereford map and other world maps of this type.

I found the book very interesting and recommended it to anyone who is interested in the subject.