"In the Land of Giants: A Journey Through the Dark Ages" by Max Adams (published 2016)

"In the Land of Giants: A Journey Through the Dark Ages" by Max Adams (2016) is exemplar of how I wish history would always be written. Adams, an archaeologist, writer, and traveller has a profound understanding of Great Britain's history, and uses its architecture, landscapes, metalwork, books, and other geological sites to explain and theoretically dissect the events of its past in order to understand the present historical - and moreover - social - conjuncture. In this book, Adams unpacks one of the most ambiguous times in Great Britain's long history, what is known as the Dark Ages, using artifacts, pathways, and geological markers that still, unbeknownst to the majority, stand (either above or underground) to this day. Furthermore, to make his work all the more visceral, Adams avoids traveling by anything other than his own two feet, and in doing so falls into the landscape and its horizons as his predecessors would have. 

Though there have been recent essays and other books regarding the topic with its unfitting title of the Dark Ages (which weren't so dark), "In the Land of Giants" doesn't assume any sort of pretension other than Adams' own, direct, laconic knowledge of archeology and history; what I mean to say is that Adams speaks to his readers by asking them to join him on this adventure, pick up on what they can, and learn a bit about how British society came to fruition. Though the book is steeped in heavy-handed socio-political theory and more technical terms regarding rock formations, art, sailing, and the like, I never felt that I was falling behind on the heart of his subject matter. 

I have picked up on a few extremely fascinating themes that seem to dominate the pages of this text: race and ethnicity, "colonial" politics of empire, the intertwining symbolism of Catholicism and Christianity along with pagan rituals and practices, the current state of Britain as it deals with the aftermath of industrialism and modernity, the difficulties and pleasures of the experienced and traditional traveller, and the dizzying and never, ironically "set in stone" complexities of Great Britain's monarchy. (While these themes are specifically written about in the realm of Great Britain, I feel that Adams' style and approach to these common themes in our present conversations is a fundamental and extremely helpful model to be followed if we aim to gain understanding and progress in terms of a liberal education.)

"More important for archaeologists and societies is whether the incomer assimilates or imposes their culture. One man's invasion and rapine is another's commercial and domestic opportunity in a new setting. But the Norse seem to have embraced the culture, including Christianity, of their adopted lands. The names that survive in the English landscape which seem to echo successive waves of immigration may exaggerate their genetic and cultural impact." (p. 402)

...

"Most striking is the evidence of organization, collective action and the hand of a planner - a lord who, living away from the village in a grand hall, exercised management of his dependent farmers and craftspeople. Here is a stable, organized social and economic landscape, successful by any standards, which shows that through political turmoil, famine and plague, ordinary indigenous people survived the Early Medieval period doing what people do: getting on with life." (p. 409)

As I learned, the Roman Empire (those descendants from Italy) invaded the land of Great Britain whose inhabitants were, in the Dark Ages, called the "Britons". Those peoples, paraphrasing Adams' words, were somewhat, over time, willing to accept and agree with the idea of Empire. Interestingly enough, there was already a conglomeration of ethnicities brought about by miscegenation: many with the genetic heritage of Germanic peoples, mixed in with Vikings (from Denmark and other places), Welsh, and those from Normandy. In any case, there is something to be understood here regarding hegemonic structures that worked alongside the hierarchy, which did not neglect peasants, as well as the idea of assimilation which was a long and arduous, and as the British say, "bloody", undertaking. What can be extracted from Adams' reflections on this subject is that the British nation - through it's early forms of hunter-gatherer to the rise of monarchy - concisely had to negotiate, compromise, battle, argue, agree, submit, surrender, and accept the powers that be. Now this may seem like an obvious point: but the way in which Adams' tackles these issues is through a basic but illuminating idea: that people who were not exposed to the luxuries and excess of contemporary society did whatever they could to live a "good", "sustainable", and "fruitful" life without the same kind of complaints we might hear today. Adams never directly says this, but I feel it can be implied. That being said, Adams makes sure to say that the pathways he trekked, particularly within the urban landscapes, might not be such a long shot from what actually occurred during the Dark Ages: immigrants, businessmen, political figures, families, all trying to earn money and make their way through a hopefully, meaningful, life. 

A theme that really struck me was this explicit explanation of Catholicism as having directly inherited remnants of the pagan worldview. I wonder why this isn't talked about more. Catholicism, being the mark of Empire, actually assimilated into the direction of the peoples' it ruled. Rather than the peoples' assimilating into its overbearing Empire, Catholicism picked up on parts of the pagan culture and married it to its architecture and beliefs. It seems to work perfectly, and, it makes quite a lot of sense. Adams has many comments on this subject which I cannot delve into in this review and would require a more in-depth study. I do think it is something society should be more aware of: that Catholicism and Christianity too, may have more in common with the world before Christ in terms of aesthetic and belief structure (that is not to say anything of monotheism). 

"Pagan and Christian alike revered bodily relics; both found spiritual solace and magic in natural springs and places with special atmospheres. The lives of all Britain's inhabitants revolved around the cycle of the seasons, the fertility of their crops and families, the celebration of quarterly festivals and the construction of places in which to contemplate, tender offerings and seek intervention from supernatural beings. Both pagan and Christian held deeply to animist sensibilities. It is easy to look at the monotheism of the Christian faith and see it in a rationalising, all-purpose, all-seeing god with the central redeeming figure of Christ unique in theological history. And it is similarly easy to miss the very evident parallels between the charismatic healers of the shamanic or druidic tradition and those of the New Testament. Jesus acts at the centre of a pantheon of disciples, martyrs, apostles and saints every bit as rich as the suite of of ancestors and spirits that the Dark Age Germans, British, or Irish employed as propitiatory agents. A host of local and celebrity saints fulfilled the same social and cultural functions as - and in some cases may have been identical with - animist deities residing at the bottom of wells, in sacred groves and caves, beneath rocks and still pools... Pope Gregory [allowed] converts to raise huts of branches around his new churches... as they had been accustomed to celebrate their pagan feasts." (p. 356)

Adams' writes about the places he visits in depth - so readers really will get a clear picture of varying states of different parts of Great Britain: those left behind from the centers of power and commerce (mostly pastoral and rural life, much without the luxury of public transport), traditions that hold strong in nations such as Scotland and Ireland (dances and song), features of weather and landscape, and more interesting architecture everywhere - which builds above whole towns and cities from the Dark Ages. Those places are still there, covered by the New World, sticking out in some places that Adams looks into deeply. The ocean. The modern, overly abundant homes built next to rugged humble abodes in Ireland, many of which have been left halfway done due to debt. Still more; you'll have to read to understand. Adams' writing, in terms of place, places you right there next to him, whether it's a hellish rain or a mystical sunrise, you'll feel it. You're there when he "slices" off blisters, too.

My final point: "In the Land of Giants" teaches readers that history is always up for debate, like science, and that though facts be known, still more facts may refute, and that that in itself is not a cause for throwing your hands up and forgetting about it. The importance, pleasure, and remarkable facets of learning history is that it aids all of us in understanding where we stand today. And to know where you stand is to be alive where you are, rather than simply exist.