"This book is a study of the exercise of royal authority before the Norman Conquest. The roots of English kingship and government lie in the multiplicity of kingdoms which emerged in the seventh century."--BOOK JACKET. "Six centuries separate the adventus Saxonum from the battle of Hastings: during those long years, the English kings changed from warlords, who exacted submission by force, into law-givers to whom obedience was a moral duty. In the process they created many of the administrative institutions which continued to serve their successors. They also created England: the united kingdom of the English people."--Jacket.