John Blair

From the impact of the first monasteries in the seventh century, to the emergence of the local parochial system five hundred years later, the Church was a force for change in Anglo-Saxon society. It shaped culture and ideas, social and economic behaviour, and the organization of landscape and settlement. This book traces how the widespread foundation of monastic sites ('minsters') during c.670-730 gave the recently pagan English new ways of living, of exploiting their resources, and of absorbing European culture, as well as opening new spiritual and intellectual horizons. Through the era of Viking wars, and the tenth-century reconstruction of political and economic life, the minsters gradually lost their wealth, their independence, and their role as sites of high culture, but grew in stature as foci of local society and eventually towns. After 950, with the increasing prominence of manors, manor-houses, and village communities, a new and much larger category of small churches were founded, endowed, and rebuilt: the parish churches of the emergent eleventh- and twelfth-century local parochial system. In this innovative study, John Blair brings together written, topographical, and archaeological evidence to build a multi-dimensional picture of what local churches and local communities meant to each other in early England.

From the impact of the first monasteries in the seventh century, to the emergence of the local parochial system five hundred years later, the Church was a force for change in Anglo-Saxon society. It shaped culture and ideas, social and economic behaviour, and the organization of landscape and settlement. This book traces how the widespread foundation of monastic sites ('minsters') during c.670-730 gave the recently pagan English new ways of living, of exploiting their resources, and of absorbing European culture, as well as opening new spiritual and intellectual horizons. Through the era of Viking wars, and the tenth-century reconstruction of political and economic life, the minsters gradually lost their wealth, their independence, and their role as sites of high culture, but grew in stature as foci of local society and eventually towns. After 950, with the increasing prominence of manors, manor-houses, and village communities, a new and much larger category of small churches were founded, endowed, and rebuilt: the parish churches of the emergent eleventh- and twelfth-century local parochial system. In this innovative study, John Blair brings together written, topographical, and archaeological evidence to build a multi-dimensional picture of what local churches and local communities meant to each other in early England.

A volume that provides a view into the world of Bioterrorism and how it could affect the healthcare system of the United States. It will lead the reader along a journey that shows ramifications to health, politics, and everyday common actions. The book starts out by informing the reader of biological agents and then leads into how organizations and the government should respond in the case that such agents are unleashed. A full understanding of bioterrorism preparedness and response cannot be achieved effectively by considering these phenomena in a vacuum nor informed only by the bioterrorism literature in its current form. The authors identify the key factors that make up the essential pieces of bioterrorism preparedness, attack and response. This volume puts what is normally thought of bioterrorism preparedness issues in their equally important security and terrorist strategy contexts. Here, the editors have sought to bring experts insights on as many of the interlinking factors as possible into one volume. This thematic volumes objectives are to facilitate the readers understanding of the new reality that creates certainty in the uncertainty facing them in the future. It provides knowledge of Bioterrorism and advances skills of preparedness. It shows ramifications of a terrorist attack and gives the reader a view of possible terrorist attacks. It presents a look into security and terrorist strategy.

Green is the colour of beginnings, of memory and regeneration, of the ""fluid arc of what has been, / forever becoming us."" John Blair's debut poetry collection, The Green Girls, takes the reader on a journey through life as it explores such subjects as marriage, family, and sex. Written in several voices, from husband and wife, brother and sister, young and old, the poems remind us that paradise ""doesn't invite us back."" Although filled with sadness and pain, Blair's elegantly written free years resonates with a quiet optimism even while discussing losses and lapses that give life both its terror and its potential for redemption.

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Blair's Very Short Introduction to the Anglo-Saxon Age covers the emergence of the earliest English settlements to the Norman victory in 1066. This book is a brief introduction to the political, social, religious, and cultural history of Anglo-Saxon England. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.