Ebook: Folly and fortune in early British history: from Caesar to the Normans

Folly and Fortune in Early British History attempts to restore human beings, with all their vagaries, to a central role in history. The emphasis is on human foolishness as a driver of history, including epochal turning-points. Many historians believe it impossible to evaluate folly in a bygone era, but Henshall disagrees, and assesses key actions from the perspective of Chaos Theory 7 that is, the degree of predictability of outcome. This also highlights the occasional role of luck. The context is Britain between 55 BC and 1066. Among others, the actions of Caesar, Boudica, Vortigern, Aethelred, and Harold Godwineson are examined, and popular assumptions about the wisdom or foolishness of certain historical figures are shown to be unjustified. There are also question sections about the outcome of key events, the aim of which is to encourage readers to put themselves in those historical events and consider alternative actions