Arguing with the dead.

The article focuses on a recent gathering of Anglo-Saxon historians celebrating the posthumous publication of James Campbell's Ford Lectures on the "Origins of the English State," which emphasize the sophistication of Anglo-Saxon governance prior to the Norman Conquest. Campbell, regarded as a leading 20th-century scholar in his field despite never publishing a single-authored book, challenged earlier views that saw the Anglo-Saxon kingdom as primitive and declining. The event highlighted the enduring intellectual presence of deceased historians in medieval scholarship, likening their ongoing influence to the spiritual community of a medieval monastery. The setting in Committee Room 10 of the Houses of Parliament, beneath a painting of King Alfred, underscored the historical continuity Campbell emphasized between Anglo-Saxon institutions and modern British governance.