Best National Geographic Cover Ever?

Every month I receive the new issue of National Geographic Magazine. Almost every issue contains something of interest, and, I have to admit, I feel a little smarter for having read it. A little more – reniassancey… But rarely am I actually excited about its arrival.

This month, however, my eyes went wide when I got home and found the November issue featuring a beautifully painted Anglo-Saxon Warrior on the cover! I don’t know if it is the best National Geo cover ever, but it is certainly the best since the N.C. Wyeth cover a few years back.

The article that goes with the cover is just as exciting, a quick look at some of the treasures of the Staffordshire Hoard, discovered in 2009.  If you haven’t heard of this discovery, it is one of the biggest finds of Anglo-Saxon stuff ever. We are talking about a Sutton Hoo level find here, and, even better for me, it is almost all military related.  It includes ninety-two sword pommels. Ninety-two!  Many of these are gold incrusted with deep red garnets.

It’s really only a short article, most of it pretty basic stuff to someone who has studied Anglo-Saxon history, but, as usual, the photos are fantastic. It’s probably not worth buying the issue just for this article, but next time you are in your local library, give it a flip through.