The Saxon Chronicles is a literary series of ten books written by the English writer and reporter Bernard Cornwell from 2004 to 2016. The series tells the story of the struggle between the Saxons and the Normans (Danes and Norwegians) for the British Isles. The action of the cycle takes place from 866 to approximately 956 (in the last books the year is not indicated). After the Romans left the islands in the fifth century, Britain found itself fragmented into many small kingdoms. The penetration of northern peoples into the British Isles caused a wave of bloodshed, protracted wars and devastation.