We look at the second half of Æthelstan's reign from its peak to its complex end.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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To celebrate the season, I wanted to revive one of my favorite December traditions: the Christmas ghost story. M R James is without doubt the master of the English ghost story and of all his chilling tales, the most 'Anglo-Saxon' remains 'A Warning to the Curious'. I recorded a reading of it last year and since we are all recovering from the festive hubbub it seemed like a good time to share it again. Listen to the end for a brief historical overview of the story's implications for Anglo-Saxon history. We will return to our regularly scheduled episodes next week.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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The story of Æthelstan from his debated birth to his becoming the first King of England.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Æthelflæd, one of the most important women in Anglo-Saxon history, ruled Mercia during the reign of Edward the Elder. Through her military endeavours, she was instrumental in securing the reconquest of the southern Danelaw and securing the Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons from future attack.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Edward the Elder (899-924) is often overlooked given the towering fame of his father and son. When we look at his career, though, we find a king whose actions earn him acclaim and criticism.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle we have not only an account of Anglo-Saxon history but also an attempt at identity creation which served part of the mission to forge a new united English identity from the disparate collection of tribes and kingdoms that was the base of Anglo-Saxon society. Even taken with a hefty spoonful of salt, it is nevertheless one of the single most important texts produced from the Anglo-Saxon period and continues to inform the narrative of English history up to the present day.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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We look back on the achievements of King Alfred and ask: how do we define someone as 'great'?

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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One day, when he was a boy, the future Alfred the Great, along with his brothers, was pulled aside by his mother, Osburh. She showed them a book filled with English poetry and promised that she would give it to whichever one of them could learn it by heart the fastest. The young Alfred, smaller than all his brothers, was enchanted by the decorated capital letter on the book’s first page. He immediately took the manuscript from his mother and took it to his tutor who helped him to swiftly memorize the poetry. Upon returning to Osburh, the boy recited the poems for her, and she happily gave the book of poetry to him.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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In addition to his military and political achievements, King Alfred also undertook an ambitious plan for intellectual revival meant to restore learning and piety to his new kingdom. In this episode, we meet the men who helped him undertake this massive task.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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Although he had no way of knowing it, in 878 Alfred secured for Wessex over a decade of peace from Viking attack. In that time, Alfred would set about remaking his kingdom so that it could withstand any future invasions. This program would see innovations on many fronts which would provide greater security for the English people, a more reliable military force, and the emergence of a new polity which had at its core not the old ethnic kingdoms but a new conception of a single English kingdom. Behind this political and military innovation was an ideological basis which saw Viking invasion as divine punishment for impiety. To this end, Alfred spearheaded a program of intellectual and spiritual renewal which ran alongside and supported his vision of a more secure kingdom. This rebirth of Latin and Old English learning, the so-called Alfredian Renaissance, will be the focus of the next two episodes. In today’s episode, we will focus on Alfred’s military and political achievements. Between them, these episodes will demonstrate why Alfred remains the only English king to have the appellation ‘the Great’.

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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As discussed in the previous episode, the Viking invasion of England can be roughly divided into two phases, that which occurred prior to the arrival of the Great Summer Army in 871 and that which occurred after. In late 870, the Norse were at a crossroads. They had recently conquered East Anglia, but their leadership was crumbling. Ivar had departed, probably for Ireland, and it was not clear how they should continue their raiding. To the south were London and the Kingdom of Wessex which presented tantalizing possibilities for further loot, but it was difficult to maintain momentum. 

Credits – 

Music: 'Wælheall' by Hrōðmund Wōdening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQfdqIyqJ4g&list=LL&index=5&ab_channel=Hr%C5%8D%C3%B0mundW%C5%8Ddening

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