As a teenager, I was an avid reader of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series, so was intrigued when a screen adaption of his Warlord Chronicles, now called The Last Kingdom, was being made in 2015. As an amateur historian of the Early Medieval period, it was a relief to see a more grounded, realistic depiction ofContinue reading “Review: Seven Kings Must Die”
Category Archives: Warfare
Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia
England in the 9th Century On 12th June 918, Athelflaed, Lady of Mercia, died in Tamworth, in the heart of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. She was a respected military commander, and a queen in all but name. But who was she, and what was Mercia? At the opening of 9th century, Mercia was oneContinue reading “Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia”
The Battle of Maldon
On a clear day I stood on the shore of the Blackwater estuary in Essex. Across a tidal causeway was Northey Island, and sheltered in the inner estuary was the town of Maldon. It was here, on the 11th August 991, that Maldon earned its place in history. The Battle of Maldon saw the destructionContinue reading “The Battle of Maldon“
Sagas from the Sea 