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Anglo-Saxon

Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred in season 4 of 'The Last Kingdom'. (Photo by Joe Alblas/Carnival)

The Last Kingdom S4 E10 review: resettled pieces on the board allow drama to “catch up” with history

Millie Brady as Aethelflaed in 'The Last Kingdom'.

The Last Kingdom S4 E8 review: a fiery opening paves the way for a new ruler of Mercia

The Last Kingdom season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E7 review: a royal funeral, the abuse of power, and a little artistic licence

Oscar Skagerberg as Bjorgulf in 'The Last Kingdom' season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E5 review: “This has to rank among the more gruesome episodes of the season, if not the series”

Ewan Mitchell as Osferth, Mark Rowley as Finan and Aenas Fedaravicius as Sihtric. (Photo by Adrienn Szabo courtesy of Netflix)

The Last Kingdom S4 E6 review: a mysterious medieval ‘Sickness’ leaves its mark

Illustration by Luke Waller for BBC History Magazine.

Æthelwold: Alfred the Great's rebel nephew

Timothy Innes as King Edward and Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred

Who were the key players in the struggle to succeed Alfred the Great?

The Last Kingdom series 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E3 review: moments of introspection remind us of history’s “shared humanity”

Magnus Bruun as Cnut in 'The Last Kingdom' season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E4 review: “Royal rage could be a terrible thing in the early Middle Ages”

'The Last Kingdom' season 4 episode 1

The Last Kingdom S4 E1 review: will Alfred’s legacy come tumbling down?

'The Last Kingdom' season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E2 review: winds of change and dramatic father-son relations

Edward the Confessor

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Anglo-Saxons

Harold Godwinson is proclaimed king of England in the Bayeux Tapestry. It may have been commissioned by a Norman but this magnificent artwork repeatedly acknowledges the English leader’s piety and courage. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Editor's pick11 fascinating articles on the Normans you can read right now

An early 14th-century portrait of 10th-century leader Edward the Elder

Who was Edward the Elder? A brief guide to the Anglo-Saxon king

A Viking sword with silver and gold hilt, from Dyback, Skane. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

How England rode the Viking storm. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Stained glass image of King Cnut

Your guide to King Cnut: the fierce Danish warrior who ruled England

What began as small raids on British coastal towns soon developed into all-out war, as a Great Viking Army arrived with a very different aim: to conquer (Photo credit: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Vikings in Britain: how did raiders and marauders become lords and kings?

British author Bernard Cornwell, author of 'The Last Kingdom'

Bernard Cornwell on writing historical fiction and his blockbuster series The Last Kingdom: your questions answered. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Church of St Martin of Tours in Canterbury

Q&AWhat is the oldest church in England?

Andrew Ziminski pictured at his workshop in Somerset.

Andrew Ziminski"The stonework at Stonehenge is a Gordian knot of mind-bogglingness". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A medieval new England: the Anglo-Saxons’ eastern odyssey

The ninth-century Alfred Jewel, adorned with the inscription: "Alfred ordered me to be made". This masterpiece of Anglo-Saxon art is thought to have been an aestel, a pointer used to follow text. (Picture by Alamy)

10 ways the Anglo-Saxons changed the course of British history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Viking ships arriving in Britain, c1130. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty

From the raid on Lindisfarne to Harald Hardrada's defeat: 8 Viking dates you need to know

Charles I's great weakness was that he made a strict distinction between his role as king, in which he could not compromise, and his personal role, which was entirely pleasant and courteous, says Sean Lang. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

8 of the nicest kings in history

The Crown of Thorns allegedly worn by Christ during the Passion. It was one of the prized possessions in Notre-Dame Cathedral until April 2019 – when it was rescued by the inferno that gutted the building. (Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Father, son and holy goat? The dark side of medieval relics

Michael Wood on a controversial term“As a racism row rumbles on, is it time to retire the term ‘Anglo-Saxon’?”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Inside the fort was a famous spring, St Helen’s Well, today Robin Hood’s Well. (© Bill Henderson)

Brunanburh: Where did the battle that saved England take place?

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the death of King Harold II during the battle of Hastings in 1066. (Photo by Getty Images)

Where did the battle of Hastings actually take place? 8 facts about the 1066 battle

War criminal? William the Conqueror shown on horseback in the Bayeux Tapestry. The king's Harrying of the North was a military success but a human catastrophe – one that even appalled chroniclers traditionally sympathetic to the Norman regime. (Photo by Bridgeman)

Was William the Conqueror a war criminal? The brutal story of the Harrying of the North

Giant of literature: A page from the 'Beowulf' manuscript. The story is fictional but some of the characters within it were real people, and others were believed to be the ancestors of Anglo-Saxon and Danish kings. (Photo by Alamy)

Beowulf: The Anglo-Saxons' action hero