Alfred had repelled many Danish invasions and earned his epithet, and by the time Athelstan was born he had left a legacy of good governance, well-fortified towns and military success. 477–479; Foot. Give Up the Dead. The arrival of Aslaug causes feud to the Lodbrok family to Athelstan's discomfort, and after Ragnar refuses to make Aslaug leave, his wife Lagertha leaves him along with his son Bjorn. There were few English language Bibles at the time, and Latin was required to fully comprehend the messages of the book. Keynes, "England, c. 900–1016", p. 467; Abels. When Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as king. It is also believed that Torstein is alive and that Floki (who Horik told to murder Torstein) had Torstein fake his death so that he may grow closer to Horik. The Last Kingdom: the real history behind the series This was secured in 927. Mercia acknowledged Æthelstan as king, and Wessex may have chosen Ælfweard. [15], William of Malmesbury wrote that Alfred the Great honoured his young grandson with a ceremony in which he gave him a scarlet cloak, a belt set with gems, and a sword with a gilded scabbard. Later the Seer tells Ragnar that Athelstan is still Christian and his sacrifice is therefore unacceptable. [28] When Edward died, Æthelstan was apparently with him in Mercia, while Ælfweard was in Wessex. In 929 or 930 Henry sent ambassadors to Æthelstan's court seeking a wife for his son, Otto, who later became Holy Roman Emperor. Although just a few hours later, Aslaug arrives heavily pregnant. They show his concern about widespread robberies, and the threat they posed to social order. In Vikings he appears as a young king, but as an adult ruler in The Last Kingdom. The law code of Alfred the Great, from the end of the ninth century, was also written in the vernacular, and he expected his ealdormen to learn it. In the early sixteenth century William Tyndale justified his English translation of the Bible by stating that he had read that King Æthelstan had caused the Holy Scriptures to be translated into Anglo-Saxon. [126] Another reason lay in the common interest on both sides of the Channel in resisting the threat from the Vikings, while the rise in the power and reputation of the royal house of Wessex made marriage with an English princess more prestigious to European rulers. He nearly died as an infant, but was healed in time by Iseult. In January 926, Æthelstan arranged for one of his sisters to marry Sihtric. Folcuin stated that Æthelstan sent alms to the abbey for his dead brother and received monks from the abbey graciously when they came to England, although Folcuin did not realise that Æthelstan died before the monks made the journey in 944. It is revealed that Ragnar brought him to Uppsala as a sacrifice. Olaf seized the east midlands, leading to the establishment of a frontier at Watling Street. But there is the possibility that Athelstan has always despised such practice, even among his Anglo-Saxon compatriots. [116] Some historians are not impressed. He made a confraternity agreement with the clergy of Dol Cathedral in Brittany, who were then in exile in central France, and they sent him the relics of Breton saints, apparently hoping for his patronage. By August 937 Olaf had defeated his rivals for control of the Viking part of Ireland, and he promptly launched a bid for the former Norse kingdom of York. The contacts resulted in a surge in interest in England for commemorating Breton saints. Torn between maintaining his beliefs and surviving in his new, cruel world, Athelstan began to doubt his faith in the Christian God. [20] Lapidge and Wood see the poem as a commemoration of Alfred's ceremony by one of his leading scholars, John the Old Saxon. Æthelstan centralised government; he increased control over the production of charters and summoned leading figures from distant areas to his councils. The reigns of Æthelstan's half-brothers Edmund (939–946) and Eadred (946–955) were largely devoted to regaining control. The Last Kingdom season 4 episode 2. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, and it laid the foundation for the Benedictine monastic reform later in the century. The allies plundered English territory while Æthelstan took his time gathering a West Saxon and Mercian army. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. In any case, Athelstan retained control over most of what is now England, save for, technically, the Celtic kingdom of Cornwall. [37], In 933 Edwin was drowned in a shipwreck in the North Sea. Upon Rollo's awakening he is disgusted by Athelstan returning to his former ways and even attempts to kill him but fails. [64] The site of the battle is uncertain, however, and over thirty sites have been suggested, with Bromborough on the Wirral the most favoured among historians. [72], As the first king of all the Anglo-Saxon peoples, Æthelstan needed effective means to govern his extended realm. [14] She may have been related to St Dunstan. Ragnar declares a pilgrimage to the Norse holy place of Uppsala and asks if Athelstan would like to join them. According to William of Malmesbury, after the meeting at Eamont Æthelstan summoned the Welsh kings to Hereford, where he imposed a heavy annual tribute and fixed the border between England and Wales in the Hereford area at the River Wye. Aethelstan was first introduced in season three of The Last Kingdom, and he is the son of Edward and his 'illegitimate' wife Ecgwynn (Julia Brown). In the 880s Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, accepted West Saxon lordship, and Alfred then adopted a new title, king of the Anglo-Saxons, representing his conception of a new polity of all the English people who were not under Viking rule. While there Athelstan becomes weary of all the pillaging and death and while resting he takes out the Bible he found and receives a vision of a crucifixion. And that’s it for Aelfric.After decades of enmity, the … The Athelstan family name was found in the UK in 1891. At this celebration Athelstan is mocked by Floki who says that he is the cause for Rollo's suffering. He had learned to forget about himself and has devoted his life to Christianity. In the 910s Gwent acknowledged the lordship of Wessex, and Deheubarth and Gwynedd accepted that of Æthelflæd of Mercia; following Edward's takeover of Mercia, they transferred their allegiance to him. King Ecbert said that Athelstan speaking Latin was rare. In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, making him the first Anglo-Saxon ruler of the whole of England. In contrast to his strong control over southern Britain, his position in the north was far more tenuous. Blinding would have been a sufficient disability to render Æthelstan ineligible for kingship without incurring the odium attached to murder. [120] Some historians take a similar view. [77] It remained in force throughout the tenth century, and Æthelstan's codes were built on this foundation. Eventually, Athelstan found happiness, great freedom, and joy in serving the father of his church, Saint Cuthbert. [106] He was renowned in his own day for his piety and promotion of sacred learning. In Armes Prydein Vawr (The Great Prophecy of Britain), a Welsh poet foresaw the day when the British would rise up against their Saxon oppressors and drive them into the sea. David Dumville goes so far as to dismiss William's account entirely, regarding him as a "treacherous witness" whose account is unfortunately influential. Athelstan watches as Haraldson, Haraldson's personal guardsman, and Haraldson's son-in-law are killed and as crowds surround Ragnar in his championship. Later a new raiding party lead by Ragnar, Lagertha, and King Horik comes to England to raid and after a massive battle between the Vikings and the Saxons Athelstan discovers a heavily wounded Rollo and takes him to be treated. After King Æthelred was mortally wounded in battle, the Witan chooses Alfred … [83], The two earliest codes were concerned with clerical matters, and Æthelstan stated that he acted on the advice of Wulfhelm and his bishops. According to later Scandinavian sources, he helped another possible foster-son, Hakon, son of Harald Fairhair, king of Norway, to reclaim his throne,[130] and he was known among Norwegians as "Æthelstan the Good". [12] Modern historians also disagree about her status. Athelstan was born to a Northumbrian family that could not afford to have another child. [27] Ælfweard, Edward's eldest son by Ælfflæd, had ranked above Æthelstan in attesting a charter in 901, and Edward may have intended Ælfweard to be his successor as king, either of Wessex only or of the whole kingdom. [44] Southern kings had never ruled the north, and his usurpation was met with outrage by the Northumbrians, who had always resisted southern control. Later Athelstan is watched playing a game with Ragnar and Bjorn by Floki for unknown reasons although Floki seems to have gone unnoticed. Athelstan had visions and hallucinations that he saw Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, but never had hallucinations involving the Norse gods. This apparently had little effect, as Æthelstan admitted in the Exeter code: In desperation the Council tried a different strategy, offering an amnesty to thieves if they paid compensation to their victims. This advertised his newly exalted status with the inscription, "Rex Totius Britanniae". Simon Keynes and Richard Abels believe that leading figures in Wessex were unwilling to accept Æthelstan as king in 924 partly because his mother had been Edward the Elder's concubine. According to Sarah Foot, "He found acclaim in his own day not only as a successful military leader and effective monarch but also as a man of devotion, committed to the promotion of religion and the patronage of learning." Æthelstan, Edward’s eldest son and Æthelflæd’s ward for much of his youth, had been on the throne since 924. [147] Modern historians endorse the view of twelfth century chronicler William of Malmesbury that "no one more just or more learned ever governed the kingdom". He commissioned it especially to present to Chester-le Street, and out of all manuscripts he gave to a religious foundation which survive, it is the only one which was wholly written in England during his reign. [11], Edward died at Farndon in northern Mercia on 17 July 924, and the ensuing events are unclear. Later in the century, Æthelweard praised him as a very mighty king worthy of honour, and Æthelred the Unready, who named his eight sons after his predecessors, put Æthelstan first as the name of his eldest son. After being taken by King Ecgbert, Athelstan's wounds are mended and he is kept close by Ecgbert who even includes him in much of his royal business and even asking him for advice at times. Simon Keynes argued that "the consistent usages of Edgar's reign represent nothing less than a determined reaffirmation of the polity created by Æthelstan in the 930s". The Last Kingdom (TV Series 2015– ) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. In the 890s, renewed Viking attacks were successfully fought off by Alfred, assisted by his son (and Æthelstan's father) Edward and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians.