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Alfred the Great / 9th century

Alfred the Great (“elf counsel” or “wise elf”; 849 – 26 October 899) was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. Alfred was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex.

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The Last Kingdom Season2 / Anglo-Saxon England

Plot

Warrior Uhtred continues to play his part in the birth of a nation, alongside King Alfred. Uhtred sets out to avenge his father’s death and recapture his ancestral lands.  –BBC TWO

Historical Figures

Guthred or Guthfrith ( Guðrøðr; died 24 August 895) was the king of Viking Northumbria from circa 883 until his death.

Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians (or Ealdorman Æthelred of Mercia) became ruler of English Mercia shortly after the death of its last king, Ceolwulf II in 879.

「last kingdom wedding」の画像検索結果

In the mid-880s (with the most likely political context being the occupation of London in 886), Alfred sealed the strategic alliance between the surviving English kingdoms by marrying Æthelflæd to Æthelred.

Historical Background 

Lundenburh : English rule in London was restored by 886. Alfred quickly set about establishing fortified towns or burhs across southern England to improve his kingdom’s defences: London was no exception. Within ten years, the settlement within the old Roman walls was re-established, now known as Lundenburh. The old Roman walls were repaired and the defensive ditch was re-cut. These changes effectively marked the beginning of the present City of London, the boundaries of which are still to some extent defined by its ancient city walls. —Anglo-Saxon London|Viking attacks

 

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Vikings season 3 & 4 / Vikings in West Francia

Vikings in West Francia / Vikings season 3 & 4

  • Kings of West FranciaThe First Viking attack on Paris in 845

 

  • Rolf the Ganger, or Rollo raided the region of Neustria in 877.
  • The King Charles died in 877 and left the city in a chaotic state. As a result, several different rulers’ unsuccessfully reigned for short periods and all failed to create a defense against the raging Vikings. At last, in 884, the King of Germany and Italy Charles the Fat took the throne of Frankia.
  • The Second Viking Siege of Paris 885-886

 

  • Rollo returned to the lands of Frankia in 911.
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Vikings season 3-4 / West Francia

West Francia in the 9th century


Charles II, also known as Charles the Bald was the King of West Francia (843-77), King of Italy (875–77) and Holy Roman Emperor (875–77, as Charles II). He’s the grandson of Charlemagne. Charles succeeded by the Treaty of Verdun (843) in acquiring the western third of the Carolingian Empire.

Charles II

Charles the Bald fought against the Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the Seine and Loire. At the Vikings’ successful siege and sack of Paris in 845 and several times thereafter Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price. Charles led various expeditions against the invaders and, by the Edict of Pistres of 864, made the army more mobile by providing for a cavalry element, the predecessor of the French chivalry. He also ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions. Two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its siege of 885–886. Continue reading “Vikings season 3-4 / West Francia”

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Vikings season 2 / Mercia

  • Vikings season 2 (2014) plot

Ragnar and Horik’s men set sail for England, but a violent storm throws them off course, arrived in Wessex. Ragnar meets King Ecbert, who questions his reasons for staying in Wessex and offers to grant him some land. Later, one of Horik’s ships arrives with news of Jarl Borg’s sacking of Kattegat, Ragnar and his men set sail for home. Ragnar defeats Jarl Borg, reenters Kattegat. King Horik returns to Kattegat, defeated by King Ecbert.

In England, King Ecbert proposes an alliance with King Ælla against the expected return of the Vikings. In Wessex, Ecbert receives Princess Kwenthrith of Mercia, who is in civil war with her family after murdering her brother Kenelm (Saint Kenelm or Cynehelm). After landing in Wessex, Ragnar decides on his own to inform Ecbert of their arrival, annoying Horik . Horik advances towards what he thinks is the Wessex army, but Ecbert catches the Vikings and defeats them. Ælla wants to destroy the remaining Vikings but instead Ecbert decides to offer them land and to employ them as mercenaries to fight against Mercia.

Ragnar returns to Kattegat. Horik attacks Kattegat, Ragnar kills Horik. Ragnar is now the King of Denmark. Continue reading “Vikings season 2 / Mercia”