Alfred the Great and the Vikings: Michael Wood (878)
This week we are travelling back to the ninth century to witness one of the major turning points in English history.
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Winston Churchill regularly tops ‘the greatest Briton of all time’ charts, but his own vote for this accolade apparently went to the man we are going to discuss today. Alfred the Great is the only British king to enjoy such an admiring epithet. The later monarch Æthelred is remembered as ‘the Unready’ (although this meant poorly advised rather than unprepared), William I is either ‘the Conqueror’ or ‘the Bastard’ depending on your point of view – no other monarch’s reputation has survived with a rosy glow.
Our time travel today is in the company of the world-renowned historian Michael Wood reveals exactly why Alfred is so well regarded. He takes us back to 878, a pivotal year in our island history when, against all the odds, the Viking invaders were defeated, pushed out of Alfred’s Kingdom of Wessex and the geopolitics were set for the following centuries.
Over the last forty years, Michael Wood has written books and made documentaries about a dizzying array of subjects: the Conquistadors, the Trojan War, India, Ovid, Shakespeare, and the Chinese poet Du Fu, but his first great success came with a series about the early Medieval period in England.
In Search of the Dark Ages, the book he wrote to accompany it was a runaway best seller when it was published in 1981, has now been updated and republished as a special 40th anniversary edition. Michael has expanded it to include the astonishing discoveries of the last four decades – Sutton Hoo, the Staffordshire hoard, the manuscript of Theodore and Hadrian’s teaching notes and the various insights we have gained into the lives of women.
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Michael Wood’s In Search of the Dark Ages: a History of Anglo-Saxon England 40th Anniversary edition is newly-published by BBC Books.
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Show Notes
Scene One: March 23rd Easter at Athelney, after Alfred’s desperate guerrilla war in the Somerset Marshes.
Scene Two: 9th May, the Battle of Edington, Alfred defeats the Viking forces against all odds.
Scene Three: 26th June Treaty at Wedmore which changed the course of the Viking wars and resulted in their leader, Guthrum converting to Christianity with Alfred as his godfather.
Memento: Alfred’s little commonplace book that he carried around with him, and perhaps had with him in the Marshes.
People/Social
Presenter: Violet Moller
Guest: Michael Wood
Production: Maria Nolan
Podcast partner: Ace Cultural Tours
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About Michael Wood
Michael was born and educated in Manchester where he is currently Professor of Public History; he is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Arts, and the Society of Antiquaries. His awards include the Historical Association’s Medlicott Medal for ’outstanding services and current contributions to history’, the British Academy President’s Medal for History and Outreach, and in 2021 an OBE.
