Danegeld: Another Word for Blackmail
One term used throughout the years of the Viking settlements in Britannia was the Danegeld. This meant any payment made to the Danes (or...
Glastonbury Abbey: Christian Beginnings in Wessex
The name Glastonbury is associated with the Arthurian tradition in several ways. Most famously, Glastonbury is said to have been Avalon, the “apple isle,”...
What the Romans Left Behind: The Roads
One thing the Romans discovered early on is that a well-regulated empire is a happy empire. In other words, as long as your soldiers...
Hild: The Power of One Woman in 7th-Century Britain
With all this talk of famous men being moneymakers and policy-shakers, it is easy to overlook famous women in British history. Such will not...
Ethelbert and the Code of Laws
Ethelbert of Kent was the third overlord of Saxon England, following Aelle of Sussex and Ceawlin of Wessex. He held power at the turn...
Vikings: Not Ones for Written Records
With the coming of the Vikings came another age with a dearth of written records.
As the Saxons before them, the Vikings didn’t believe in...
Aethelred the Unready
It is likely that many British schoolchildren, past and present, will recognize the name of Aethelred the Unready (if only because it’s such an...
Ethelbald: First Great King of Mercia
So much has been said recently about Northumbria. Let us turn for awhile to the lands south of the Humber River: Southumbria, if you...
Egbert: First King of All English
After the death of Offa, Egbert, Wessex Warlord Extraordinaire, was free to resume his campaign to rule all of England.
Egbert had gone into exile...
Hoarding: A Bronze Age Conundrum
The Agricultural Revolution was already a century old when the Bronze Age began. Bronze tools helped further farming efforts. Remains of agriculture implements and...