What happened to Aethelred in real life?

In early January 871, Æthelred was defeated at the Battle of Reading. Four days later, he scored a victory in the Battle of Ashdown, but this was followed by two defeats at Basing and Meretun. He died shortly after Easter.

Is Aethelred real?

Yes, Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians was a real person who came to rule Mercia following the death of its former king in the year 879. Not much is known about his ancestors, but he went on to rule the western half of Mercia, as the eastern half was ruled by Danes.

What happened to Aethelred?

Aethelred was killed by his own mother Judith when he was 23-years-old. He was poisoned after it was uncovered he had conspired against killing Judith's son, Alfred, so he could become King.

How was Aethelred poisoned?

By the end of the hour, Judith was reeling with concern that Aethelred would not stop his campaign against Alfred. As they partook in a meal together, Aethelred began to feel ill. Judith had poisoned him. In a prolonged bout of suffering, he ended up dying as she held him.

Who killed Aethelred in real life?

Unlike the plot of Vikings, there is no recorded evidence of any conflict between the two brothers and there is no evidence Aethelred was killed by his own mother. He seemingly died of natural causes after the Battles of Basing and Meretun in April 871.

The True Story of Æthelflæd | Lady of the Mercians | The Last Kingdom

Is The Last Kingdom true?

Yes, The Last Kingdom is largely based on real-life characters and events. First and foremost, The Last Kingdom is based on the aforementioned Saxon Stories literary series by Cornwell. However, many of the events and characters featured in the series are based on real happenings.

Was Brida a real person?

Brida in 871 Brida was born in East Anglia to an Anglo-Saxon family, and she was taken captive during the Great Heathen Army's invasion of England in 866.

Who was king after Aethelred?

Æthelred was briefly succeeded by his son, Edmund Ironside, but he died after a few months and was replaced by Sweyn's son Cnut.

Did King Alfred have health issues?

Background. King Alfred the Great died on the 26th October 899, probably through complications arising from Crohn's Disease, an illness which forces the body's immune system to attack the linings of the intestines.

Where is Mercia now?

Mercia (Old English: Mierce, "border people"; IPA: [ˈmɜːʃiə]) was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in what is now the Midlands of England.

Did Aethelred murder the Vikings?

Known as the St. Brice's Day massacre, on November 13, 1002, King Aethelred the Unready of England ordered the killing of Danes living in Anglo-Saxon England. The order for the massacre was given by Aethelred in response to continuous Danish raids in the country.

Is Uhtred a real person?

The Uhtred of Bebbanburg audiences know so well from The Last Kingdom, is not a real historical figure. He is one of the few characters in the show to be fictional, created by The Saxon Stories author Bernard Cornwell.

Was father Beocca a real person?

Beocca (died 910) was the Court Chaplain of Wessex from 871 to 899, serving under King Alfred the Great.

What is Wessex today?

Wessex, one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, whose ruling dynasty eventually became kings of the whole country. In its permanent nucleus, its land approximated that of the modern counties of Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, and Somerset.

How is Aethelred 2 related to Alfred the Great?

Born into the royal house of Wessex, which was at that time the effective ruler of all the Anglo-Saxons, Ethelred was a direct descendant of Alfred the Great and the son of King Edgar, who had ruled a united and peaceful England for 16 years.

Was CNUT a good King?

Cnut is remembered as one of the most successful kings in English history. In part this is because of the extent of his empire, but also because he managed to rule through the strong and effective systems of government and law already established in England.

What is Aethelflaed sickness?

She was suffering from a painful cancerous tumour in her breast tissue, one in a series of tumours that Aethelflaed had previously ignored, thinking they had cured themselves. Eadith calls Aethelflaed's condition “canker”, which was an Old English term for cancer, used until the 1600s.

Was Mercia a real place?

Definition. The Kingdom of Mercia (c. 527-879 CE) was an Anglo-Saxon political entity located in the midlands of present-day Britain and bordered on the south by the Kingdom of Wessex, on the west by Wales, north by Northumbria, and on the east by East Anglia.

What is Lady Aethelflaed dying of?

In The Last Kingdom Season 5, Aethelflaed's life comes to a tragic end. Just like Aethelflaed's fate in book 10 of Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories, upon which The Last Kingdom is based, Aethelflaed died of breast cancer.

Did Uhtred and Brida have a child?

Something like that.” Osbert is Gisela and Uhtred's youngest child, and Lord Uhtred's third son (his first with Saxon wife Mildrith died as an infant, and Brida's pregnancy by Uhtred was sadly miscarried).

Do Saxons still exist?

While the continental Saxons are no longer a distinctive ethnic group or country, their name lives on in the names of several regions and states of Germany, including Lower Saxony (which includes central parts of the original Saxon homeland known as Old Saxony), Saxony in Upper Saxony, as well as Saxony-Anhalt (which ...

Where is Bebbanburg today?

Although the Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria has long since fallen, you can find Uhtred's precious Bebbanburg in the county of Northumberland in England today. The village is called Bamburgh on the Northumberland coastline, Bebbanburg being the old Saxon word for Bambugh.

Was King Alfred a real person?

Alfred, also spelled Aelfred, byname Alfred the Great, (born 849—died 899), king of Wessex (871–899), a Saxon kingdom in southwestern England. He prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy. Compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began during his reign, circa 890.