The good, the bad and the downright ugly of Medieval History
"...and Æthelwulf, Egbert's offspring, succeeded to the kingdom of Wessex, and he granted his son Æthelstan the kingdom of the inhabitants of Kent and the East Saxons and Surrey and South Saxons." Part 6 of our ramble through the monarchy of (geographically speaking at least) England, is finally here! This time it's all about Æthelwulf … Continue reading Æthelwulf, King of Wessex
As much as it pains me, we're leaving Mercia behind (at least for the time being) and heading south to Wessex. This time we're looking at possibly my third favourite figure from the show Vikings (if any of my former lecturers are reading this, please don't hate me): King Ecgberht, portrayed by the superb Linus … Continue reading Ecgberht of Wessex
Part 4 of the semi-regular posting of Monarchs has arrived (semi-regular because you know another one is on it's way, but not when I can be bothered to write one). This time it's all about everyone's favourite Mercian: Offa! Well maybe not the West Saxons, but honestly, sod those guys. I'll get around to them … Continue reading Offa
The first mention of our man in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (E version) is under 716: 'And then Æthelbald succeeded to the kingdom in Mercia and held it 41 years'. That's right, we're keeping it local again because I feel personally affronted by everyone's obsession with Wessex over my home team. So why have I chosen … Continue reading Æthelbald of Mercia
My last post ended briefly mentioning Penda of Mercia taking over the Severn Valley and the minor kingdom of Hwicce in 628. But I thought it was time to give Penda himself some time in the spotlight. A quick warning, this is a slightly longer one! So who actually was Penda, and why is he … Continue reading Penda
A Version: "577: Here Cuthwine and Ceawlin fought against the Britons, and they killed 3 kings, Coinmail and Condidan and Farinmail, in the place which is called Dyrham; and took 3 cities: Gloucester and Cirencester and Bath." So why this particular entry? Well the figure of interest here is Ceawlin, a man most people don't … Continue reading Ceawlin
The first few posts will be re-posts of things I had put elsewhere,: in effect I am just trying to compile what I've already written before I write any new mini-biographies etc! I thought I'd have the first proper post be about a passage from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles relating to my home county of Worcestershire … Continue reading Worcester
Hello! I am, well for the purposes of this site at least, Josue Wigornensis. I am a History graduate and started this blog to keep me on my toes and in a historical frame of mind while I work towards my MA and beyond. If somebody happens to enjoy what I write about, or if … Continue reading About
Josue Wigornensis 