15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
===Historical Characters===
The series develops several new or more significant characters that were introduced in the first season. The first is being Æthelflæd, who is now shown as a grown womanof marriageable age. She would later is to become be an important historical figure in leading Mercia to full independence from Viking occupation. She is depicted as marrying Her parents marry her to Æthelred, who was is Lord of Mercia, that is (the areas of Mercia free from Danish rule. The series focused on Æthelred and Æthelflæd getting married as ) n order to form a key strategic alliance to bring the non-Dane parts of between Wessex and Mercia into closer alliance with Wessex. Their The marriage was shownis portrayed, however, as unhappy, where . Æthelred was shown is depicted as abusive and as marrying Æthelflæd solely in order to be abusing advance his position with her and simply using her for his own benefitfather, King Alfred. There is some historical account to suggest they had an estranged or less than happy marriage, although the two did form an important political combination in Mercia.<ref>For more on Æthelred and Æthelflæd, and their role in uniting Mercia and Wessex, see: Marafioti, N. (2014) <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442647582/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1442647582&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6adde8dd803068319e28a91c24747861 The king’s body: burial and succession in late Anglo-Saxon England]</i>. Toronto Anglo-Saxon series. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, pg. 58.</ref>
Another key character introduced in the first four episodes is Guthrud. He was likely a Dane and he may have been a Christian. It is unclear if he really was a slave, but accounts do suggest that was the case. While Alfred was shown as scheming to help make him king, the reality is less clear. He may have simply become king because the population of Northumbria was becoming increasingly intermixed and having a ruler showing greater sympathy to the Danes and Christian Anglo-Saxons may have suited everyone in Northumbria. He also may have simply succeeded normally as any Dane would, but the Anglo-Saxons tried to make it look legitimate through the stories of St. Cuthbert selecting him. There is a story that St. Cuthbert's body did not decay and, in the series, he is shown as relatively well preserved, as his corpse is used to give the new king Guthrud his blessing.<ref>For more on St. Cuthbert, see: Marner, D. & British Library (2000) <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0712346864/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0712346864&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8c244d371d8366274e6a7cc14f71af96 St. Cuthbert: his life and cult in medieval Durham].</i> Toronto; New York, University of Toronto Press.</ref>
