Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is episode 212, Alfred,

the last athlete. This show is ad-free due to member support and as a way of thanking

members for keeping the show independent, I offer members only content including extra

episodes and rough transcripts. Right now, the members are listening to an episode about

the Anglo-Saxon perceptions of Islam. And afterwards, co-producer Z&I wrap it up with

a talk about Edward Said's theory of Orientalism. It's a discussion that goes longer than

an hour and a half and it's full of information and ideas that you're unlikely to hear anywhere

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get instant access by signing up for membership at the British History Podcast.com for about

the same price as going to Starbucks once a month. And thank you very much to Ali, Thomas,

and Wan for signing up already. It's mid-April of 871. For four long months, the House of

Wessex has been battling against an invasion army of Danes who've been holding the royal

ton of redding. And battle after battle had resulted in bruising defeats at the hands of these

pagans. The Wessexans had won against the Danes in

Ashdown, sure. But what did that really accomplish? They killed some Danish nobles and they pushed

the army back to redding. But the Danes were still in redding. This problem wasn't going

away. And these fights weren't without a cost. The months of conflict had left the Wessex

inferred battered. Many of these poor farmers were now lying dead in the fields and those

who were still standing were likely demoralized and probably had wounds of their own to tend

to. It was becoming clear that the price they were paying was far too steep for just the

stalemate. Things were turning against the House of Wessex. At some point during all of the fighting,

we're told by Alfred that he and his brother made an agreement over how the crown would pass.

...