Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is episode 223, King

Alfred and Chippenham. This show is ad-free due to member support and as a way of thanking

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How do you redeem a year like 877? If you're Alfred, how do you fix something like this?

Even if he cast it in the best possible light, the story of 877 would still be the story

of how Wessex lost control of two of its major coastal strongholds, of how it was unable

to directly counter the military strength of Guthrum, and of how the kingdom largely survived

only thanks to bad weather. Now true, all of this could be cast as divine intervention

and that would definitely bolster some spirits. But even in that circumstance, even if you're

looking at all of this as God getting involved, you're still looking at a year that was so

bad that the Almighty had to put his thumb on the scale.

And the hits kept on coming. As harvest season drew to a close, Alfred would have received

word from across the channel that King Charles the Bald of Francia had died. Now Charles

was never the best king, but his death would have raised the specter of instability. And

don't forget how powerful the Viking fleets became when they were able to exploit

Frankish instability. And the prospect of short-sighted nobles once again financing these

pirates would have been caused for concern to save at least. And then there was the way

that Charles died. He didn't die in battle against the Vikings. Frankly, that would

...