Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is episode 229, The Battle of Eddington.

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British History Podcast.com, for only about the price of a latte per month. And thank you very much

to Simon, Stephanie and Keelan for signing up already. Four months is a long time. It might not

seem like it and in many ways four months can pass in a blink of an eye. But four months is

around 120 days. It's more than a full season. In four months, the harshness of winter can be

replaced by the bright warmth of spring. Four months is a long time, especially when you're living

in a swamp. And even more so when you're leading a guerrilla war. For Alfred, each day on Athelney

would have been marked with life or death decisions. Missions being sent out, new warriors being

recruited, supplies being liberated from Guthram, from their base of operations in Somerset,

every day would have brought new challenges. And Athelney itself would have created its own workload.

No one knew how long this would take. No one knew how long they might have to live on this

shrubby little island amidst the marsh and the filth. So in addition to raiding, recruiting,

and assault missions, there was also the issue of construction, building rough-hune homes to protect

the little band and their growing recruits from the elements. They'd also be augmenting the

earthen ramparts left behind by the ancients who once inhabited this odd bit of land. Perhaps

they were even shoring up the causeways that allowed quick access to and from Eastern Somerset.

The work for Alfred's band would have been unceasing, and I imagine that in many ways time would

have both raced by as well as dragged on. Because that's how time seems to work in moments of crisis.

Where each day seems to race with frightening speed, but at the same time, it feels like it's

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