Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is episode 261.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Mercine Register.

How's that for a sexy title?

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I hope that after the last few episodes and honestly the last few years, I've managed

to dispel the myth of elegance that surrounds monarchy, especially medieval monarchy.

Even among the best monarchs, you won't find a prince charming. Each one of these individuals

had serious flaws. They all do things that are ineffective, short-sighted, or just downright

on savory. And many of them have at least a little scandal in their lives. And that's

just their public lives. On the occasion where we get a glimpse into the monarch's personal

private matters, you see the same sort of mess that you can expect to find in anyone's

life. Sometimes even more. Alfred the Great's eldest son, Edward, suddenly had a new wife

after a lover had vanished for unknown reasons. And yet a young son from that vanished lover

that was sent away to mercia. And all of this potentially happening after his father had

died. The whole thing looks a little bit dodgy. And when we look at his public life, we

know that even though Atholwald was dead, Edward's political problems hadn't fully gone

away. When Atholwald rebelled, he didn't do it alone. Some number of the West Saxons

had joined him, and so did some of the Northumbrians, and the Danes of East Anglia. So while

...