Welcome to the History of English Podcast, a podcast about the history of the English language.

This is episode 48, the unity of Alfred's English.

In this episode, we're going to look at the events which took place during the final

years of Alfred's reign in Wessex, in the last decade of the 9th century.

Specifically, we're going to look at the reforms implemented by Alfred to both preserve

and promote the English language. And one of the underlying goals of Alfred's reforms

was to unify the Anglo-Saxons in the face of the Viking threat.

He used every tool that is disposal, and one tool was the common language of the Anglo-Saxons.

He used that language to emphasize their shared history and culture, and in the process,

he laid the groundwork for what would soon become known as England.

So one of the underlying themes of this episode is unity and togetherness.

But before we begin, let me remind you that the Bay of Wolf audiobook is available through

the website, HistoryofEnglishPodcast.com. But as of the time I'm recording this episode,

it's not yet available on iTunes or Amazon.com. It should be there shortly, but the timing is out

of my control. For those of you who follow me on Twitter at EnglishHistPod, I'll send out a

note when the book is officially added to iTunes. And as always, you can reach me directly at

kevinathistoryofEnglishPodcast.com. So let's turn to this episode about Alfred's English.

Last time we looked at the conquest of a large portion of Britain by the Danish Vikings.

And we saw how Alfred preserved Anglo-Saxon culture in his kingdom of Wessex,

as well as in Western Mercia. He also retook London from the Vikings later in his reign,

and we examine how he fortified the defenses of his kingdom. But for language historians,

Alfred is most famous for his efforts to preserve the English language, especially the written

...