Welcome to the History Extra podcast.

It's the third part today of our Sunday series in which Dr. Eleanor Baraklough and James Osborne

discussed the Viking Great Heathen Army, and we rejoined the story today as things look bleak for Alfred,

but his fortunes were soon to experience a dramatic reversal.

In this episode, you'll hear James and Eleanor make mention of the Norns.

Now, the Norns are three female figures from Norse mythology who were believed to shape the destinies of men and gods alike,

and they were usually depicted as weaving

the threads of fate across past, present and future. So with that in our minds, it's on with today's

episode. As the Viking great heathen army stormed past the borders of Wessex, its conquest of Anglo-Saxon

England looked nearly complete. But Alfred had other ideas. I'm James Osborne,

and in this third episode of our four-part series on the Viking invasion of Anglo-Saxon

England in the later half of the 9th century, I'm joined by Dr. Eleanor Baraklough to discuss

Alfred the Great's assent to victory at the Battle of Eddington.

Eleanor, we ended the previous episode by talking about Guthrum's surprise attack against Alfred at Chippenham in the year 8-7-8 and Alfred's flight.

Why is this such an important moment?

This is the point, I think, and again, not wishing

to be sort of too hyperbolic about it, but if Anglo-Sax in England, we're going to collapse,

I think this is the point where you'd almost expect that to be the narrative. This is how it plays

out. The last king standing flees to the marshes and the Vikings have total control.

And I think because it's one of these sliding doors moments in a way, the fact that this isn't

how the story ends makes it even more exciting.

Having said that, you know, we have to remember that we have bits of this story and sometimes

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