Rise of Wessex
Gone Medieval
History Hit
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2024
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Gone Medieval’s special series exploring some of Anglo-Saxon Britain’s most influential kingdoms, we reach Wessex - the last kingdom left to stand against the Great Heathen Army. Under the command of Alfred the Great, Wessex achieved what no other kingdom could before it: victory against the Vikings.
In this episode, Eleanor Janega is joined by Dr. Rob Gallagher, a historian of early medieval Britain, to explore the key figures of the Wessex ascendency and the legacy the kingdom left behind.
This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's 80. |
| 0:01.0 | 80. |
| 0:02.0 | It's 8. |
| 0:03.0 | It's 8870. |
| 0:14.1 | 8870 and only one independent Anglo-Saxon kingdom remains as the Vikings continue their |
| 0:20.9 | fierce advances across the British Isles. |
| 0:24.5 | The Danish army has reached the border of the Kingdom of Wessex, the final frontier, and |
| 0:29.5 | their success looks almost inevitable. Despite the wealth and prosperity of the kingdom |
| 0:35.1 | whose border they are about to cross, the fierce Viking warriors are feeling |
| 0:38.9 | pretty confident after their hard-won victories over Northumbria and Mercia. |
| 0:44.0 | Faced with the marauding Viking army on their doorstep, |
| 0:47.0 | and after little success in their previous clashes with the Danes, |
| 0:51.0 | a certain nobleman called Alfred, remember that name, the brother of Ethelred, the then |
| 0:56.9 | King of Wessex, makes a crucial decision. He gathers their troops and retreats to the Berkshire Hills, where he hurriedly went about assembling local levies to join the fight against the Viking invaders, a desperate attempt to stave off their advances. |
| 1:12.0 | With troops assembled, Alfred launches a daring attack and commands his army to charge |
| 1:16.8 | full pelte down the hill towards the enemy. |
| 1:20.8 | On witnessing his brother's boldness, Ethelred orders his forces to follow suit and join the downhill onslaught. |
| 1:29.0 | Call it a strike of genius or call it madness. the move pays off. |
| 1:33.0 | After a fierce and bloody battle, known as the Battle of Ashton, |
| 1:38.0 | the Saxons stand victorious. |
| 1:40.0 | The Danish leader Bagseg lies dead on the battlefield and for the first time in the history of the angles |
| 1:46.8 | the advances of the Vikings have been halted. The foes will meet again, but for now Wessex has won victory against the great heathen army. Welcome to Gone Medieval. I'm Eleanor Yannica, and this week as we continue on our journey through the powerful kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy, |
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