Alfred the Great and the Great Heathen Army

Over twelve hundred years ago, the vacuum left in Briton by the departing Romans in the early 5th century, had already been filled by the arrival of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, now christian they lived in several distinct kingdoms that spanned the length and breadth of what we now know as England. However, life in each of Englands separate kingdoms was quickly turned upside down with the arrival of a race of people hell bent at first on just raiding and stealing, but eventually had designs on far more - outright conquest! Chroniclers of the day penned a name for this fearsome beast, referring to it as - The Great Heathen Army. After conquering all before them one kingdom stood alone in the fight - Wessex. For it is at this time we can see how a christian England stood on the precipice of total subjugation at the hands of a Viking pagan army. However, one young and inexperienced king that stood in their way, and in doing so he faced a monumental battle to stop the fragile, flickering flame of an Anglo Saxon led England being snuffed out once and for all - this kings name - Alfred the Great. Chapters :- 00:00 Introduction 01:45 Background 10:43 To Raid or Conquer 20:10 Foray into Mercia 22:58 Marriage 24:19 Beast on the Move 26:31 All Eyes on Wessex 38:37 Lull Before the Storm 42:08 Second Assault 49:59 Hiding in the Marshes 56:00 The Battle of Edington 1:10:22 End of GHA 1:19:26 A New Kingdom 1:25:34 Conclusion "Round Shield" (https://skfb.ly/6WZEU) by DireRaven is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Shield" (https://skfb.ly/6VGRv) by Andrew_Fox is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking Age Round Shield" (https://skfb.ly/o8ttw) by Rigsters is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking shield" (https://skfb.ly/6YBML) by kozachoks is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Shield" (https://skfb.ly/6S8zI) by KaramellGlass is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "viking maiden shield" (https://skfb.ly/ox78y) by Pieter Ferreira is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking's Shield" (https://skfb.ly/6sTNu) by Nhy is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking Shield" (https://skfb.ly/oIpzz) by ghBanck is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking Shield" (https://skfb.ly/VqIW) by jasonsanderart is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking Shield" (https://skfb.ly/6RrCM) by Mora is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Old viking wooden shield" (https://skfb.ly/6ZGIV) by rakutin is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking Shield" (https://skfb.ly/6WM98) by Lucas Garnier is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "SHIELD" (https://skfb.ly/oQLSs) by Rijo is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Medieval Shield" (https://skfb.ly/6WOPU) by Kirhl is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... Viking 3D Character:- "Viking/Medieval Game Character" (https://skfb.ly/Qn8G) by CGenesis is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... "Viking longship" (https://skfb.ly/6UopT) by massive-graphisme is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b.... Description : Exploração e territórios viquingues File : Vikings exploration and territories-pt.svg Author :Pinpin (talk · contribs) License : Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Description : A map of Mercia, made using information from OpenStreetMap File : Mercia map.svg Author : Hel-hama License : Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0