@Marko Milivojević Rust Because we know very little about the early Anglo Saxon kings. Most of the things that are known is either based on archeology or from documentation written more than 2 centuries later. There is very little contemporary documentation of this period
@@GhostsOfTheAngelcynn Actually I mean Britain which is the name of the island. The term Britain pre dates the name England and I was also including Scottish (which I find most interesting due to the amount of different people groups there) and welsh history.
@@SgtSteel1 exactly people seem to think the Natives of pre Roman Britain were savages when in fact there was an advanced culture with mass farming and trade in materials and objects that went to and came from as far as Egypt.
Honestly the Anglo-Saxon era is one of the most interesting sections of English history. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in England, in much the same way as the Vikings later would, and from roughly the same geographic region. They can be seen as a first wave of Germanic invasions into the British isles, with the Vikings being the second wave. They became slightly more civilized and organized it seems, with the introduction of Christianity, but remained very warlike nonetheless. When Athelstan died, it marked the end of three powerful Anglo-Saxon (English) kings from the house of Wessex, who had transformed the political landscape and carved out an English “empire”. History can be cruel however, and it seemed that all of their efforts were undone by the weak king Ethelred the Unready’s erratic reign. The northmen returned in great strength during this time. Despite his successor Edmund Ironside’s valiant efforts, the Danish king Cnut was victorious and became the king of England. Cnut was the head of what was effectively a powerful Danish Empire which had much of Scandinavia under its banner, and adding England to that was immense. Cnut could not hold it all together however, and focused on the wealthy English kingdom, letting bits of his Scandinavian realm fall from his grasp. Luckily for the English, Cnut turned out to be a wise and fair king, largely ruling England in much of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. His son Harthacnut was ineffective, and his half brother Edward the Confessor became king. Edward the Confessor was a very pious man, who did not covet warfare. He had a mixed heritage, and spent a great deal of his life in exile in Normandy, but is considered to be the second last Anglo-Saxon king before Harold Godwinson, who died at the Battle of Hastings. Here, the era of Anglo-Saxon England ended, giving way to the Norman period. The Norman invasion would irreparably change England’s history from that point forward. Even the English language would feel the new cultural influence of the French speaking Normans. I have heard it said that the English language would sound closer to Icelandic or Dutch today, if the Normans had not conquered England in and after 1066.
Anglo-Saxon history NEEDS to be taught more in our education system. It just gets buried between Rome and the Norman Conquest; arguably it took centuries before our people were as free again, and rule over us was only with the consent of the people. Being of royal blood was not enough, if there was not the support behind it.
Bro the Anglo Saxon’s where invaders. The native britons fought them after the Roman’s left and where bushes to Cornwall wales and Brittany. King Arthur’s legend originates with him a Briton fighting Saxon invaders
We have to learn about everyone else's aboriginal cultures, as a part of pushing the lefty "White is evil" agenda. The lefty educational establishment in the UK doesn't want to publicise that we ourselves suffered our own cultural apocalypse from outsiders, who slaughtered and enslaved us.... We can't have young impressionable minds feeling sympathy for Britain can we?
History Time Yeah he really is. I don't really know who he is. I've heard of Alfred the Great and Ethelred the unready but tbh from Alfred to Edward the Confessor I don't really know the kings and exploits between that
Whenever a coffee shop asks for my name for my order, I answer "the same as the first king of England". Guess how many times anyone has known what it is?
@@SantomPh There is an absolute goldmine of details concerning the period if one can be bothered to look. It is a combination of cultural amnesia and downright laziness on the part of our so-called educators that have allowed this dismissal of seven plus centuries of our history.
If you’re interested in this; the show “The Last Kingdom” is all about King Alfred and the other monarchs, the Danes and Ragnar Ragnarson, the kingdom of Wessex, and most of all the famous Uthred Of Bebbanburg
I simply adore British medieval history. I didn't even know of King Athelstan yet he was such a remarkable man, leader and Christian. I thank you for this remarkable series good sir.
This isn't British medieval history!!! The term British wouldn't be a thing for several hundred years later. Couldn't you see for your self in the video that the people and nations of the what would become known as Britain were all still separate?! Please use the correct terminology for the time period.
@lvan Big Nob No...the term British is wrongly applied to the Britons. The term British didn't exist until the formation of the United Kingdom. Which since has gone onto be used as interchangeable with English.
@Pneumonocolvocanomicroscopicsilicolvocano-coniosis Yes....Geographically! But you cant use it as it wasn't being applied in that time period. It confuses people If you use wrong terminalogy for a certain time period. As I stated....The term British wouldn't be applied until the formation of the political union of the Countries on The island of Britain.
The actual battle site, as of January 2020, is 'Unknown'. The Wirral Peninsular, just a few miles (about 10-15), to the West of the site depicted, had Norwegian Vikings already settled, in thr 'Northern'o, having 'broken away' from the main settlement in Dublin, some 35 years previously
previously. Local folk lore suggests the battle occurred a few miles to the West around modern Brombrough / Brakenwood, on the River Mersey side of the Peninsular. Wirral today has many Norwegian Viking place names. Wirral was one of the three forests of Cheshire as recorded a few years later in the Domesday Book - Delamere and Knutsford being the others. It is not known if any of the Wirral Vikings, from the North of Wirral participated for either side.
@@williamanderson5437 they certainly had form...Ingismund and his warband after their expulsion from Dublin, were granted land on the wirral by Aethelflaed the lady of Mercia in 902 ??...to show their gratitude they attacked Chester, but Athelflaed was forewarned and even persuaded Ingismund, s Irish confederates to switch sides...
This Battle location has been revised due to recent archaeological studies in the area around the Town of Bromborough, on the Wirral on the banks of the River Mersey.
Marching out early to pin the enemy down, and pitching up extra tents and sending envoys to buy time was a pretty smart move from King Athelstan. Also, since this was not a battle with complicated tactics, the fact that his force won is a sign that his men were better prepared for the fight. Great show from the King of Britain!
king of england not britain (also not england quite but nearly) the video doesn't mention that the battle resulted in the end of his overlordship of the scottish kingdoms. it was a victory militarily for him but in reality it was a political victory for the scottish nations who ensured there independence as a result of the battle. finally a not on the inaccuracies of the video, i know he has to take sides in order to present a compelling narrative but doing so limits the perspective and causes some quite frequent and silly inaccuracies and misunderstandings such as the above. also silly things like there was no alba at this point it formally became scotland when constatine (cant spell his name sorry) took the throne being describes as the first king of scotland and even then it was only one king that was described as being a king of alba that being his predecessor before him they where the kings ofthe pics.
@@jamesmcabla1772also I figure at this point, 'England' and 'Scotland' weren't anywhere near the fixed concepts they are today. So it can be confusing to make too much of big thing over whether this marked the birth of the kingdoms of either England or Scotland. A pivotal moment between the two crowns for sure, but geographically there was much still to be decided. Aethelstan's 'England' included Edinburgh, since it had been part of the kingdom of Northumbria, but not Carlisle which was part of the kingdom of Strathclyde.
he was the king of a unified Anglo Saxon realm. England itself has not been formalized yet and neither was Scotland, with Cornwall still being a fief outside of Saxon reckoning. As for the battle, it was a literal meat grinder since both forces were really similar. A cavalry unit here or there could have changed the situation greatly.
@@SantomPh *Maybe*. It depends on whether the ground and setting were suitable for cavalry and flanking. The battlefield seems to be bounded by forest on both sides. No good for flanking attacks. But who knows?
When the preparatives for the battle started I thought: "I'm sure I have read about the trick of the tents". Well, after a couple minutes I've realized that in the Egil's Saga (one of the medieval icelandic sagas) there's one episode which tells the battle since the point of view of one viking mercenery fighting on Aethelstan's side.
Yass is a meme? Maybe I am too old for this, I just used it as a Germanized yes...as in Germany we would say Ja. :P Also, my wife is partially Scottish.
One of my favorite channels. Rectangle on rectangle violence has been out of control for most of human civilization. I would have never known. All kidding aside, thanks for the great vids.
Modern thinking is that the battle took place on or near the town of Bromborough on the Wirral. Much of the Wirral is Viking with many Viking place names and with many a Viking visit from the North sea rim, landing on the Wirral bank of the river Dee to meet. If you are Saxon King and want to crush Viking pretenders once and for all, then you battle them on the their home turf, the Wirral. In much the same way the Romans sorted the Druids in Anglesey at the time of the Boudica rising.
And I think the Cuerdale hoard was buried on the escape back north. I imagine it was weighing them down and slowing them too much so they buried it somewhere they'd remember. It probably started out as booty to pay a now dead army, but for whatever reason they never got round to coming back for it. Seems if you're on the Wirral and you're trying to get back to Scotland ASAP you'd most likely ford the Ribble about there cause at low tide there are parts you can walk across. I can see from my window where that hoard was found and it seems the most likely route from A to B and why it found its way there.
Originally from the UK albeit almost 40 years ago and now living in Canada and this is history that was not taught in the comphrehensive school system at least as I remember. I remember the Tudor and Victorian history being taught but these videos remind me of the game of risk with lots of context when rolling the dice which determined the history to follow. Enjoyed the history told in a easy to follow strategic mastery of these great people win or lose who lived long ago but not forgotten thankfully.
History teaching has changed in England in the last 40 years, Anglo Saxon and Viking history is on the primary school curriculum. However, because of the lack of sources other periods of history are studied in more detail.
And Uhtred is not even mentioned once, even though he was (or will be, in the next book) pivotal in all of that (according to the written "historical records" by one Bernard of Cornwell) 😁😁
The books version of uhtred wasn't a real person. He is a fictional character in a somewhat non fiction story. He does have some roots in a different part of history since he is based on a lord during the 11th century, but uhtred nevee fought for king alfred, he didn't fight in the great heathen invasion and he wasn't even alive for those events.
@@daltonevans3412 true, i think he fought for Edmund Ironsides prior to Canutes(Knut) reign, Edmonds son went into exile and his son Edgar Atheling returned to England and had a fascinating life which is hardly mention in history lessons, you could rigth 10 books on him, his sister Margeret married the king of Scotland and later became a saint and her grand daughter was the Empress Matilda, Henry Plantagenate married her and her son Henry II became king after King Stephen technically bringing back the Wessex line to the throne.
I believe Bromborough is seen as the most likely place, which I'm guessing Baz here has used, but also there are other contenders, it's one of those great historical mysteries, like 'where are the Catalaunian Fields?
@@mcallisterwill yea I remember watching time team a while ago on the same subject and they were in Bromborough itself but did say that it could be the right place but not 100% sure .
The actual site of the battle is now lost in the mists of time, BUT the main contender oddly enough is underneath a golf course at Bromborough (> Brunanburh) on the modern day Wirral, UK. True.
Visigoth Runs Far I know right? I've only started watching this series a few months ago and love it , a little iffy on the "modern " stuff but still enjoyable series
Cheshire born and bred. My family have been here since well before 1066 and a few places are named after us. The golf course should be dug up, there are too many of the things infesting Cheshire.
@@ste2442 CH postcode mate, Its Wirral, Cheshire. Plus its not rumoured to be under Bromborough golf course it was meant to be on Bebington Common which is now around the acorn pub all the way down to the croft business park thats about 3 to 4 miles.
Psst* Battle of Towton, one of the biggest battles of the Medieval ages, series on the Wars of the Roses would be cool, please, thank you, attempt #13 *Slinks off into the night.
Unfortunately they are always changing what they teach about every 10 years. When I went to school we did learn about the vikings and we covered king Alfred but that it
Wist Man he was a Saxon. But as I said they change what they teach every ten years. I am friends with someone who works in a school. And they change what they teacher every ten years in things like history, English, religious studies,physical education.
Wist Man as a child I was taught about early Saxon England. Then most of the Norman period. Then things like tudors, Victorian times , then as you beg to secondary school you do more stuff on the word wars and we did a lot of subjects on hitler and now he came to power.
To be honest, I would like to see some pirate battles from the golden age (or even before), such as the Blockade of Charleston, Blackbeards final battle, and Morgans sack of Panama
Under the golf course, I'm reliably informed!... various places claim the battle, but to me, logic implies the Wirral., convenient for the Viking ships from Dublin also a sea route from Straethclud!
@@alanthomas2064 Tom Sleman a local author has written extensively about the hauntings around the battle site, he has a weekly column in the Wirral Globe available online...
@@Wombat1916 post Bernard Cornwell, s series of Uhtred novels, opinion has swung over to the wirral peninsula, Wirral archeologists even presented Bernard Cornwell with a dagger retrieved from the battle site ,which he referenced in his last novel...best wishes from the wirral
Presently spelled BROMBOROUGH. Which is on the Wirral... And this Battle which concluded in a draw defined the line of Scotland.. England as it stands today.
It's a shame but the Byzantine empire rarely appears in history shows. My entire schooling from K-12 never even mentioned the Eastern Roman Empire other then "The Byzantine Emperor called the Pope for help which kicked off the Crusades". It's like we have a complete blindspot when it comes to one of the greatest empires in history :/
There is still conjecture as to the site of this battle. At least three alternative locations are equally plausible. The truce was signed at Dore on the boundary of the kingdoms.
Another great BazBattles production. The Battle site is actually unknown and there are other sites put forward, the brilliant historian Michael Wood has made a convincing case for a location to the south of York, either way Athelstan is probably the greatest English King, and first King of all Britian.
ehhhhh not really the king of all Britain maybe the overlord of most of great Britain (the largest island) for a short period of time. this video unfortunately doesn't bother to mention that this battle resulted in the end of English overload ship of the Scottish kingdoms resulting int he kingdoms independence for almost a thousand years following this battle. by that measure its fair to say that Edward the first was the first overlord of all of Britain (not king) and the first actual king was James the first and sixth (i think he was the sixth king James of Scotland) following his inheritance of the English throne after liz 1s death. and even then he didn't rule over a single Britain he ruled over two separate states so the first true king of Britain would be who ever was in power following the act of union.
i agree with the two comments above me plus this battle actually resulted in the end of English over lordship of the Scottish kingdoms so actually did the complete opposite of unite the kingdom as might be misunderstood
@@jamesmcabla1772 This video is nonsense mate...He states that the Welsh were almost subservient to the English in this period. The Kingdom of England (after being conquered themselves by the same people, The Normans) wouldn't have control over parts of Wales for another 200 years! Or so.
@@taffyducks544 i know its takes a very Anglo-centric approach to this and as a result leaves people with a half arsed understanding of the topic normally simply for narrative value
After playing CK2 and some of the M&B Brytenwalda mod, this video is well appreciated. Great job :D I am a little interested in the lack of cavalry or missile troops as a deciding role in this battle 🤔
Hey I woud like so see a video about Richard the lll King of England and his last batte (Batte of Bosworth Field) I am a big fan from germany, thanks for another great video
Because Hastings signalled a significant change in the ruling elite. That's a pretty big deal. But I agree, these earlier battles are the reason England exists, so should be a bigger deal really.
@@peterbrown1012 it has findings of Irish arrows I believe. That proves the Norse-Irish Vikings were active in that area in the 10th century which we already knew. I don’t think it proves that the Wirral is certainly the location
@@wildfire9280 Knut the Great son of Sven Forkbeard who conquered ye ruled ye for a generation and Knuts grandson is better known as Harald Godwinson of 1066 fame! and of course William the Bastard is of Royal Danish blood being grandson of Rollo who founded Normandy, The bastards descendants ruled ye for 4 centuries as the Plantangets ,so yeah they won in the end?? until a Welch cattle hustler beat them at Bosworth(The Tudors).Indeed Athelstan and all he's ancestors are Angles (Anglish)and Saxons hailing from Denmark and Northwestern Germany so you could say the last true ruler whos ancestors we'rent foreigners was Bouddica or Calgacus because most of your monarchs in last 4/5 hundred years have been imported from France and Germany.!
@@feral7523 Cnut’s grandson? The only grandchildren we know of that Cnut had was Beatrice, Abbess of Quedlinburg. Ælfwine, Haraldsson may have also been his grandson, he was a monk in France
Great video, I really enjoy this period in history- an enjoyment mainly due to Bernard Cornwall's Saxon Tales. I could tell however, that there are a lot of holes in this episode because of a lack in sources and other evidence. For example, I have read that the location of the Battle of Brunanburg is unknown, and could even be in Scotland.
yeah he also took a very anglo-centric approach to the research for it, there appears to be very little attempt to use scottish sources and no attempt to outline the importance of the battle in that although it was an English victory it actually resulted in the end of English over-lordship of Scotland
@@anglishbookcraft1516 Uhtred is a Saxon that was raised by Danes. also did you not watch any of the last kingdom all the Saxons like Alfred,Edward,Beocca, are all badass. if anything it is the danes that are the wumps in the series which makes sense seeing as in actual history Alfred the great spent his entire reign kicking the danes asses up and down england. the last kingdom simply gives us an inside fictional look into how he was able to achieve this.
ramtin mojmeli I know, right? You'd think Aethelstan would have been more considerate towards RUclipsrs of the future... I mean, come on! At least flank the bastards or something
I got here before my notification got to me! No matter, the epicness was sought, and the epic was delivered! Baz, you magnificent bastard (Or plural - beginning to think there is a Knightly Order of Baz now)
@@palepilgrim1174 Modern Scotland was created from the merger of several tribal kingdoms of different ethnic heritage: The Scots of Dal-Riata, The Picts of Caledonia, the Cumbrians of Strathclyde, and the Angles of Bernicia.
@@Domhangairt No, modern Scotland wasn't 'created' it was basically whitewashed into history. Yes the region has a mix of different neighboring peoples like literally every region of Europe does. Nobody is pure, nobody descends from one thing. There was no 'merger' or 'unions'. There were conquests and assimilations. The point is, the Scottish (in all honesty) died out. They were either killed or assimilated into other identities over time. Just like the Picts were (who claims to be Pictish today?). Just like the Welsh (or 'Cumbrians'), again who in Scotland claims to be Welsh or Cumbrian, were. Scottish actually used to mean something historically, it was an ethnic identity. A nation. People who spoke Gaelic and had Gaelic names. Now it just means people from a region of land. It's a nothing term. Now you're all just basically just English people in denial. and over half of you descend from the Germanic peoples (mainly Anglo-Saxon and Norse) who settled between the 400s and 1200s anyway.
@@Domhangairt You'd honestly be better off just calling that region today Northumbria. Because that is the people you trace ethnolinguistic descent from. Not the Scottish (which literally means Irish anyway). Not the Welsh. Not the Norse.
Great video -One of the most formative battles in British history - and yet unknown by 99% of the population.... *Edit* Owain is pronounced *Owe - wine*
Owain is O-wine. Strathclyde was a Briton Kingdom just like Cymru is and the languages are almost identical with both. You'll still find Owain being a name still used here in Cymru and of course one of our national heroes had the same name in regards to Prince Owain Glyndwr of Cymru. Another famous man would be Owain Tudur who would change his name to Owen Tudor in order to gain favour with an English King.
This battle could very well of been fought near Burnley at Briercliffe in Lancashire. They have a Saxfield street. Are near the river Brun and have at least a 30 foot tall battle marker there erected in the dark ages. The trouble with this is that a Catholic priest in the late 19th century, tired of this "Pagan" battle marker rising high above his town, had it chiseled down to a Greek/Roman style plinth with which he added a stone cross on to it, totally destroying a piece of English history. I would like to point out that the battle marker is 30foot tall today, after the priest chiseled down. It is called Walton spire today.
British history from 400-1000 ad gets no where near enough attention,
@Marko Milivojević Rust Because we know very little about the early Anglo Saxon kings. Most of the things that are known is either based on archeology or from documentation written more than 2 centuries later. There is very little contemporary documentation of this period
You mean English history. There ws no Britain or British till the 1700s.
@@GhostsOfTheAngelcynn Actually I mean Britain which is the name of the island. The term Britain pre dates the name England and I was also including Scottish (which I find most interesting due to the amount of different people groups there) and welsh history.
Agreed, but I'd go further and say British history from 10,000 bc to around 1000 ad gets nowhere near enough attention.
@@SgtSteel1 exactly people seem to think the Natives of pre Roman Britain were savages when in fact there was an advanced culture with mass farming and trade in materials and objects that went to and came from as far as Egypt.
Here after watching the Last Kingdom's final film, this is very fascinating European history I never knew about
Oh same here lol ! 😅
That movie sucked compared to the series
Honestly the Anglo-Saxon era is one of the most interesting sections of English history. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in England, in much the same way as the Vikings later would, and from roughly the same geographic region. They can be seen as a first wave of Germanic invasions into the British isles, with the Vikings being the second wave.
They became slightly more civilized and organized it seems, with the introduction of Christianity, but remained very warlike nonetheless.
When Athelstan died, it marked the end of three powerful Anglo-Saxon (English) kings from the house of Wessex, who had transformed the political landscape and carved out an English “empire”.
History can be cruel however, and it seemed that all of their efforts were undone by the weak king Ethelred the Unready’s erratic reign. The northmen returned in great strength during this time. Despite his successor Edmund Ironside’s valiant efforts, the Danish king Cnut was victorious and became the king of England. Cnut was the head of what was effectively a powerful Danish Empire which had much of Scandinavia under its banner, and adding England to that was immense.
Cnut could not hold it all together however, and focused on the wealthy English kingdom, letting bits of his Scandinavian realm fall from his grasp. Luckily for the English, Cnut turned out to be a wise and fair king, largely ruling England in much of the Anglo-Saxon tradition. His son Harthacnut was ineffective, and his half brother Edward the Confessor became king.
Edward the Confessor was a very pious man, who did not covet warfare. He had a mixed heritage, and spent a great deal of his life in exile in Normandy, but is considered to be the second last Anglo-Saxon king before Harold Godwinson, who died at the Battle of Hastings. Here, the era of Anglo-Saxon England ended, giving way to the Norman period. The Norman invasion would irreparably change England’s history from that point forward. Even the English language would feel the new cultural influence of the French speaking Normans. I have heard it said that the English language would sound closer to Icelandic or Dutch today, if the Normans had not conquered England in and after 1066.
@@Jason-gg4lmthe books are amazing
Anglo-Saxon history NEEDS to be taught more in our education system.
It just gets buried between Rome and the Norman Conquest; arguably it took centuries before our people were as free again, and rule over us was only with the consent of the people. Being of royal blood was not enough, if there was not the support behind it.
@ And first millenium Britain was not?! There were Angles, Danes, Saxons, Norvegians, Celts, Picts, and the lot. And I'm missing many more.
Also we The English have Lost are native Anglo Saxon Tongue! A Beautiful language in its self....
Bro the Anglo Saxon’s where invaders. The native britons fought them after the Roman’s left and where bushes to Cornwall wales and Brittany. King Arthur’s legend originates with him a Briton fighting Saxon invaders
@@michaelferrell7924 So there was nobody in the land before the Britons?
@@marypetrie930 the culture that developed from the Britain’s where descended predominantly from the islands original settlers who moved up from Gaul
I honestly think that the time period between 700-1100 is one of the most interesting times in history, yet in schools it often gets neglected
We have to learn about everyone else's aboriginal cultures, as a part of pushing the lefty "White is evil" agenda. The lefty educational establishment in the UK doesn't want to publicise that we ourselves suffered our own cultural apocalypse from outsiders, who slaughtered and enslaved us.... We can't have young impressionable minds feeling sympathy for Britain can we?
What you talking about? All I remember about history was ww2 and Chinese men building rail Roads. History is non existent.
476-1066
Here Here
would make people too patriotic, has to be nazis, slavery and henry the 8th
No Cavalry, No flanking, No archers. Just a big ol' brawl.
Yep reminds me of Friday night after a pub crawl.
Faceless Man no cavalry?
Typical of the Dark Ages. A decent Greek or Roman general would trash these morons!!!
@Terry Blanton lol I just saw it. damned auto correct
@@gerardjagroo Yes. But there were none of those there. All that counts is who wins on the day.
Lovely to see other history channels get on board the Athelstan hype train. Unfortunately he's still rather an unknown figure in England.
History Time Yeah he really is. I don't really know who he is. I've heard of Alfred the Great and Ethelred the unready but tbh from Alfred to Edward the Confessor I don't really know the kings and exploits between that
Whenever a coffee shop asks for my name for my order, I answer "the same as the first king of England". Guess how many times anyone has known what it is?
RS2Russ r/iamverysmart
Manuel Migoya ha was thinking the exact same
Aethelstan is the most underrated English ruler of all time, imo.
Historia Civilis and BazBattles on back to back days! What a great start to the week.
dont forget kings and generals :)
Thanks for the call out on that channel. Never heard of it and now have already watched 2 vids and will be watching a few more tonight. Great channel.
Fenniks al three are boss lol awesome #fall of Pompey LOLOLOLOLOL sorry I acted drunk there
A worthy grandson to live up to the reputation of Alfred the Great. Awesome video as always. Love your channel.
Great work,what a shame that this seminal period in England's history is no longer taught in our schools.
to be fair, England has over 1000 years of history, with only the last 200 or so having details.
@@SantomPh There is an absolute goldmine of details concerning the period if one can be bothered to look.
It is a combination of cultural amnesia and downright laziness on the part of our so-called educators that have allowed this dismissal of seven plus centuries of our history.
White people have no culture or history
@@torinjones3221 stop trolling loser
No we have to learn about black history month every month
If you’re interested in this; the show “The Last Kingdom” is all about King Alfred and the other monarchs, the Danes and Ragnar Ragnarson, the kingdom of Wessex, and most of all the famous Uthred Of Bebbanburg
This is described brilliantly in the anglo saxon chronicles in an epic two line poem .
Long have I waited for this. Aethelstan is one of my favourite kings
Prayers for Uthred 🙏🏼
I simply adore British medieval history. I didn't even know of King Athelstan yet he was such a remarkable man, leader and Christian. I thank you for this remarkable series good sir.
This isn't British medieval history!!! The term British wouldn't be a thing for several hundred years later. Couldn't you see for your self in the video that the people and nations of the what would become known as Britain were all still separate?! Please use the correct terminology for the time period.
This is the dark ages not medieval
This period is, in my opinion, far more interesting than the Middle Ages in Britain post William the Conquerer
@lvan Big Nob No...the term British is wrongly applied to the Britons. The term British didn't exist until the formation of the United Kingdom. Which since has gone onto be used as interchangeable with English.
@Pneumonocolvocanomicroscopicsilicolvocano-coniosis Yes....Geographically! But you cant use it as it wasn't being applied in that time period. It confuses people If you use wrong terminalogy for a certain time period. As I stated....The term British wouldn't be applied until the formation of the political union of the Countries on The island of Britain.
The actual battle site, as of January 2020, is 'Unknown'. The Wirral Peninsular, just a few miles (about 10-15), to the West of the site depicted, had Norwegian Vikings already settled, in thr 'Northern'o, having 'broken away' from the main settlement in Dublin, some 35 years previously
previously. Local folk lore suggests the battle occurred a few miles to the West around modern Brombrough / Brakenwood, on the River Mersey side of the Peninsular. Wirral today has many Norwegian Viking place names. Wirral was one of the three forests of Cheshire as recorded a few years later in the Domesday Book - Delamere and Knutsford being the others. It is not known if any of the Wirral Vikings, from the North of Wirral participated for either side.
@@williamanderson5437 they certainly had form...Ingismund and his warband after their expulsion from Dublin, were granted land on the wirral by Aethelflaed the lady of Mercia in 902 ??...to show their gratitude they attacked Chester, but Athelflaed was forewarned and even persuaded Ingismund, s Irish confederates to switch sides...
Burnley on the river Brun.
"I'm not even born yet, lol." - William the Conqueror.
Lel XD
You mean the bastard
the bastard*
"Hey Willie, how is your father!?"
-I, i never knew him very well
@Adam Defibaugh Grow up child.
@kane benjamite ok boomer
That was really smart of him to send those envoys to delay and also to put up more tents and campfires
This Battle location has been revised due to recent archaeological studies in the area around the Town of Bromborough, on the Wirral on the banks of the River Mersey.
Marching out early to pin the enemy down, and pitching up extra tents and sending envoys to buy time was a pretty smart move from King Athelstan. Also, since this was not a battle with complicated tactics, the fact that his force won is a sign that his men were better prepared for the fight. Great show from the King of Britain!
king of england not britain (also not england quite but nearly) the video doesn't mention that the battle resulted in the end of his overlordship of the scottish kingdoms. it was a victory militarily for him but in reality it was a political victory for the scottish nations who ensured there independence as a result of the battle. finally a not on the inaccuracies of the video, i know he has to take sides in order to present a compelling narrative but doing so limits the perspective and causes some quite frequent and silly inaccuracies and misunderstandings such as the above. also silly things like there was no alba at this point it formally became scotland when constatine (cant spell his name sorry) took the throne being describes as the first king of scotland and even then it was only one king that was described as being a king of alba that being his predecessor before him they where the kings ofthe pics.
One wonders if King Aethelstan had any part to play in the deaths of his brother and king of north of umbria
@@jamesmcabla1772also I figure at this point, 'England' and 'Scotland' weren't anywhere near the fixed concepts they are today. So it can be confusing to make too much of big thing over whether this marked the birth of the kingdoms of either England or Scotland. A pivotal moment between the two crowns for sure, but geographically there was much still to be decided. Aethelstan's 'England' included Edinburgh, since it had been part of the kingdom of Northumbria, but not Carlisle which was part of the kingdom of Strathclyde.
he was the king of a unified Anglo Saxon realm. England itself has not been formalized yet and neither was Scotland, with Cornwall still being a fief outside of Saxon reckoning. As for the battle, it was a literal meat grinder since both forces were really similar. A cavalry unit here or there could have changed the situation greatly.
@@SantomPh *Maybe*. It depends on whether the ground and setting were suitable for cavalry and flanking. The battlefield seems to be bounded by forest on both sides. No good for flanking attacks. But who knows?
Everything about these videos is perfect. The build up, presentation of politics and the battle, and even the lovely cliff hanger at the end.
When the preparatives for the battle started I thought: "I'm sure I have read about the trick of the tents". Well, after a couple minutes I've realized that in the Egil's Saga (one of the medieval icelandic sagas) there's one episode which tells the battle since the point of view of one viking mercenery fighting on Aethelstan's side.
Wait, what? Another video? Already?! YASSSSS!!!
History Gaming Verified Bruh I will pay you to never say that again.
Patreon will probably launch at the end of the month so keep that thought in mind. ;)
Yass is a meme? Maybe I am too old for this, I just used it as a Germanized yes...as in Germany we would say Ja. :P Also, my wife is partially Scottish.
Well, in Germany we do...^^
pathetic pandering
One of my favorite channels. Rectangle on rectangle violence has been out of control for most of human civilization. I would have never known.
All kidding aside, thanks for the great vids.
just you wait untill the triangles join the fray... bloody slaughter!
“Come get some!” This series is BRILLIANT.
Modern thinking is that the battle took place on or near the town of Bromborough on the Wirral.
Much of the Wirral is Viking with many Viking place names and with many a Viking visit from the North sea rim, landing on the Wirral bank of the river Dee to meet.
If you are Saxon King and want to crush Viking pretenders once and for all, then you battle them on the their home turf, the Wirral.
In much the same way the Romans sorted the Druids in Anglesey at the time of the Boudica rising.
And I think the Cuerdale hoard was buried on the escape back north. I imagine it was weighing them down and slowing them too much so they buried it somewhere they'd remember. It probably started out as booty to pay a now dead army, but for whatever reason they never got round to coming back for it. Seems if you're on the Wirral and you're trying to get back to Scotland ASAP you'd most likely ford the Ribble about there cause at low tide there are parts you can walk across. I can see from my window where that hoard was found and it seems the most likely route from A to B and why it found its way there.
Originally from the UK albeit almost 40 years ago and now living in Canada and this is history that was not taught in the comphrehensive school system at least as I remember. I remember the Tudor and Victorian history being taught but these videos remind me of the game of risk with lots of context when rolling the dice which determined the history to follow. Enjoyed the history told in a easy to follow strategic mastery of these great people win or lose who lived long ago but not forgotten thankfully.
History teaching has changed in England in the last 40 years, Anglo Saxon and Viking history is on the primary school curriculum. However, because of the lack of sources other periods of history are studied in more detail.
And Uhtred is not even mentioned once, even though he was (or will be, in the next book) pivotal in all of that (according to the written "historical records" by one Bernard of Cornwell) 😁😁
Ikr!lol
The books version of uhtred wasn't a real person. He is a fictional character in a somewhat non fiction story. He does have some roots in a different part of history since he is based on a lord during the 11th century, but uhtred nevee fought for king alfred, he didn't fight in the great heathen invasion and he wasn't even alive for those events.
@@daltonevans3412 I know. It was a joke. Hence "historical records" in quotation marks. And the two "smiley faces".
Great books though
@@daltonevans3412 true, i think he fought for Edmund Ironsides prior to Canutes(Knut) reign, Edmonds son went into exile and his son Edgar Atheling returned to England and had a fascinating life which is hardly mention in history lessons, you could rigth 10 books on him, his sister Margeret married the king of Scotland and later became a saint and her grand daughter was the Empress Matilda, Henry Plantagenate married her and her son Henry II became king after King Stephen technically bringing back the Wessex line to the throne.
10:56 I love the perception of the English on French, or Scottish on English, Irish on Scottish, etc. So blunt and blatant.
I believe the battle took place in what is now known as Bromborough. A few miles up from where this is shown in the video.
I believe Bromborough is seen as the most likely place, which I'm guessing Baz here has used, but also there are other contenders, it's one of those great historical mysteries, like 'where are the Catalaunian Fields?
@@mcallisterwill yea I remember watching time team a while ago on the same subject and they were in Bromborough itself but did say that it could be the right place but not 100% sure .
The actual site of the battle is now lost in the mists of time, BUT the main contender oddly enough is underneath a golf course at Bromborough (> Brunanburh) on the modern day Wirral, UK. True.
This battle took place on the Wirral peninsula, just north of Chester
It was in bromborough in New Chester road
It's now believed the location is Bromborough Golf Course
Is there any news on when this will be published?
@@663lotty maybe a quiet word with the Wirral archeologists...best wishes from a quiet Wirralian..
I work at the Council, so will do that. Thanks.
Can I just say that your videos are visually absolutely pleasing and very informative. Keep it up!
Nothing like getting up in the morning and seeing a notification pop up from one of my favorite youtubers!
Visigoth Runs Far I know right? I've only started watching this series a few months ago and love it , a little iffy on the "modern " stuff but still enjoyable series
A new upload on this channel always gets me excited.
it gets me drooling ;-)
As a Northumbrian I was brought up around many of the important places during the dark ages
I was born and raised here. Used to play football on those fields
A really enjoyable video about a mostly forgotten battle, cheers.
Bromborough Wirral Cheshire, Battle site rumoured beneath the golf course.
Cheshire born and bred. My family have been here since well before 1066 and a few places are named after us. The golf course should be dug up, there are too many of the things infesting Cheshire.
I thought it was a rusty 5 iron in the trap
Alan Thomas Wirral Merseyside
I do doubt it, if they actually thought it was there they could dig it up and confirm. 15000 dead bodies don't just vanish
@@ste2442 CH postcode mate, Its Wirral, Cheshire. Plus its not rumoured to be under Bromborough golf course it was meant to be on Bebington Common which is now around the acorn pub all the way down to the croft business park thats about 3 to 4 miles.
How singular moments or in this case a battle shaped the course history. Fascinating what would have been if not for deciding battles like this.
Psst* Battle of Towton, one of the biggest battles of the Medieval ages, series on the Wars of the Roses would be cool, please, thank you, attempt #13
*Slinks off into the night.
I don't think they'll do what you want when you seem so desperate. By this I mean you stating the number of attempts. This is just sad.
i dont know, they've done some pretty fucking out there battles, like the battle of visby or battle of miyajima
You seem to have a chip on you're shoulder, relax bro. If they don't want to do it then they can ignore me.
i believe so. i haven't been actively asking, but i've been super hyped for any Battle of Towton videos that may eventually come
Guys don't worry kings and generals will cover Towton in their series on the Wars of the Roses.
For the first king of England, he’s really not taught about enough in schools or media.
Unfortunately they are always changing what they teach about every 10 years. When I went to school we did learn about the vikings and we covered king Alfred but that it
Wist Man he was a Saxon. But as I said they change what they teach every ten years. I am friends with someone who works in a school. And they change what they teacher every ten years in things like history, English, religious studies,physical education.
Wist Man as a child I was taught about early Saxon England. Then most of the Norman period. Then things like tudors, Victorian times , then as you beg to secondary school you do more stuff on the word wars and we did a lot of subjects on hitler and now he came to power.
BazBattles, where the actual battle was just two uneventful lines smashing into each other!
To understand a battle you have to know the larger context in which it took place. And anyway give them a break, they didn't fight the damn battle.
There was a long period where a lot of battles were like this
Agreed. Not an exciting battle, but really interesting politics leading up to it so I'm good with it
Trygve Plaustrum actually handreds of battles were fought like this throughout Asia but they weren't documented well
Show some appreciation to people that creates such amazing historical content.
Aethelstan's opponents have a funny habit of just happening to die when he needs them to :P
They've finally found the battlefield in Wirral
To be honest, I would like to see some pirate battles from the golden age (or even before), such as the Blockade of Charleston, Blackbeards final battle, and Morgans sack of Panama
Thank God you are alive !
Thanks so much for this video, I love learning about my history and history in general, thanks
I come , I see , I like and share
I came, I saw, I liked, I commented, I subscribed, I turned on notifications.
The church I built became a mosque
Apparently this battle was fought where I live now, the place is called Bromborough now.
Under the golf course, I'm reliably informed!... various places claim the battle, but to me, logic implies the Wirral., convenient for the Viking ships from Dublin also a sea route from Straethclud!
@@alanthomas2064 Tom Sleman a local author has written extensively about the hauntings around the battle site, he has a weekly column in the Wirral Globe available online...
Thanks Eamonn, l will look the author up!
This battle is thought to have taken place not far from where I live in modern day Bromborough on the Wirral Peninsula.
soapbaxter92 Michael Wood disagrees! Have you ever read the Saxon battle poem on Brunanburh - lots of blood, guts and Anglo-Saxon gloating!
@@Wombat1916 post Bernard Cornwell, s series of Uhtred novels, opinion has swung over to the wirral peninsula, Wirral archeologists even presented Bernard Cornwell with a dagger retrieved from the battle site ,which he referenced in his last novel...best wishes from the wirral
Brunanburh is most likely Bromborough on the Wirral.
Presently spelled BROMBOROUGH. Which is on the Wirral... And this Battle which concluded in a draw defined the line of Scotland.. England as it stands today.
3:08 had me in the first half ngl
Such a spectacular RUclips Channel. You do great work, so keep on trucking! Good job.
Nice name, lol. :)
Nothing like a shot of history to refresh the mind from all the nonsense going on around us.
WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG ! HOPE WE ONE DAY HAVE A VIDEO EVERY DAY !
do some battles about the Byzantines!
why don't you do them yourselves you ungrateful shit
@Matharox, chill bro. He's just making a suggestion.
Matharox go see a doctor boy
Matharox dude stfu he's making a suggestion
It's a shame but the Byzantine empire rarely appears in history shows. My entire schooling from K-12 never even mentioned the Eastern Roman Empire other then "The Byzantine Emperor called the Pope for help which kicked off the Crusades". It's like we have a complete blindspot when it comes to one of the greatest empires in history :/
There is still conjecture as to the site of this battle. At least three alternative locations are equally plausible.
The truce was signed at Dore on the boundary of the kingdoms.
Dang the battle of bananabruh was intense.
Indeed...
"I am Uthred, son of Uthred. Destiny is all."
I literally loled when William said "I'm not even born yet lol"
10/10 as always
Still loving the vids, When this fella gets to the war for southern independence I'm going to lose my mind.
The Danish/Prussian war of 1864 next! An often overlooked conflict but with great impact on the future of both Germany and Denmark.
Another great BazBattles production. The Battle site is actually unknown and there are other sites put forward, the brilliant historian Michael Wood has made a convincing case for a location to the south of York, either way Athelstan is probably the greatest English King, and first King of all Britian.
ehhhhh not really the king of all Britain maybe the overlord of most of great Britain (the largest island) for a short period of time. this video unfortunately doesn't bother to mention that this battle resulted in the end of English overload ship of the Scottish kingdoms resulting int he kingdoms independence for almost a thousand years following this battle. by that measure its fair to say that Edward the first was the first overlord of all of Britain (not king) and the first actual king was James the first and sixth (i think he was the sixth king James of Scotland) following his inheritance of the English throne after liz 1s death. and even then he didn't rule over a single Britain he ruled over two separate states so the first true king of Britain would be who ever was in power following the act of union.
I love seeing English history and how they united the Kingdom
*Their Kingdom. Your statement might confuse some idiots into thinking "The United Kingdom". Cause let's be honest....they are out there.
Was a Scottish king that got the English throne to make the union
i agree with the two comments above me plus this battle actually resulted in the end of English over lordship of the Scottish kingdoms so actually did the complete opposite of unite the kingdom as might be misunderstood
@@jamesmcabla1772 This video is nonsense mate...He states that the Welsh were almost subservient to the English in this period. The Kingdom of England (after being conquered themselves by the same people, The Normans) wouldn't have control over parts of Wales for another 200 years! Or so.
@@taffyducks544 i know its takes a very Anglo-centric approach to this and as a result leaves people with a half arsed understanding of the topic normally simply for narrative value
Welcome back! :) Missed BazBattles
After playing CK2 and some of the M&B Brytenwalda mod, this video is well appreciated. Great job :D I am a little interested in the lack of cavalry or missile troops as a deciding role in this battle 🤔
The anglo saxons and vikings did not use archers nor cavalry by that time.
The shieldwall was their way
Another one? Already? Fuck yes!
Proud to be from Anglo Saxon stock
Amazing job, as always. Keep it up!
Hey I woud like so see a video about Richard the lll King of England and his last batte (Batte of Bosworth Field)
I am a big fan from germany, thanks for another great video
I like how I immediately start any Total War game after your videos
Still don’t get how this battle gets overlooked in favour of Hastings.
Because Hastings signalled a significant change in the ruling elite. That's a pretty big deal. But I agree, these earlier battles are the reason England exists, so should be a bigger deal really.
7:38 The Wiiral is a strong possibility for the location but this is by no means certain. Other sites have also been named.
The Wirral now has archaeological proof.
@@peterbrown1012 it has findings of Irish arrows I believe. That proves the Norse-Irish Vikings were active in that area in the 10th century which we already knew. I don’t think it proves that the Wirral is certainly the location
When Vikings invade again: "How many times must we teach you this lesson heathen!?"
Vikings won in the end.
@@quqbalam5089 oh did they? How about stamford brigde?
@@quqbalam5089 In what universe?
@@wildfire9280 Knut the Great son of Sven Forkbeard who conquered ye ruled ye for a generation and Knuts grandson is better known as Harald Godwinson of 1066 fame! and of course William the Bastard is of Royal Danish blood being grandson of Rollo who founded Normandy, The bastards descendants ruled ye for 4 centuries as the Plantangets ,so yeah they won in the end?? until a Welch cattle hustler beat them at Bosworth(The Tudors).Indeed Athelstan and all he's ancestors are Angles (Anglish)and Saxons hailing from Denmark and Northwestern Germany so you could say the last true ruler whos ancestors we'rent foreigners was Bouddica or Calgacus because most of your monarchs in last 4/5 hundred years have been imported from France and Germany.!
@@feral7523 Cnut’s grandson?
The only grandchildren we know of that Cnut had was Beatrice, Abbess of Quedlinburg.
Ælfwine, Haraldsson may have also been his grandson, he was a monk in France
Great video, I really enjoy this period in history- an enjoyment mainly due to Bernard Cornwall's Saxon Tales. I could tell however, that there are a lot of holes in this episode because of a lack in sources and other evidence. For example, I have read that the location of the Battle of Brunanburg is unknown, and could even be in Scotland.
yeah he also took a very anglo-centric approach to the research for it, there appears to be very little attempt to use scottish sources and no attempt to outline the importance of the battle in that although it was an English victory it actually resulted in the end of English over-lordship of Scotland
The last kingdom, season 7 in a nutshell. Uhthrid Raggnarson saves the day again
I hate how they always take the credit away from Saxons and hand it over to a made up “Viking helper” character.
@@guccifer764 Yes, and ole Uhtred would have been 70 - 80 when he finally won back his precious home. bah.
@@anglishbookcraft1516 Uhtred is a Saxon that was raised by Danes. also did you not watch any of the last kingdom all the Saxons like Alfred,Edward,Beocca, are all badass. if anything it is the danes that are the wumps in the series which makes sense seeing as in actual history Alfred the great spent his entire reign kicking the danes asses up and down england.
the last kingdom simply gives us an inside fictional look into how he was able to achieve this.
just hearing your voice is a blessing
i just love these kinds of video´s. thank you for making them
No artifacts, no records kept, but right here folks is where you'll hear all the details of the battle. Somebody has a great imagination.
No records? How about anglo saxon chronicle?
Oi m8 yew gaw uh loicense fo dat invaysiun?
i got your license right here *lifts battle axe*
The beginning of a consolidation of a future Britain, a clash of brethren to be. Great to learn of King Athelstan.
After 2 goddamn months you have made two new video.Bazbattles rises.
ramtin mojmeli I know, right? You'd think Aethelstan would have been more considerate towards RUclipsrs of the future... I mean, come on! At least flank the bastards or something
I got here before my notification got to me!
No matter, the epicness was sought, and the epic was delivered! Baz, you magnificent bastard (Or plural - beginning to think there is a Knightly Order of Baz now)
Lee Walton I believe he's just a lone knight with a humble squire ;)
Needless to say "Seven Kings Must Die" took several liberties, to put it mildly.
I tut it will be a bad day but wait.... bazbattles upload a video... i will enjoy this 11:45 mins of the day.
The Scottish king was Constantine III. He lost his eldest son in the battle. . He was one of the longest reigning Scottish kings reigning forty years.
Constantine III
King of Alba
Reign 995-997
It's kind of amazing just how little of Scotland was ever actually Scottish when you look back on history.
@@palepilgrim1174 Modern Scotland was created from the merger of several tribal kingdoms of different ethnic heritage: The Scots of Dal-Riata, The Picts of Caledonia, the Cumbrians of Strathclyde, and the Angles of Bernicia.
@@Domhangairt No, modern Scotland wasn't 'created' it was basically whitewashed into history. Yes the region has a mix of different neighboring peoples like literally every region of Europe does. Nobody is pure, nobody descends from one thing. There was no 'merger' or 'unions'. There were conquests and assimilations.
The point is, the Scottish (in all honesty) died out. They were either killed or assimilated into other identities over time. Just like the Picts were (who claims to be Pictish today?). Just like the Welsh (or 'Cumbrians'), again who in Scotland claims to be Welsh or Cumbrian, were.
Scottish actually used to mean something historically, it was an ethnic identity. A nation. People who spoke Gaelic and had Gaelic names. Now it just means people from a region of land. It's a nothing term.
Now you're all just basically just English people in denial. and over half of you descend from the Germanic peoples (mainly Anglo-Saxon and Norse) who settled between the 400s and 1200s anyway.
@@Domhangairt You'd honestly be better off just calling that region today Northumbria. Because that is the people you trace ethnolinguistic descent from. Not the Scottish (which literally means Irish anyway). Not the Welsh. Not the Norse.
"I'm not even born yet. LOL"
- William the unborn
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Justin Y wait now
You said that you comment on videos that are usually trending
Then why the hell did i found you on minor channels
Justin Y. Stop
Great video -One of the most formative battles in British history - and yet unknown by 99% of the population....
*Edit*
Owain is pronounced *Owe - wine*
Why don't you do the second and the third crusade?
The internet age has been a fantastic improvement to the study of history.
Owain is O-wine. Strathclyde was a Briton Kingdom just like Cymru is and the languages are almost identical with both. You'll still find Owain being a name still used here in Cymru and of course one of our national heroes had the same name in regards to Prince Owain Glyndwr of Cymru. Another famous man would be Owain Tudur who would change his name to Owen Tudor in order to gain favour with an English King.
Only they lied about the Welsh being subjugated in this time period! Wouldn't happen for another 300 years or so.
My favorite one yet! Great job!
Can we have some more Roman or Japanese battles next?
Provocateur gib gib
Rome
If you wanna see Roman battles you should check out Historia Civilis
randomguy9113 Oh trust me I have.
Imperialx Warlord Like the Minamoto and Taira.
@ History Time, Athelstan was West Saxon ( Wessex ) by birth and was brought up in Tamworth Staffordshire by his Aunt, Lady Ethelflaed of Mercia
Aethelflaed is worth a whole episode just on herself
Uthred son of Uthred brought me here
This battle could very well of been fought near Burnley at Briercliffe in Lancashire. They have a Saxfield street. Are near the river Brun and have at least a 30 foot tall battle marker there erected in the dark ages.
The trouble with this is that a Catholic priest in the late 19th century, tired of this "Pagan" battle marker rising high above his town, had it chiseled down to a Greek/Roman style plinth with which he added a stone cross on to it, totally destroying a piece of English history.
I would like to point out that the battle marker is 30foot tall today, after the priest chiseled down.
It is called Walton spire today.
Came here after watching The Last Kingdom
Love the Briton time i'd love if you could do more of this and Medieval Europe please in the future.