Changes

The Last Kingdom is a popular television series recently released by the BBC and the show has strived to portray an accurate depiction of the time and reign of Alfred the Great. It is based on the <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LEYI47C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LEYI47C&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5896bb38392fa928ad7836385dccf0d Saxon Tales]</i> series written by Bernard Cornwell. The first season is drawn from the first two books in the series. The show focuses the life of Uhtred, son of Uhtred, who is a fictional character based on an amalgamation of several historical characters, during the Dane invasions of England during the 9th century.  The events depicted in <i>The Last Kingdom</i> were critical early steps in forging what became England. <i>The Last Kingdom</i> is a reference to the Kingdom of Wessex, which was the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom to stand in the way of Dane conquest of England. Uhtred is from Bebbanburgh (modern Bamburgh), a part of Northumbria. The season begins with Uhtred's father being killed in a battle at York, where Uhtred was taken as a slave by the Danes. Uhtred's uncle then usurps the control of Bebbanburgh, where Uhtred was the rightful heir.

The first episode focuses on the Danish characters, while they do act cruel to the Anglo-Saxons they are also fun loving and one of them, Earl Ragner, shows much affection to Uhtred. During the first episode, Uhtred's father and his army are slaughtered by the Danes soon after they arrive by sea. The first episode portrays the Anglo-Saxons as unprepared for war with the Danes and too dependent on their priests. There is some truth to this, the Anglo-Saxon army lacked professional warriors and the show states that the Danes believed the English were primarily farmers. In the first battle of the show, the Anglo-Saxons lost the battle because they were incapable of defeating a Danish shield wall.  However, the Anglo-Saxon armies most likely were capable of properly forming a shield wall and they would not have been completely confounded by it. At this point, the Anglo-Saxons would have been well aware of Danish war tactics, even if they were not well prepared for them. The show ignored this reality because it allowed the lead character, Uhtred, to teach the Anglo-Saxons later in the season to both form and defeat a shield wall. In this case, historical accuracy was sacrificed to create a more compelling story.<ref>For more on Anglo-Saxon fighting methods, see: Lavelle, R. (2010). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1843837390/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1843837390&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=6a8e3107364e1ba075415588f71b524a Alfred’s wars: sources and interpretations of Anglo-Saxon warfare in the Viking age]</i> Woodbridge: The Boydell Press.</ref>