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Free talk on Alfred the Great’s war against the Danes

~~There will be a free talk on Alfred the Great’s war against the Danes at the Friends of Fordingbridge Museum’s Annual General Meeting on the afternoon of Tuesday 12th February. The meeting will be held at Avonway Community Centre in Fordingbridge and will start at 2.30pm and include a short interval where tea and coffee will be served.

Local historian Stephen Whelan will give an illustrated talk about Alfred the Great’s war against the Great Heathen Army 865 AD to 878 AD when Guthrum led the Danish army, based in the territory called the Danelaw, against the Kingdom of Wessex led by Alfred.  Museum Manager Jane Ireland said, “This roller coaster of a story has more twists and turns than a modern day soap opera and promises to be both fascinating and entertaining.  As a bonus Stephen will bring along a range of artefacts to illustrate his talk and there will be an opportunity to handle these as part of the event.”

Stephen Whelan who has been teaching history for over forty years and has extensive expertise in the subject said, “I have long been fascinated by the Alfred’s wars against the Danes because they were fought right on our doorstep, here in Wessex. Much of the action is set in Wilton, Wareham and, of course, Edington.  Alfred’s legacy was the forging of the concept of the Angelcynn, or English identity, a process completed by his son, his daughter and by Athelstan his grandson. Forget Game of Thrones: it comes no more dramatic than that!”

Posted on 04 Feb 2019

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