Friday 16 August 2013

Myrcna Hlaefdige: by Sue Purkiss

Those of you who regularly read my posts (you there, lurking in the corner - come on, show yourself! Oh, just a shadow. All right then, as you were...) will know that I've already written one or two about Alfred the Great and his wonderful daughter, Aethelflaed. But I make no apology about writing another one this week, because there's a practical reason for it: Michael Wood has a series of three documentaries on at the moment about Alfred and his family, and if you're interested in history, you should watch them - because they're really excellent, and because Alfred is a tremendously significant figure who in recent years has not had nearly as much attention paid to him as he deserves. And this is even more true of Aethelflaed - except that in her case, she's not been getting as much attention as she deserves for centuries, let alone the last few years.

Why are they so important? Well, Alfred, because he was the last English king standing when the Vikings had dispatched the rest of them - either into exile or into the afterlife using a fairly gruesome method known as the blood-eagle.(For more detail, see my book, Warrior King.) Because he turned the tide, laying the foundations for his grandson, Athelstan, to rule the whole of England. Because he fervently believed in the importance of education and culture, collecting learned scholars at his court from all over Europe, and translating important books into English so that more people could actually read them. Because he set in train the creation of towns - burhs - which would form centres for commerce and places of safety for the people. Because he  took London from the Danes and set about rebuilding it.

And Aethelflaed? As a girl of sixteen, she was married to the considerably older Aethelred, Lord of the Mercians. Mercia had been a great kingdom - one of its kings was Offa, who built the dyke of which parts can still be seen and walked. But when Alfred of Wessex stood fast, the last king of Mercia fled, and now, Mercia was a client kingdom with Alfred as overlord. Initially with her husband, Aethelflaed carried on her father's work in Mercia. She too established burhs and restored ancient towns such as Gloucester and Tamworth. When her husband became ill, she carried on, and when he died, the people chose her as their Myrcna Hlaefdige - Lady of the Mercians; and she fought, sometimes alongside her brother Edward, against the Danes. Sometimes she didn't have to fight: such was her reputation that the Danes of York and Nottingham swore allegiance to her without a battle. She also fostered her brother's first son (though not with his queen), Athelstan - who in his turn became a great king who bound the different kingdoms of England into one.

The programmes are on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC 4, and are repeated at 10.15 on Thursdays, same channel. Because of Michael Wood's erudition and enthusiasm, they're an absolute delight, and it's a special treat to hear Anglo-Saxon being read aloud so beautifully. If you can't catch the programmes, there's also my book, Warrior King, which is published by Walker as an e-book.

Alfred's also been in the news recently for a different reason - read about it here. In brief, there is some doubt as to where his final resting place is, because his remains are known to have been moved several times. The Bishop of Winchester is coat the moment considering whether to grant permission to a group which wishes to analyse the bones which are said to be his, in the hope of being able to prove their identity one way or another. This comes in the wake of the discovery of Richard 111's skeleton in Leicester.

But old as Richard's bones are, they're younger than Alfred's by centuries. It's very unlikely that a direct descendant of Alfred could be found, to provide DNA - though not, perhaps, impossible. (See another post of mine, about Cheddar man - here.) So although tests could show how old the bones were, and indicate more about the man to whom they belonged, it's not likely that they could prove his identity. So should these bones be disturbed? What do you think?

12 comments:

Joan Lennon said...

Thanks for the post - and I'm glad you've been liking the TV series. I've been watching them with interest but also wondering along the way, "I hope he's getting this right - I wonder what Sue's thinking?"

Sue Purkiss said...

Oh, I think he is. He's much more learned than I am - and he's referring back to what original manuscripts there are - which he is evidently able to read in the original Latin and Anglo-Saxon! I've learnt both, but am a long way off being fluent.

michelle lovric said...

really interesting post. Thank you, Sue. How nice to be able to praise a tv show and not bemoan its superficiality.

Sally Zigmond said...

I've always admired King Alfred for his intelligence and love of learning ever since I studied Anglo-Saxon at university as part of my Eng Lit BA.And who better than to present TV documentaries about him than Michael Wood? Warrior King is now a must-read for me.

Sue Purkiss said...

Hurrah, Sally!

Sue Bursztynski said...

Sue, there's a spam message on the top. I got the same one from "Amanda Winmark". (The lady doesn't exist AFAIK, her name leads to a spam website).

Ooh, a new Michael Wood doco series! Isn't he delightful? I have his In Search Of The Trojan War, which is a classic. I will have to keep an eye out, as this one will get to Australia sooner or later, by DVD if not on TV. And Alfred is fascinating subject matter. Pity so many children, years ago, were taught only the 1066 and all that version of history and Alfred and the cakes. :)

Katherine Langrish said...

I was thinking of you as I watched it this week, Sue! Wonderful camera work too, of the wildlife and the fens.

And Sue B - thanks for the spam warning. I'll remove it!

Ann Turnbull said...

Thank you for this, Sue! Just back from holiday and missed the first one, but caught up last night and it was wonderful - so beautiful, and so erudite and (to me) surprising and new. Can't wait to watch Part 2 tonight and the last one next week!

Sue Purkiss said...

I'm glad you caught it, Ann!

Penny Dolan said...

As I've been away, and with my head busy on otehr things, thank you so much for drawing my attention to Michale Wood's series. Enjoyed the first one very much - the readings are beautiful - and have the other two programmes, incl the Lady Of the Mercians lined up ready.

Good to know that your fine "Warrior King" is still available out there as an e-book, too.

Annis said...

I do wish the Beeb had saved the master for Michael Wood's "In Search of the Dark Ages" - I loved the book, but never got to see the TV series it accompanied. I have found the odd bit on good old You Tube.

Wouldn't it be terrific if those remains were Alfred's? Where to go for a DNA match after all this time?The Queen can trace her line of descent back to Alfred I think, but whether she would be an optiion I don't know! I had thought that Alfred's bones got tossed hither and yon by 18th century workers constructing a prison on the old site of Hyde Abbey?

Sue Purkiss said...

Yes, I think they did. 'In Search of the Dark Ages' was terrific - as far as I remember it was the first of the presenter-led historical documentaries which are now so prevalent, and it was very, very good. I didn't know the BBC hadn't kept a copy; what a shame!