I have been going through the Saxon Tales (Last Kingdom) and have found them an interesting read. I saw where you mentioned that most English have no idea about how Englaland (England) came about. Such a shame as prior to the sixties the overwhelming majority of people in England were of Saxon  descent (along with Danish, Frisian, Angles and Jutes). I quite agree with your portrayal of Alfred (though you sometinmes give him less credit then he deserves). The almost unthinking support of the church even in times of military crisis is incredible and if I may say foolish given the threats. That Alfred’s remains wound up in what eventually became a prison and his remains scattered is also incredible (recently part of his bones were thought to be discovered). Interesting that you yourself only discovered the history of your family upon meeting your birth father…it shows how much of our history has been lost. You may disagree with me but I feel it is because of religion that our ancestry and culture has been tossed to the dust bin. The old relgion tied ancestry to the culture which has been thrown away. My mother’s family is Saxon but ones that stayed on the continent so I have a knowledge of the culture and period you write of.

I have not been to Bamburg but have been to  “Eoforwic” and “Beornice.”. You don’t mention  Æthelfrith (Ida’s grandson) who essentially created Northumbria. At times I think you tend to make the lefe and time a bit too crude (people in modern times are given to thinking of the people in the past as less intelligent and capable then themselves). The nobles especially tended to be less rude in their language and sress and mindfull of both in historical accounts. Also there were stone building crafted by the Anglo Saxons and a few have managed to survive. Unfortunately these were not exactly prized by the Normans and they were dismantled and used for other things by the less than repectful conquerers from Normandy.

Perhaps a little more attention could have been given to the Heathen beliefs of Uthred and the remnants of the Saxon believers in Forn Sidr.

Regards,

John v. Ziechmann,