Dear Mr Cornwell, I have been reading the Alfred series with much interest and fun. Recently I came across a strange little fact concerning the name Uhtred: Eichtersheim, a small town near Heidelberg/Germany with a nice moated castle was first mentioned in the Codex of Lorsch abbey (codex laureshamensis) in the year 838 under the name ‘uhtritesheim’ or ‘uhtretesheim’. The source for this is the entry for ‘Angelbachtal’ in the German Wikipedia; I am trying to look up the text in the original sources. My particular interest in the history of Alfred stems from a little research project of mine concerning Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, and both stepmother and sister in law to Alfred, before she became wife of Baldwin of Flanders. Her son Baldwin II married Alfred’s daughter Aelfthryd. Best regards Herwig Laue