Free Republic

A groundbreaking new biography of Æthelstan marks 1,100 years since his coronation in 925AD, reasserts his right to be called the first king of England, explains why he isn't better known and highlights his many overlooked achievements. The book's author, Professor David Woodman, is campaigning for greater public recognition of Æthelstan's creation of England in 927AD.The Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the signing of Magna Carta in 1215 are two of the most famous years in English history. But very few people know what happened in 925 or 927AD. Professor David Woodman, the University of Cambridge-based author of The...

When archaeologists were called to investigate a sinkhole that opened up in the city of York, they were surprised to find traces of a medieval hospital, according to a report by The Independent. The team encountered walls hidden just beneath the city streets that they believe once belonged to the twelfth- or thirteenth-century St. Leonard's Hospital. The institution was built just after the Norman conquest and replaced the earlier St. Peter's Hospital, which was founded by the Anglo-Saxon King Aethelstan. Stretching from what is now York's Museum Gardens to the Theatre Royal, St. Leonard's was one of the largest hospitals...

By 937 A.D. 35 years after the initial settlement, Wirral may have been the site of a huge battle between the Anglo Saxons coming from the South and Midlands and a combined army of Viking raiders coming from Dublin and their Scottish allies coming mainly from Strathclyde. No-one is quite sure where this battle took place, although the majority of experts favour Wirral. The main reason is that the contemporary record of the Battle -- the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes the battle having taking place (around Brunanburh) -- which happens to be the old name for Bromborough... The Chronicle also...