Ten Minute English and British History #06 - The Birth of England

This episode covers the unification of the Anglo-Saxon/Scandinavian kingdoms in Britain during the tenth century. It begins with Edward the Elder's conquests and ends with the assassination of Edward the Martyr. Some consider this to be the birth of an England but since the Anglo-Saxons didn't really think of it like that, it's hard to argue.

Recommended Reading:

James Campbell et al. - The Anglo-Saxons (1991) - I will never stop recommending this book to everyone. Just be aware it is not up to date with the changes in the opinion of modern scholarship.

Sarah Foot - Æthelstan: The First King of England (2011). A very good book (as is all of the Yale English Monarch series) which covers pretty much everything.

Ten Minute English and British History is a series of short, ten minute animated narrative documentaries that are designed as revision refreshers or simple introductions to a topic. Please note that these are not meant to be comprehensive and there's a lot of stuff I couldn't fit into the episodes that I would have liked to. Thank you for watching, though, it's always appreciated.

[HistoryMatters]

Sorry this one is late, I've had major issues with the syncing in this video so if it's still off let me know.

Next episode is 'The Late Anglo-Saxons and the House of Denmark'.

[BListHistory]

I love the "plunk" sounds whenever someone dies

[lukaswillumvarberg]

"continued the long trend of mortality and died" bloody love the small things u put in these vids

[mareufactory]

"Died at the ripe old age of 19"

[CrEeDy]

I guess it's time to boot up Crusader Kings II.

[Bongo]

That satisfying thump everytime someone dies is a thing of beauty. These videos are great they really help fill out the gaps I had in early British history

[Sean.Vosler]

Netflix’s “the last kingdom” is based on this time period and highly recommended if you like this stuff

[wood]

1:38
Norse: "Please help!"
Aethelflaed: "Nope" **dies**

[SamLemont]

9:47 aside from what historians think and what people believe, Aethelstan took on the title "King of the English" in 927, throwing out the previously held titles "King of the Anglo-Saxons" and "King of Wessex", which you might not have mention for time, but it's a pretty big one nonetheless.

[mikesmyth]

Gosh I miss your deep dives, they’re such a great combination of pacing and richness. I totally understand the realities of YouTube these days, but I just wanted you to know how much your care in this work is appreciated.

[leonisullivan]

Genuinely cheered when "Derby" got a mention. We hardly ever get mentioned in anything

[ulvihajili]

I love the way how all of them die by dropping in a 90 degree angle to the left or to the right.

[xaviersaavedra]

Well since Ethelred earned the title of "the unready" I can imagine that his rule went swimmingly

[gpyzyzx]

Who else is binge watching these as a 2 hour lecture lol

[michaelmilburn]

Smashing video honestly I'm loving this series. Short, to the point and very interesting

[Bastogne]

The simplest explanation is that Ivar the boneless had an erectile dysfunction...

[supersteamkitty]

Loving this series, keep up the good work. I was happy to hear the reference to Edgar at Chester as it's my hometown. There is still part of Chester today called 'Edgar's field' where the crowd watched Edgar and the other Anglo Saxon Lords row down the Dee. ^_^

[Baelor-Breakspear]

Continued the long trend of Viking mortality. The way you talk about death is hilarious and oddly soothing.

[jayjohn]

With a title like ''the unready'' you know the dudes got some heavy backstory!

Awesome video, looking forward to the next.

[garrykambimbi]

i swear the death sound is just him bopping the mic lol