Alfred the Great & the Anglo Saxons

Alfred the Great is said to be the founder of what would become the English monarchy. We will explore Alfred's life, the Anglo Saxon and Viking background, and the wars Alfred won to establish his kingdom.
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For the entire course on 'Church History: Reformation to Modern', see the playlist: • Renaissance & Modern H...

[@ArdaKaraduman]

Who came here after watching the "Last Kingdom" ?

[@boreasboune8825]

Me. So sad that I finished it so early.

[@marcusgorvin175]

That show sucks. They make the female characters overly aggressive as some sort of nod to feminism, but it just makes them intolerable to watch. Plus, now I realize one of the racists in this comment section gets her history from tv shows. The queen is secretly Muslim you know.

[@laurenpaterson3475]

Arda Karaduman I did king alfred made out to be cold manipulative and very cruel to heathens

[@ProjUltraZ]

theres also a great book called The Warrior Kings of Saxon England that talks about Alfred and his line before and after to 1066. Well written and an easy and interesting read

[@BigBadassR]

It doesn't mean Charlemagne wasn't smart just because he couldn't "muster the brainpower" to read. Its a hell of a lot harder to learn to read as an adult than it is learning it as a kid.

[@chickasaw981]

I'm an American but very proud of my partial English roots. Always good to learn more about them. I hope to visit England soon!

[@Tonykhansucks]

im here because season 2 of the last kingdom ended and im just trying to cope

[@Palifiox]

One of the odd things about York is that the Vikings established a uniform frontage width for properties along streets and in the older streets the shops and houses still have the same width, 5.5 metres.

[@BingleFlimp]

The statement that every English school boy and girl knows about Alfred and the cakes is sadly not true. Most English people don't even know Alfred existed. I only found out who he was about three years ago while I was undertaking some independent research.

[@TheMrhycannon]

Sadly, a lot of history is hidden from us.. I, also, have found many things through independent research.. History is much different than some would have us believe..

[@mikereger1186]

The liberal establishment does not want any reminders of the origins of the nation and culture. Hence it is more likely to be ignored; besides most modern education has a big gap between the Roman Conquest and 1066. The Saxon world is almost entirely airbrushed out.

[@johnhorne1685]

I will tell you why. I was in the teachers room where they have a cup of tea and eat their snacks. When I said Are you putting out the flags for St. Georges day. I was met with stony looks and dead silence. That's why

[@marcusgorvin175]

Don't blame liberals, READ

[@allmightlionthunder5515]

no it was once true lol

[@henrychambers8039]

Harald Bluetooth was never a ruler of Normandy. He did have claim to parts of Sweden and Norway, but Normandy was given by the French King Charles the Simple to the Vikings under their leader Rollo the Ganger in a treaty for the same reasons as Alfred made a treaty with the Viking Guthrum in establishing the Danelaw as a realm for the Vikings in England

[@andrewindeed4896]

Read Bernard Cornwells books on the Last Kingdom. Historical fiction but enough truth to learn about the Anglo Saxons.

[@edgyanglo4875]

I really am great aren't I

[@Yup71719]

there is a series coming up on BBC called the " The Last kingdom" focusing on Alfreds reign, Looking forward to that,

[@RyanReevesM]

VL G // Nice! Hadn't heard about it, but will look into it.

[@philipians1635]

+Ryan Reeves i would really like to know where the thumbnail picture of king alfred comes from for creative reasons. i've seen this style of drawing on lots of scenes from english history so i imagine its from a book on it or something. could you help?

[@VeracityLH]

+Liam Cunliffe Its Wikipedia credit shows: James William Edmund Doyle - Doyle, James William Edmund (1864) "Alfred" in A Chronicle of England: B.C. 55 - A.D. 1485, London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green, pp. p. 57 I hope that helps. Cheers.

[@philipians1635]

thank you!!

[@Nikolaj11]

+VL G You guys should read the books, they are excellent.

[@johnhorne1685]

I live in Wessex, what a great place to live

[@tuor6394]

Æthelstan or Athelstan, should have been given the title of Great. He defeated a joint Viking, Irish and Scottish army at the battle of brunanburh, thus cementing Anglo-Saxon dominance in England, up-until the Norman invasion.

[@truthseeker7242]

Tuor - Aethelstan was given the epithet 'The Glorious', he is a 32nd great-uncle.

[@jonathanwhite460]

add west britons and welsh to that list

[@mikereger1186]

Tuor, how'd you get the Anglo Saxon "Ash" to work?

[@daddygreenjeanz9070]

copy and paste Æthelstan. BAM!

[@patrickfarnsworth8546]

'Anglo-saxon' as a name didnt exist before the Normans. They were Saxons or Wessex. Ivar the Boneless was the generation before Alfred, who actually fought Guthrum.

[@kennethbartholomew7449]

There isn't or never was a place called 'Anglo-Saxony'. Rollo was the first Duke of Normandy., this preceding Harald Bluetooth's birth. You also missed out Kent which is from the Jutes, being of Jutland (Denmark). Nice video all the same.

[@moorek1967]

I may be Anglican/Episcopalian but I agree with the pope over that "annulment" of Henry VIII, he was full of himself.

[@Terik17]

wait i came here for alfred the great....

[@flylikeabug465]

Jump three minutes into the video

[@toffeecrisp2146]

+Xander Crews The video poster should have made it clear in the video title and description that the video begins with a piece on henry VIII, since he didn't I think the original poster can be forgiven for being confused. Try engaging your brain before critisizing others.

[@horuslupercalaurelian1569]

thank you for not being biased and your efforts of knowledge

[@VCYT]

This history i would say is what makes me proud to be English, though in a spiritual way. On my mothers side i have an anglo-saxon surname. Either way, i like how my country went from tribe lands to England becoz of a war, an then adapted to viking+norseman cultures to become what it is. An who'd have thought the English would go onto to forge the worlds biggest empire an create the industrial revolution ! Its like an epic fairy tale.!

You dozy clown.

[@TheMrhycannon]

England created that empire by terrorizing and beating down native peoples.. They perpetrated some of the worst atrocities known to man.. They used the excuse that they are better than others and had to ''civilize'' their ''brown brothers''.. Ever hear of the ''white man's burden''.?

[@psapso]

VC YT don't forget the immense amount of influence that French culture had on England. When the Normans took over in 1066 Anglo-Saxon culture began in an immense shift into something much more Latin-like, into the modern English culture we have today. This is why around 26% of the English lexicon is of French origin

[@johnhorne1685]

Latin Origin

[@transporterIII]

Compared to the Bolsheviks, Chinese, Spanish, French, Cossacks, Japanese, Mayans, Aztecs, Assyrians, if you had to choose a colonial master, the English were a pretty good choice.

[@Plasticcaz]

"Doom very evenly. Do not doom one doom to the rich, and another to the poor." I remember reading something along these lines when I learned about Alfred's "doom" book in school.

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

So enjoyable. I did my graduate work in Denmark & Norway. Still visit as often as possible. The History is fascinating. The only way to understand why we do not understand our own language.

[@johnhorne1685]

Then you must know that English is one of the German language's

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

John Horne Yes, mixed in with two others. It isn't a "pure" language, thank goodness which is why it is so rich in texture and meaning. The sentence structure is completely different.

[@LittleMissSpookyness]

I think you made a mistake in the video. He divorced Anne von Cleves and Jane Seymour died after childbirth. You switched them up. Don't worry, everyone makes mistakes, I just thought I should mention it :)

[@RyanReevesM]

Oh yeah, mistakes happen. I've really enjoyed the crowdsourced edits by folks. This one was slip of the tongue. The way I record is to do a live take on the mic (to make it sound more like a lecture). At times, the tongue runs away from me. :)

[@groblerful]

Thanks for the account. However I thought you might of mentioned that Alfred built up a strong navy .

[@kitmoc1572]

0:0:28 - the queen highlighted is Ann of Cleves and not Jane Seymour who is the one who died at child birth.

[@StoicFC]

Fantastic video. I am not British and I truly admire Alfred. He is one of the greatest kings of all time.

[@justinjohnston8704]

That was pretty good. Informational, and entertaining.

[@boreasboune8825]

When you're descendant from Vikings on your mom's side and Saxons on your dad's.

[@TheMrhycannon]

Before ''Ivar the boneless'' invaded England, he was weakened by the Irish.. King Brian Boru beat Ivar's forces at the battle of Clontarf.. Thus breaking the Viking hold on Ireland.. Ivar then took his Vikings to England.. He was quite a remarkable figure, a giant of a man who could not walk and who was carried into battle on his shield.. It is also suggested that he was so named because he was impotent or had no bones in his legs, only cartilage.. It's odd that he would have survived, in that type of culture, let alone to grow up to rule.. Perhaps he was crippled by an injury.. Surely somewhere there exists record of his affliction..

[@Inkompetent]

Can just add a tidbit about the domboc. The part "dom" could possibly be related to the Old Norse word "dómr" (modernized in today's Danish/Norwegian/Swedish to simply "dom"), which means verdict/judgement in a legal sense. "boc" likely comes from the Old Norse "bok" which simply means "book" (and which possibly comes from writing runes on bark/bits of the tree with the same name in Old Norse; the European/common beech). The above would very naturally make The Book of Laws.

[@Inkompetent]

Inkompetent I may very well be wrong and I'm but a hobby novice in etymology, but seeing the direct use of the Old Norse words working so well it is one reasonable explanation. However I do not know if the Old Norse inherited the Anglo-Saxon word, or the other way around, or whichever it may be.

[@jonwilhelm1067]

Inkompetent After Rome left and the gates of trade flooded open, the possibilities where without limit. An invasion was upon Britain during the Fifth and sixth centuries A.D., but what if it were from trade instead of an army. Although it's easy enough to perceive Britain a target, because of the Roman occupation they surely had established trading partners throughout western Europe. Was it the eighth or ninth century northern Europe took notice of all the wealth happening. It wasn't until 1066 when the Normans arrived and an actual army of occupation, conquered and occupied Britain. It's curious King Harold headed north to meet the Danes instead of facing William in the south first, he had to of known William was coming didn't he?

[@stephensmith1118]

Britain was trading around the Mediterranean area before the roman invasion, tin in Cornwall exported as far as the Phoneticians....

[@TheMrhycannon]

Generally, I think, the English inherited the Norse words.. Some of them did settle in England..

[@TheMrhycannon]

Stephen Smith, I think you'll find the Phoneticians were the ones trading.. At that time, the English were not a maritime society..

[@LivingHistorySchool]

Thanks!

[@MrMauthen]

I've heard that Bluetooth is named after a sword in an viking novel by Frans G. Bengtsson called Röde Orm, not after the viking king. The inventor of Bluetooth was a big fan of that book witch is a Swedish classic.

[@JC-sc1rk]

Very nice presentation. I am so glad you pointed out how learned Alfred was and crucially the link of the Normans (Norse men, men of the North) to Scandinavia, as this is so often neglected.

[@zelphx]

Isn't it "upbraided" Alfred?

[@dekaasploeg]

Cool video, thanks. One little detail struck me, when you claimed that the ‘th’ words were introduced by the Danes. Since the Anglo-Saxons came from Germany, the th-words were already there (albeit in the old letter ð that is still being used in Icelandic).

[@dekaasploeg]

Also: not sure if the blue area in your map showing Normandy is actually correct - what we call Normandy now, is more to the south on the peninsula just north of Brittany. Could be the historical area is different.

[@garychynne1377]

THANKS DOC I'M REALLY ENJOYING YOUR CLASSES. ANGLO SAXON IN THE BLOOD DROP MY HAMMER WITH A THUD GENEOLOGY SHOWS MY FAMILY TREE A COMPOSITE OF EUROPE'S HISTORY THERE SURE WAS A LOT OF FIGHTING GOING ON BUT MY GENES SHOW THERE WAS A LOT OF INTER MARRYING GOING ON TWO. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. TAKE CARE GARE

[@ptracey9560]

this is some of the best history and theory of religion I've ever heard, or studied. great job who ever created this

[@ConstantineJoseph]

C'mon, Ivar wasn't very involved in the attack against Wessex. It was GUTHRUM who was the main viking warlord who was attacking Wessex all the time

[@MultiTSJ]

great lecture........not just informative but also entertaining. thank you. I wish all my teachers were as talented and engaging as this.

[@Ceevro]

I find it odd that you say that only Alfred had the moniker, "The Great." Did you forget about Cnut? It's OK...everyone forgets Cnut.

[@RyanReevesM]

One should never forget Cnut! I think I was just making it a point to tell new students to notice the term 'Great' as not a nickname you get easily. :)

[@3John-Bishop]

I saw the Doomsday book (original copy)in England.

[@MikeMirror88]

Thanks for the historical lectures that you provide, very valuable !!!!

[@julians7268]

I am so glad I found your videos. Thank you for the incredible information.

[@rodisfit5068]

that good for my im in year 4 thankyou

[@Depipro]

"Harald Bluetooth" - on a sidenote, though, I doubt he was so easily hacked (or, being a human being, mind-controlled) as the bluetooth device got a reputation for, at least in the beginning.

[@ReverendHowl]

Hei, gwdboi... how does Wessex reach that far into Kernow?

[@AlesPickar]

Great presentation!

[@bim-ska-la-bim4433]

Wow great job - well done and very interesting stuff...

[@Spentastic]

Why is there a palm tree next to the Viking ship? Were they landing in Barbados or England?

[@friattmoooo]

thank you very much

[@CarinRutherfordCreel]

I'm thoroughly enjoying these lectures on European monarchies, the battles, wars, religions, and the bringing together of all of these peoples throughout history due to conquering of lands. I'm absorbing as much information as possible. It's so interesting to see all of the who, what, when, where, how and why of where my ancestors going all he way back to before Charlemagne's time. I know my ancestors have been in Flanders (Bruges, Belgium) and in Scotland (Roxburghshire, Jedburgh), though now in USA. I'm fairly certain there is Norman and Scandinavian blood in my ancestry, as most of us are blonde with blue eyes, and O negative blood, which from what I understand from research are all genealogical traits of this DNA.

[@johnfargher99]

We Brits are all taught about Alfred burning the cakes. It means take your rebuke and be tough.

[@engyelia5267]

thank you for this amazing vedio the way you described this period of time was great and simple to understand 👌 so thank you again 😊

[@dylanthompson8511]

you forget about Cnut the Great?

[@truthseeker7242]

Dylan - Yup, another bleeding ancestor, who was involved in knocking off one of my 'High Reeve of Bamborough' ancestors.

[@nancydawnh]

Truth Seeker à

[@mikereger1186]

Shame his sons did not measure up to the father's ability. One of our best rulers, ever.

[@IndependentGeorge76]

Thanks, really enjoyed this.

[@lifeinsystem]

really like your videos, thank you so much!!!

[@VintageLJ]

Modern British School kids won't even have heard of Alfred, let alone any stories about him. It's politically incorrect to learn too much about British history, for fears of being too proud.

[@RyanReevesM]

Never knew that, but it makes sense. A similar aversion to American history or wider European history is found sometimes in the States. I always find a both/and approach is better than non-European > European.

[@marcusgorvin175]

Total bollocks

[@gg2fan]

It's never about political correctness because political correctness isn't real. Saying otherwise is always just rushing your way a political pulpit to whine about the '''''crybaby left'''' or whatever nonsense while remaining willfully ignorant of whatever real reasons lie behind the issue, in this case it's probably something to do with priorities in the curriculum that don't prioritize ancient history. Which makes sense when you consider all the other information schoolboards are trying to force kids to digest.

[@rogerwindridge2863]

i come from the real capitol of angeland TAMWORTH but what i seem to find just lately , possibly because we Angles came from germany ,that they seem to be dropping the word anglo ,from the discription anglo saxons ,i wander why .is it because we have german ancesters ,because there was more of us than there was saxons , or is somebody being anti semetic or can only every other peoples use it against us

[@johnmcmanus135]

the anglo saxon and Scandinavian languages where already similar in fact that was pointed out at the time. maybe this is because whether they are l anglo saxon or later tribes they are from migrating from pretty much the same place for instance scild being shield and the several Scandinavian equivalents are all almost exactly the same so how can you say all these words appeared from the great heathen army and danelore was instituted when both languages clearly have the same root (notice the spelling of danelore by the way).

[@Steadno]

boneless comes from him having some disability where his legs didnt develop. he was carried into battle on a shield. seen it on history channel.

[@RyanReevesM]

+Steadno // You'll also see Ancient Aliens on the History Channel, which tells us that everything that we know today is because aliens probed out colons. :) But the point is we don't have concrete evidence as to why he was called this, though your comment here is one of the prevailing views, for sure.

[@TTfoley-ph4zh]

fair play for the correct translations respect to this American lad for such a good and correct knowledge of Real English and old English languages,; ) impressive my friend

[@importantname]

a blog?

[@simplytheresaskiles100]

Well done video !!!

[@graftonhale6392]

Outstanding lecture! I never knew Charlemagne was a D student and I never knew why Alfred was the only 'Great' in English history. I think I'll attend your other lectures, professor. Thank you.

[@FreiherrvonTersch]

I've heard one possibility of the "Boneless" was a reference to sexual impotency.

[@RyanReevesM]

FreiherrvonTersch // I've heard that, too, but we simply don't know for sure. Besides I would giggle like a 5 year old if I told that story...:)

[@Depipro]

"Ivar the Boneless" - I have read or heard one other possibility as to why he had the nickname, namely impotence. But maybe that was too fixated on the English language, I don't know how that is in old Norse (in Dutch, German or Russian the association would seem far-fetched).

[@SwingDancer61]

I also heard the possibility of Ivar the Boneless being a mistranslation from Ivar the Deplorable.

[@Etihwkcirtap]

im have degrees in math and physics. i stubbled upon alternative historical research. kras, brian forrester, graham handcock for example. homo capensis skulls. i foud that i needed to review history, and some of the stories that modernism left might just be true

[@EverendeverGroup]

What the hell does Tudor history have to do with Alfred the Great?

[@RyanReevesM]

Probably nothing. Except they are kings of the same lands and one sees himself as following in the footsteps of another.

[@micamordon9233]

Good series, but Henry VIII was a lot like Stalin-he railroaded opponents to execution, surrounded himself with yes-men and everyone feared his murderous temper.

[@RyanReevesM]

+Mica Mordon // My PhD was on that period...and yes he was. :)

[@democolor42]

+Mica Mordon do you think George Bush was better?

[@TheMrhycannon]

What does George Bush have to do with anything.? Whole different continent and time period..

[@mikereger1186]

Richard III did the same, but didn't survive long enough to stamp out opposition as Henry VIII did years later. Hence, Henry gets the better PR by not getting killed.

[@daddygreenjeanz9070]

I agree Mica. Cute profile pic by the way. ;-)

[@rmac5584]

Well that answers the question on the weird words of the English language.

[@truthseeker7242]

r mac - And don't forget the many dialects. If you really want weird, then go to Uncle Sam's many versions!

[@jethro035181]

....the simplest explanation is that ivar the boneless had erectile dysfunction

[@jethro035181]

***** ....it's probably possible in the linguistic sense, but i doubt a leader of virile barbarians would advertise he couldn't get it up....somehow i don't think that would add to his command stature or his authority...

[@jethro035181]

***** ....yeah, it's possible, though most leaders of these times preferred cognomen like selim the grim, or ivan the terrible ....since vikings were mostly illiterate, they might have called him that and gotten away with it

[@luciusavenus8715]

He may have had fragile/brittle bone disease, sufferers look like blobs. The condition would just equate to disabled today, but back then it may have been attributed to a worthy quality, perhaps especially since such people are "all there" mentally. As such he would have had to have been carried about. I caught a doco about it years ago, and went to uni with someone with the condition as well.

[@jethro035181]

....according to the sagas, ivar was a famous warrior, and was supposed to have personally killed some saxon king....i doubt you could lead a viking horde if you were an invalid ....he might have had a disease or some infirmity in his old age ....the translation of "boneless" may also be incorrect....apparently the words legless and boneless have some common root

[@luciusavenus8715]

Oh that's interesting. Icelandic Sagas? I found the doco a bit odd, as the guy who was doing the study was a sufferer of fragile bome diseese himself - and it seemed more wishful. Someone with fragile bone disease is born that way too, so it's life long affliction, and the slightest pressure can break major bones. Perhaps he suffered a wound, lost the use of his legs, and his boner, but not his authority. Or maybe in a fit of irony his men called him boneless because he bonked everything in sight and became so exhausted that he needed carrying around :D

[@AbuHajarAlBugatti]

The Daynes

[@AlexKomnenos]

I often wonder what English would be like had the Normans not conquered England

[@Kevin-np3sx]

+Daniel Clark perhaps the English French rivalry would have not been so profound and influential.

[@gwbassoc]

+Daniel Clark So did Tolkien!

[@TheMrhycannon]

You do know the Norman French are Norse, don't you.?

[@mikereger1186]

Less violent, more Scandinavian. But bearing in mind that William the Bastard's invasion was bankrolled by the Papacy, to bring the gradually non conforming English church back in line with Rome, sooner or later this would have happened again, even if Harold had achieved victory and continued his dynasty. Also, the English had been weakened by the over-strong Earls who could effectively broker power over the throne in a way not seen again until the likes of de Montfort, or the Nevilles or Beauforts. Look at Earl Godwin, or Aeldorman Eadric Streona for particularly notable examples of Saxon troublemakers. It wouldn't have lasted, much as we'd like to believe it could have...

[@johnhorne1685]

I think the Jews had a hand in it as well Not that they could refuse. Because there were no Jews in England before. 1066 but quite a number after, As to the Beauforts one of their woman had a son who became Henry 7th

[@aprilbaker847]

I love your channel

[@nergizgunduz]

Saxon word means a Bird's name in Turkish , Saxon or Saxan Birds look like small Crows with black and white colors and they are know with high intelligence , they look like Cows guiders ...

[@alyxbryce4031]

Ace

[@bond007spectre7]

Cool story bro

[@rhondabanegas7860]

He was called Ivar the boneless because he was born with a defect that hurt everytime he walked, so he was always in pain. He made other warriors carry him into battle on a shield and be an archer so he could still be a great warrior and be famous.

[@RyanReevesM]

+Rhonda Banegas // Yes that is one of the theories (and likely the one closer to the truth). The issue is we have no smoking gun in terms of evidence and so it always comes down to theories.

[@LauraTrigg]

We shouldn't take names like this as bare truth. Boneless is still used in Norway to bewrite a crafty, sly character: 'No bones - you can't hear him coming!'

[@tiggergolah]

+Laura Trigg Now there's an explanation I've not heard before. This makes more sense than ought else.

[@eze2576]

Aught*

[@Johnnycdrums]

Did these Danes go to Ireland during the same time period?

[@stephensmith1118]

Dublin was a Viking City.....

[@robrandolph5199]

Norwegians founded the cities of Dublin, Limerick, and Cork

[@rev.j.rogerallen9328]

Just remember all these groups you are speaking of were black people according to Jaygo Tee.

[@donaquilaschannel2890]

Wot?

[@technicoloryaya549]

Rev. J. Roger Allen, Jaygo shoes? Jaygo meaning "unlikely to cause problems? Please explain for us little folk.

[@rev.j.rogerallen9328]

Magdalyn Morrison I have no idea what you are talking about.

[@daddygreenjeanz9070]

What are you talking about?

[@MegaMaxAle]

Charleman is called "Karl der Große", wich means Karl the great. So he is not the only one called the great. Or were youmeaning inside the Englands history?

[@randw757]

Such a fascinating evolution of peoples' and so easy to romanticize in one's mind.

[@zachhayward5142]

Aw man, he didn't talk about Cnut! D:

[@RyanReevesM]

+Zach Hayward // I wanted to, but that dude needs his own 30 minutes. :)

[@zachhayward5142]

Indeed he does, Cnut was one bad trucker :)

[@Yup71719]

he was NO Alfred the great lol

[@zachhayward5142]

Still relevant to the subject matter of England, and an interesting character.VL G

[@rohanmartin6663]

there is also an other swedish king whos titles is great

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

No such name as Anglo-Saxony! :)

[@RyanReevesM]

Yes in the spirit of Tolkien I decided to make up a word that should exist. We call them 'Anglo-Saxons' to refer to them as a single people, and I say 'Anglo-Saxony' just to refer to the conglomeration of areas they live in. That's better than always having to say 'Anglo-Saxon regions' or something like this. :)

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

***** Can't see how your comment is relevant? I was talking about the term 'Anglo-Saxony' which Ryan invented, not the question of political unity.

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

Cailin Ceilteach That seems an unnecessary thing to say - why do you say it? Aren't many Celtic girls ginger anyway?

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

Well most Celts aren't redheads, most are dark-haired. Most English too.

[@MatthewMcVeagh]

Cailin Ceilteach Many doesn't mean most. There is a greater proportion of redheads among the Celtic peoples than the world generally, yet the majority of Celtic people are still brown-haired. Ancestrally they will also have more redhead in their make-up than the rest of the world, but mixed with black and blond.

[@tteedghihh]

It always confuses me why people want bones...? Making a monument to Alfred's memory, placed anywhere, surely means more than obtaining his rotted corpse? Apparently not.

[@eze2576]

Bones are very important to people back then, if you steal the bones of a very holy or very important person, it gives you a lot of power, at least in the eyes of many people. The bones of saints, for example, are coveted. It's the same reason why people look for the holy grail, they believe it bestows power.

[@tteedghihh]

***** One of the funniest clips I ever saw on KZbin (wish I could find it to show you) was of an archaeology show, and they visited a cathedral in England where there were some famous remains of a saint. There was this old priest who had dedicated his spiritual life to looking after these remains. He turned a whiter shade of pale as the archaeologists revealed they were actually the bones of... a pig.

[@VCYT]

For all the early part of the video all i hear about are the tudors ! An now that i have seen it all i quite like the vid. :-)

[@DrDucks-qd6mm]

''I can burn all the cakes I want''

[@markadams7597]

I wouldn't pronounce Henry 8th as "great". He was a mean, out-of-control, autocrat. And, it's very debatable that Henry and Alfred have anything in common. It's bizarre to start a vid on Alfred with Henry 8th. Why not start with Henry II, Edward III, or Elizabeth Rex, and not H8th, in comparison to Alfred?

[@Beowulf-sd5gh]

If you know german and english you can read anglo-saxon pretty well ;)

[@JamieHumeCreative]

This king Henry the 8th, was not a great King, was not a great man, and was definitely...not a great husband. The only reason he went through all of these women was so that he could have a make heir. Quite disgraceful and horrid.

[@Yup71719]

he was a HORRIBEl king, yet he is remembered much more so over ATG because he was soooo over the top

[@Kevin-np3sx]

+VL G like Donald Trump.

[@dylanmedrano3882]

+Kevin Casey I wouldn't go that far Henry was just a brutal lustful man

[@NightfallMaster]

Please stop saying "coronated", the correct term is: "crowned". Also disagree with the term Anglo-Saxony, it's generally referred to as Anglo-Saxon England, or by specific mention of the kingdom involved: e.g. Wessex.

[@lincolncity9]

I always eat pudding and never dessert.

[@ianport2185]

Very good, but 'coronated'? We still 'crown' our monarchs - we've never 'coronated' them and we don't know if our kings in this period wore a crown, or a helmet as a royal headgear! And, 'Anglo-Saxonia'? - very doubtful this term is either contemporary with the period, and certainly isn't used to talk about the period today. That said, this is detail and I think it's wonderful to have your videos as an entertaining nutshell to stuff I've forgotten. So, thank you (but quit the 'coronated'!).

[@RyanReevesM]

Yeah, you know how live takes on the mic can sometimes lead to fun results. :) But if the worst thing that can be said is I misspoke, then I'll take it!

[@ianport2185]

Jolly good, my dear boy...

[@RyanReevesM]

Well my English friends are rarely forgiving with English barbarisms, but they tend to understand where the source of the problem is coming from :)))

[@nirnman]

actually after william became king the kings of england were the Dukes of normandy and vassals of the kings of france when the french could impose their will lol

[@emily333roberts]

Henry VIII wives are wrong: Jane Seymour died in childbirth not Anne of Cleves. Divorced: Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves Beheaded: Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard Died: Jane Seymour Survived: Catherine Parr

[@RyanReevesM]

Did I say it wrong in the video? Slip of the tongue, if so. Good catch!

[@n3tfe]

Wasn't the Pope under house arrest by the king of Spain when Henry VIII wanted to divorce his 1st wife?

[@AntonSword]

Good summary but what's with all the typos?

[@RyanReevesM]

Well we can't all be perfect. :) Actually with several videos at this point in the channel, I was making 3-4 a week to keep up with work deadlines. Sometimes at 3-4am. Got a bit sleepy in a few instances...:)

[@AntonSword]

ha check

[@ericanderson1593]

coronates

[@tiggergolah]

Hmm. KZbin appears to be linking the title for "Alfred the Great & the Anglo Saxons" to Ryan's video about Henry VIII. I was half awake and still on my first cup of coffee when my head snapped around at "had six wives." ("What the heck, Alfred had six wives? Wha? How did I miss that before?)

[@VCYT]

UPDATE - a 2016 DNA survey of England shows that the native Celts still dominate England, as anglo-saxon DNA is 30% on average, so less than half. England is celtic.