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<i>This article contains spoilers!!!!!</i>

The Last Kingdom is a popular television series recently released by the BBC and the show has strived to portray an accurate depiction of the time and reign of Alfred the Great. It is based on the <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LEYI47C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LEYI47C&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=5896bb38392fa928ad7836385dccf0d Saxon Tales]</i> series written by Bernard Cornwell. The first season is drawn from the first two books in the series. The show focuses the life of Uhtred, son of Uhtred, who is a fictional character based on an amalgamation of several historical characters, during the Dane invasions of England during the 9th century.

Some of the terms used in the series were words prevalent at the time. This includes terms such as plowing a field having sexual connotations. Another term is <i>arseling</i>, used as a playful or sometimes mocking term of Uhtred by his friend Leofric, which also would have been a term used at the time meaning "from the ass."<ref>For more on Anglo-Saxon terms, see: Baker, P. S. (2012). <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047065984X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=047065984X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=9be15e3cc90a4d0002c6a94f24e5cb09 Introduction to Old English]</i> (3rd ed). Chichester, West Sussex ; Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.</ref> Such terms and expressions were, in fact, contemporary to the period.

====Key Battles====

[[File:Battle of Ethandun memorial - geograph.org.uk - 367815.jpeg|left|thumbnail|Figure 2. Memorial to the Battle of Edington in Bratton Castle.]]

====Summary====

Like many historical series and movies, there are a lot of untrue events and stories incorporated into the historical period depicted. However, the <i>Last Kingdom</i> does a very good job at incorporating many cultural elements that would have been contemporary at the time, including those involving the behavior of the characters and types of equipment they had during campaigns. Unlike many earlier historical dramas, this one looks more closely at the historical background of the characters, trying to imbue them in a cultural and historical context that would have been familiar to them but still entertaining to 21st-century viewers. The series informs us upon how England arose as a nation, where its origin emerges at a time when Anglo-Saxon England was threatened at its last English throne and was close to being taken by the Danes. The use of a lot of historical facts mixed with fictional events makes the series informative as well as entertaining.

====Related DailyHistory.org Articles====

* [[How Historically Accurate is the movie Gangs of New York?]]