Books with title The dragon and the raven: or, The days of King Alfred

Living in the present days of peace and tranquillity it is difficult to picture the life of our ancestors in the days of King Alfred, when the whole country was for years overrun by hordes of pagan Norsemen, who slaughtered, plundered, and destroyed at will.The wholesale massacres and outrages which would in such a case have been inflicted upon the conquered Saxons at the hands of the Danes. From this terrible state of subjection and suffering the Saxons were rescued by the prudence, the patience, the valour and wisdom of King Alfred. In all subsequent ages, England has produced no single man who united in himself so many great qualities as did this first of great Englishmen. He was learned, wise, brave, prudent, and pious; devoted to his people, clement to his conquered enemies. He was as great in peace as in war; and yet few English boys know more than a faint outline of the events of Alfred's reign, except, maybe, that he burnt the cake.In this time of chaos and Viking onslaught, Alfred the untested Saxon King of Wessex, had to fight to save his people and his land. This tale is told by a young thane, Edmond (a fictitious character), who trains as a knight, becomes Alfred's friend and mightiest warrior. When the Danes over run the land and the Saxons capitulate, this young knight trains and leads a highly motivated corps of pike-men to recapture the kingdom.==============KEYWORDS/TAGS: Viking, Norse, Danelaw, Alfred the Great, Danish, Danes, Dragon and the Raven, G. A. Henty, , Edmund, men, great, Dragon, , arrows, attack, boats, country, course, Egbert, enemy, England, enter, father, fight, fleet, fought, Freda, galleys, ground, hands, King Alfred, marshes, might, night, Northmen, numbers, oars, Paris, party, river, Saxon, sea, ships, shore, Siegbert, strength, Sweyn, together, vessels, Viking, walls, way

Living in the present days of peace and tranquillity it is difficult to picture the life of our ancestors in the days of King Alfred, when the whole country was for years overrun by hordes of pagan barbarians, who slaughtered, plundered, and destroyed at will. You may gain, perhaps, a fair conception of the state of things if you imagine that at the time of the great mutiny the English population of India approached that of the natives, and that the mutiny was everywhere triumphant. The wholesale massacres and outrages which would in such a case have been inflicted upon the conquered whites could be no worse than those suffered by the Saxons at the hands of the Danes. From this terrible state of subjection and suffering the Saxons were rescued by the prudence, the patience, the valour and wisdom of King Alfred. In all subsequent ages England has produced no single man who united in himself so many great qualities as did this first of great Englishmen. He was learned, wise, brave, prudent, and pious; devoted to his people, clement to his conquered enemies. He was as great in peace as in war; and yet few English boys know more than a faint outline of the events of Alfred's reign—events which have exercised an influence upon the whole future of the English people. School histories pass briefly over them; and the incident of the burned cake is that which is, of all the actions of a great and glorious reign, the most prominent in boys' minds. In this story I have tried to supply the deficiency. Fortunately in the Saxon Chronicles and in the life of King Alfred written by his friend and counsellor Asser, we have a trustworthy account of the events and battles which first laid Wessex prostrate beneath the foot of the Danes, and finally freed England for many years from the invaders. These histories I have faithfully followed. The account of the siege of Paris is taken from a very full and detailed history of that event by the Abbe D'Abbon, who was a witness of the scenes he described...

It is the year 870, King Alfred is in the midst of a war to drive out the Danes, the fierce invaders who are assailing England. The fictional hero of The Dragon and the Raven, Edmund, Alfred's friend and ally fights alongside the king in the heroic, desperate struggle to free England. During this time young Edmund grows into a powerful warrior, learning that it takes courage and perseverance to be not only and soldier, but also a man.

Living in the present days of peace and tranquility it is difficult to picture the life of our ancestors in the days of King Alfred, when the whole country was for years overrun by hordes of pagan barbarians, who slaughtered, plundered, and destroyed at will. You may gain, perhaps, a fair conception of the state of things if you imagine that at the time of the great mutiny the English population of India approached that of the natives, and that the mutiny was everywhere triumphant. The wholesale massacres and outrages which would in such a case have been inflicted upon the conquered whites could be no worse than those suffered by the Saxons at the hands of the Danes. From this terrible state of subjection and suffering the Saxons were rescued by the prudence, the patience, the valour and wisdom of King Alfred. In all subsequent ages England has produced no single man who united in himself so many great qualities as did this first of great Englishmen. He was learned, wise, brave, prudent, and pious; devoted to his people, clement to his conquered enemies. He was as great in peace as in war; and yet few English boys know more than a faint outline of the events of Alfred’s reign—events which have exercised an influence upon the whole future of the English people. School histories pass briefly over them; and the incident of the burned cake is that which is, of all the actions of a great and glorious reign, the most prominent in boys' minds. In this story I have tried to supply the deficiency. Fortunately in the Saxon Chronicles and in the life of King Alfred written by his friend and counsellor Asser, we have a trustworthy account of the events and battles which first laid Wessex prostrate beneath the foot of the Danes, and finally freed England for many years from the invaders. These histories I have faithfully followed. The account of the siege of Paris is taken from a very full and detailed history of that event by the Abbe D'Abbon, who was a witness of the scenes he described.

Young Edmund and his friend Siegbert are forced to flee for their lives after an invading horde of Danes kills Edmund's father and occupies their homeland. Hoping to lift the yoke of the Northmen, the young Saxon enlists under the "Golden Dragon" banner of King Alfred the Great. While Edmund trains the Saxons in sound fighting tactics, he realizes that the key to victory rests on meeting the enemy in battle at sea. With the help of King Alfred, Edmund constructs a ship that is the match of any Danish "Black Raven" vessel. He names the ship the Dragon. Will Edmund, Siegbert, and the crew of the Dragon, find success against great odds? Will the Saxons find a way to stem the invasion of the Danes and reclaim their land? These and other questions will be answered in The Dragon and the Raven by G.A. Henty. Set in ninth century England, Norway and mainland Europe, this book includes more than 60 geographical, historical, and explanatory footnotes to aid the modern reader.

With 60 pages of additional articles, references, and bibliographies of recommended reading. Since the late 700s, Vikings had been raiding the British Isles and much of the rest of western Europe; but in 865, these sporadic raids turned into a full scale invasion. Beginning with the "Great Heathen Army," consisting of hundreds of ships and thousands of men, the Danish Vikings attempted to conquer and settle England. One man stood in their way-King Alfred, the only British king given the epithet "The Great." In the Dragon and the Raven, a brave prince and a nobleman's son come of age in the midst of warfare on land and sea. Alfred is only 23 when he becomes King of England, which is divided by rivalries and beset by the Vikings. The Danes had not only plundered the coastlands, they had invaded East England, and were pressing their way south and west. Edmund is even younger than Alfred when his father, an earldorman, is killed by Danes; and Edmund offers his service to the King. After raising an army and defeating a powerful Danish force, he takes to the seas in his ship, the Dragon, to harry the Danes in the sea-ways where they sail their ships under the flag of a black raven. The Henty History Series - Learning History Through Fiction The Henty series is a unique way of learning about history. It consists of over 80 novels, each written by George A. Henty, and each featuring a significant historical person, period or event. * Perfect for busy people who have never lost their desire to learn. * An ideal way for homeschool students to learn history. * Organized by time period. * With additional nonfiction articles and a bibliography of recommended reading. "If you want to fall in love with history, there is simply no better way to do it than this."

George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 – 16 November 1902) was a prolific English novelist and war correspondent. He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include The Dragon & The Raven (1886), For The Temple (1888), Under Drake's Flag (1883) and In Freedom's Cause (1885).G. A. Henty was born in Trumpington, near Cambridge. He was a sickly child who had to spend long periods in bed. During his frequent illnesses he became an avid reader and developed a wide range of interests which he carried into adulthood. He attended Westminster School, London, and later Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he was a keen sportsman. He left the university early without completing his degree to volunteer for the Army Hospital Commissariat when the Crimean War began. He was sent to the Crimea and while there he witnessed the appalling conditions under which the British soldier had to fight. His letters home were filled with vivid descriptions of what he saw. His father was impressed by his letters and sent them to The Morning Advertiser newspaper which printed them. This initial writing success was a factor in Henty's later decision to accept the offer to become a special correspondent, the early name for journalists now better known as war correspondents.Henty once related in an interview how his storytelling skills grew out of tales told after dinner to his children. He wrote his first children's book, Out on the Pampas in 1868, naming the book's main characters after his children. The book was published by Griffith and Farran in November 1870 with a title page date of 1871. While most of the 122 books he wrote were for children, he also wrote adult novels, non-fiction such as The March to Magdala and Those Other Animals, short stories for the likes of The Boy's Own Paper and edited the Union Jack, a weekly boy's magazine.His children's novels typically revolved around a boy or young man living in troubled times. These ranged from the Punic War to more recent conflicts such as the Napoleonic Wars or the American Civil War. Henty's heroes – which occasionally included young ladies – are uniformly intelligent, courageous, honest and resourceful with plenty of 'pluck' yet are also modest. These virtues have made Henty's novels popular today among many Christians and homeschoolers.Henty usually researched his novels by ordering several books on the subject he was writing on from libraries, and consulting them before beginning writing. Some of his books were written about events (such as the Crimean War) that he witnessed himself; hence, these books are written with greater detail as Henty drew upon his first-hand experiences of people, places, and events.On 16 November 1902, Henty died aboard his yacht in Weymouth Harbour, Dorset, leaving unfinished his last novel, By Conduct and Courage, which was completed by his son Captain C.G. Henty.Henty is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. (wikipedia.org)

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Excerpt from The Dragon and the Raven: Or the Days of King AlfredTax Massscss AT Csormn, IV. Tan Invasion or Wnssn, V. A Drsorrmvxn band, Tan Saxon L'oar, Tn: Damon, Tn: Camera or ran Damon, A Parsons, X. Tm: Comr, XI. Tan lens or Armwrr, Foss Yams or Pnca, Tan Sims or paris, XIV. Ts: Rnrursn or m Nonsmmr, XV. Fumes ui Taouan. XVI. Farm, XVII. A Leno Cases, XVIII. Farm Discount), XIX. Urn-ran.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.