Other editions of book The Dragon and the Raven: 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

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.

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."

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.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

In a time of chaos and Viking onslaught, Alfred the untested Saxon king, must fight to save his ravished land. The tale unfurls through the eyes of a young thane, Edmond, who becomes Alfred's friend and mightiest warrior. When Danes over run the land and the Saxons capitulate, this young knight trains and leads a devoted corps of pike-men to recapture the kingdom.

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.

"In this story the author gives an account of the fierce struggle between Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the ravages of the sea wolves. The hero, a young Saxon thane, takes part in all the battles fought by King Alfred. He is driven from his home, takes to the sea, and resists the Danes on their own element, and being pursued by them up the Seine, is present at the long and desperate siege of Paris. "Perhaps the best story of the early days of England which has yet been told."--Court Journal.'...but the rest, with the gold and silver vessels, can remain here till we need them."Gold and silver vessels seem little in accordance with the primitive mode of life prevailing in the ninth century. The Saxon civilization was indeed a mixed one. Their mode of life was primitive, their dwellings, with the exception of the religious houses and the abodes of a few of the great nobles, simple in the extreme; but they possessed vessels of gold and silver, armlets, necklaces, and ornaments of the same metals, rich and brightly coloured dresses, and elaborate bed furniture while their tables and household utensils were of the roughest kind, and their floors strewn with rushes. When they invaded and conquered England they found existing the civilization introduced by the Romans, which was far in advance of their own; much of this they adopted. The introduction of Christianity further advanced them in the scale.The prelates and monks from Rome brought with them a high degree of civilization, and this...'About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writ

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

Set in the days of King Alfred, we follow young Edmund as he journeys from fugitive to nobleman, from boy to man. As the Danish invade Saxon lands, all hope seems lost. Who will unite the disjointed Saxon people, and how can one young man affect the destiny of his entire country? Professor Mom's Historical Homeschooling Series introduces young people to the timeless principles, noble characters, and rich historical detail available to past generations. In the Dragon and The Raven, Mr. Henty brings events of the past to life. His characters emulate honor, respect, duty and integrity. In a world where self-sacrifice has been replaced with selfishness and courage by cowardice, Henty's books are like a breath of fresh air for homeschoolers and other parents everywhere.