Other editions of book King Alfred's Viking

The general details and course of events given in this story about King Alfred are, in the main, as written by Asser, the King’s chaplain. One or two further incidents of the Athelney period are from the later chroniclers--notably the sign given by St. Cuthberht--as are also the names of the herdsman and the nobles in hiding in the fen.But all the characters can be found here – King Alfred, Queen Ealhswith, their daughters, Asser, Odda, Osmund, Cuthbert, Guthrum, Hubba, St. Neot, Athelstan Godred, Ethelred, Thiodolf, Thora and the other significant players of the age.The story is told by Ranald Vemundsson, son of the late Vemund, king of Southmereland, Norway, slain by Jarl Rognvald on the orders of Harald Fairhair. For his own safety Ranald fled Norway after being given a place on Jarl Einar’s ship - and so he came to England and the Danelaw. Whether Ranald actually was Alfred’s Viking is conjecture.That Alfred put his first fleet into the charge of "certain Vikings" is well known, though the name of their chief is not given. These Vikings would certainly be Norse, either detached from the following of Rolf Ganger, who wintered in England in 875 A.D. the year before his descent on Normandy; or else independent rovers who, like Rolf, had been driven from Norway by the high-handed methods of Harald Fairhair. Indeed, the time when a Norse contingent was not present with the English forces, from this period till at least that of the battle of Brunanburh in 947 A.D. would probably be an exception.There are, therefore, good historic grounds for the position given to the hero of the story as leader of the newly-formed fleet. The details of the burning of his supposed father's hall, and of the Orkney period, are taken from the Sagas.===============KEYWORDS/TAGS: King Alfred’s Viking, Norse, Seek, Sword Helmbiter, Gifts, Two Heroes, Odda, Ealdorman Of Devon, Jarl Osmund, Daughter, Meetings, England, Action, Adventure, Anglia, Athelney, battle, brave, Bridgwater, Cannington, chainmail, Chippenham, Christian, Combwich, comrades, Danes, Danish, Denewulf, Devon, ealdorman, Edington, Einar, England, Etheldreda, Ethelnoth, Ethelred, Exeter, father, fleet, Glastonbury, Godred, golden, Guthrum, Harald Fairhair, Harek, heart, Helmbiter, eregar, Heregar, horses, Hubba, jarl, Jarl, kingdom, Kolgrim, Lady, laugh, laughter, maiden, Mercia, mound, Norsemen, Norway, Odda, Odin, Osmund, Parret, peace, people, Polden, Quantocks, ramparts, Ranald, river, round, runes, Saxon, Saxon, scald, Selwood, ships, Sigehelm, Sigurd, St Neot, stones, sword, Taunton, thane, Thiodolf, Thora, Thord, three, thunder, tongue, Vemundsson, Wareham, weapons, Wessex, wild, Black, Combwich, Cuthbert, Dance, Edington, Fight, Greatest Victory, King Alfred's Will,Pixies, Sign Of St. Cuthberht, Twelfth-Night, Winning Of "The Raven"

The general details and course of events given in this story are, so far as regards the private life and doings of King Alfred, from his life as written by his chaplain, Asser. One or two further incidents of the Athelney period are from the later chroniclers--notably the sign given by St. Cuthberht--as are also the names of the herdsman and the nobles in hiding in the fen. That Alfred put his first fleet into the charge of "certain Vikings" is well known, though the name of their chief is not given. These Vikings would certainly be Norse, either detached from the following of Rolf Ganger, who wintered in England in 875 A.D. the year before his descent on Normandy; or else independent rovers who, like Rolf, had been driven from Norway by the high-handed methods of Harald Fairhair. Indeed, the time when a Norse contingent was not present with the English forces, from this period till at least that of the battle of Brunanburh in947 A.D. would probably be an exception. There are, therefore, good historic grounds for the position given to the hero of the story as leader of the newly-formed fleet. The details of the burning of his supposed father's hall, and of the Orkney period, are from the Sagas. Much controversy has raged over the sites of Ethandune and the landing place of Hubba at Kynwith Castle, owing probably to the duplication of names in the district where the last campaign took place. The story, therefore, follows the identifications given by the late Bishop Clifford in "The Transactions of the Somerset Archaeological Society" for 1875 and other years, as, both from topographic and strategic points of view, no other coherent identification seems possible

This is a history of the medieval king Alfred. From the preface: "The general details and course of events given in this story are, so far as regards the private life and doings of King Alfred, from his life as written by his chaplain, Asser. One or two further incidents of the Athelney period are from the later chroniclers--notably the sign given by St. Cuthberht--as are also the names of the herdsman and the nobles in hiding in the fen. That Alfred put his first fleet into the charge of "certain Vikings" is well known, though the name of their chief is not given. These Vikings would certainly be Norse, either detached from the following of Rolf Ganger, who wintered in England in 875 A.D. the year before his descent on Normandy; or else independent rovers who, like Rolf, had been driven from Norway by the high-handed methods of Harald Fairhair. Indeed, the time when a Norse contingent was not present with the English forces, from this period till at least that of the battle of Brunanburh in 947 A.D. would probably be an exception. There are, therefore, good historic grounds for the position given to the hero of the story as leader of the newly-formed fleet. The details of the burning of his supposed father's hall, and of the Orkney period, are from the Sagas. Much controversy has raged over the sites of Ethandune and the landing place of Hubba at Kynwith Castle, owing probably to the duplication of names in the district where the last campaign took place. The story, therefore, follows the identifications given by the late Bishop Clifford in "The Transactions of the Somerset Archaeological Society" for 1875 and other years, as, both from topographic and strategic points of view, no other coherent identification seems possible. The earthworks of the Danish position still remain on Edington hill, that looks out from the Polden range over all the country of Alfred's last refuge, and the bones of Hubba's men lie everywhere under the turf where they made their last stand under the old walls and earthworks of Combwich fort; and a lingering tradition yet records the extermination of a Danish force in the neighbourhood. Athelney needs but the cessation of today's drainage to revert in a very few years to what it was in Alfred's time--an island, alder covered, barely rising from fen and mere, and it needs but little imagination to reproduce what Alfred saw when, from the same point where one must needs be standing, he planned the final stroke that his people believed was inspired directly from above."

King Alfred's Viking - A Story of the First English Fleet is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Charles W. (Charles Watts) Whistler is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of Charles W. (Charles Watts) Whistler then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.

Reverend Charles Watts Whistler MRCS, LSA, (1856-1913) was a writer of historic fiction that plays between 600 and 1100 AD, usually based on early English/Saxon chronicles, Norse or Danish Sagas and archeological discoveries. He studied medicine at St Thomas's Hospital, London, and was a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons and a Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries. After practicing as a surgeon he was ordained deacon in 1884 and priest in 1885. He then served as a clergyman in a succession of parishes. Whistler was interested in the history of England before the Norman Conquest and this is reflected in the subject matter of his prolific work as a historical novelist. His works include: A Thane of Wessex: Being a Story of the Great Viking Raids into Somerset (1896), Wulfric the Weapon Thane: A Story of the Danish Conquest of East Anglia (1897), King Olaf's Kinsman: A Story of the Last Saxon Struggle Against the Danes in the Days of Ironside and Cnut (1898), A King's Comrade: A Story of Old Hereford (1905) and A Sea Queen's Sailing (1906).

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.

The general details and course of events given in this story are, so far as regards the private life and doings of King Alfred, from his life as written by his chaplain, Asser. One or two further incidents of the Athelney period are from the later chroniclers--notably the sign given by St. Cuthberht--as are also the names of the herdsman and the nobles in hiding in the fen.

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Men call me "King Alfred's Viking," and I think that I may be proud of that name; for surely to be trusted by such a king is honour enough for any man, whether freeman or thrall, noble or churl. Maybe I had rather be called by that name than by that which was mine when I came to England, though it was a good title enough that men gave me, if it meant less than it seemed. For being the son of Vemund, king of Southmereland in Norway, I was hailed as king when first I took command of a ship of my own. Sea king, therefore, was I, Ranald Vemundsson, but my kingdom was but over ship and men, the circle of wide sea round me was nought that I could rule over, if I might seem to conquer the waves by the kingship of good seaman's craft.