Viking Britain

A page from The Encomium, a flattering account of the reign of Cnut written in the early 1040s and commissioned by his mother Emma of Normandy to show her powerful position

Emma of Normandy: not just a two-time queen consort of England

A sword/hammer type coin from the Danelaw

The Danelaw: is the ‘realm’ of the Vikings in Anglo-Saxon-era England a place or an idea?

A depiction of King Æthelred II holding a sword

The St Brice’s Day Massacre: what really happened?

Cnut-2-364e8ae

Cnut’s invasion of England: setting the scene for the Norman conquest

The Sutton Hoo excavations are the focus of a new film, 'The Dig'. Carey Mulligan stars as Edith Pretty, and Ralph Fiennes portrays Basil Brown

Second World War

The Dig: the real history of the remarkable Sutton Hoo excavation

A portrait of Cnut holding a sceptre. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Cnut: the great Dane

Chew Valley Hoard

Unburied treasures: the 10 greatest discoveries made by the British public

The front facade of the prehistoric chambered tomb of Wayland's Smithy

Blog Medieval(ish) matters #6: Viking military mind games, Anglo-Saxon mind maps, and embroidery before the Bayeux Tapestry

This is the famous Rhynie Man carved stone, thought to be Pictish in date. (Photo by © Aberdeenshire Council Archaeology Service: www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/archaeology)

Blog Medieval(ish) matters #4: back to Braveheart, Viking river boats, Picts, and the Crusades

Animal head-post from the Oseburg ship burial, from the Viking Ships Museum's collection in Oslo, 9th century (Photo by Alamy)

The Vikings: everything you wanted to know

Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred in season 4 of 'The Last Kingdom'

The Last Kingdom: the real history behind the series

Painting of Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great and Edington: how the King of Wessex became great

Old Norse: Page from the manuscript Codex Regius, which was written in Iceland and contains the poems of elder Edda. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Blog Medieval matters #1: The Last Kingdom, Robin Hood and how to learn Old Norse in lockdown

Haesten (Jeppe Beck Laursen) in the 'The Last Kingdom'.

The Last Kingdom S4 E9 review: a tense penultimate episode sees the Saxon heart “ripped out”

Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred in season 4 of 'The Last Kingdom'. (Photo by Joe Alblas/Carnival)

The Last Kingdom S4 E10 review: resettled pieces on the board allow drama to “catch up” with history