Viking warfare

The Great Army attacks the East Anglian town of Thetford in this illuminated manuscript from 'The Life of Edmund'. Viking pikemen scale the ramparts on ladders

The secrets of the Viking Great Army

Howard Williams talks about the ethics of excavation on the HistoryExtra podcast.

Viking warrior women & the ethics of excavating the dead

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

Cnut: the great Dane

The Varangian Guard as depicted in the illuminated 12th-century manuscript known as the Madrid Skylitzes. These Viking warriors became the Byzantine emperors' personal bodyguard

What was the Varangian Guard? A brief history of the Viking warriors of the Byzantine empire

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

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

Millie Brady as Aethelflaed in 'The Last Kingdom'.

The Last Kingdom S4 E8 review: a fiery opening paves the way for a new ruler of Mercia

The Last Kingdom season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E7 review: a royal funeral, the abuse of power, and a little artistic licence

Oscar Skagerberg as Bjorgulf in 'The Last Kingdom' season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E5 review: “This has to rank among the more gruesome episodes of the season, if not the series”

Ewan Mitchell as Osferth, Mark Rowley as Finan and Aenas Fedaravicius as Sihtric. (Photo by Adrienn Szabo courtesy of Netflix)

The Last Kingdom S4 E6 review: a mysterious medieval ‘Sickness’ leaves its mark

The Last Kingdom series 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E3 review: moments of introspection remind us of history’s “shared humanity”

Magnus Bruun as Cnut in 'The Last Kingdom' season 4

The Last Kingdom S4 E4 review: “Royal rage could be a terrible thing in the early Middle Ages”