The Ruin of Britain

& other Invasions

Three historians, three invasions, three dark age tragedies

                                    ONE STORY

Three dark age historians, each with a great story to tell:

Gilda’s ‘Ruin of Britain,

Written by a contemporary of ‘Arthur’ and the only first hand account of the Saxon invasion of Britain, the ‘heroic’ resistance of the Britons and the battle of Badon hill.

The author might be a self confessed curmudgeon, but he still has a story to tell

To read a translation of the text, click here

Asser’s account of the Danish invasion, and Alfred’s resistance,

Three hundred years latter, hear the account Asser writes of his monarch and friend, king Alfred, and his resistance to the Danish invasion, leading up to the battle of Ethandune .

Surely the single most important series of events in English history, as it is only a small exaggeration to say that if things had only been a little different, England itself would never have been at all!

To read a translation of the text click here

The Anglo Saxon chronicle account of Aethelred’s reign and Ironside’s resistance,

Another hundred years on, the story of a king’s folly and another invasion. This time the heroic resistance is doomed, and the flower of the English fall at Ashingdown.

The story is told in Anglo Saxon chronicle. The anonymous author writes with power, passion, and even dry humour, as he relates  the bitter story of exactly how the richest country in Europe was bought down both by the folly of a king and a bunch of viking thugs.

To read a translation of the text click here

Each historian allowed  is to speak after a thousand years, and each given their own unique voice, but all told with verve and passion.

deor

DARK AGE HISTORY HAS SELDOM FELT SO ALIVE.

now playing the start of Gildas...

Shining the light on dark age history

Like to learn more about Dark Age sources? Click here for Deor’s Dark Age Links