Born a Saxon and raised a Dane, \u201cUhtred, son of Uhtred\u201d (so the show calls him) is a man of conflicting loyalties, bound by the many (often inadvisable) oaths he makes, and driven by a desire to regain his lost birth right \u2013 the Northumbrian coastal fortress of Bebbanburg. It\u2019s a real place: today we know Bebbanburg better by its medieval name, Bamburgh Castle.<\/p>\n The real history behind the final season of the Netflix drama \u2013 plus plot recaps and spoilers. <\/p><\/div> Uhtred\u2019s adventures in The Last Kingdom<\/em> are set against the great events of the Viking Age. Through him, we\u2019ve witnessed the bloody activities of the 9th-century Great Heathen Army<\/a>, the defence of the kingdom of Wessex<\/a> under Alfred the Great<\/a> (who reigned from AD 871 to AD 899), and the political turbulence in the different kingdoms across England following Alfred\u2019s death. We\u2019ve seen the ascension of Edward the Elder<\/a> in Wessex, the triumphs of \u00c6thelfl\u00e6d<\/a> in Mercia, the failed rebellion of Alfred\u2019s nephew, \u00c6thelwold<\/a>.<\/p>\n Though this fictional Uhtred moves deftly throughout these events, even in exile from Bebbanburg he remains linked to the great fortress, to Northumbria at large, and to the Vikings<\/a> who settled in northern England. His interests sometimes lie with Wessex and Mercia, but Uhtred\u2019s loyalties remain conflicted throughout the series, and it is often in these conflicts, including within Uhtred himself, that the heart of the drama lies.<\/p>\n Sadly, there is no \u2018Uhtred, son of Uhtred\u2019 amongst the Northumbrian royalty or nobility in the early Middle Ages<\/a>, but there was more than one Uhtred associated with Bamburgh who was important enough to be remembered in historical records.<\/p>\n One was the son of a certain Eadwulf, Lord of Bamburgh; this Uhtred was simply named in passing in an episode recorded in a Northumbrian work known as the History of St Cuthbert<\/em>.<\/p>\n Intriguingly, he was referred to as the brother of a figure who was a \u2018favourite\u2019 of King Edward the Elder of Wessex (Alfred the Great\u2019s son), who ruled from AD 899 to AD 924). This is not a million miles away from the events in The Last Kingdom<\/em>, then, even if the fictional Uhtred probably would have edged away from being described as favoured by the southern king.<\/p>\n The second historical Uhtred, again linked with Bamburgh, is far more prominent in a range of sources: he was active during the Viking Age and his reputation suggests that he was held in high regard, at least in parts of Northumbria.<\/p>\n This Uhtred was not a contemporary of Alfred the Great and his descendants in the 9th and 10th centuries, but can be found in the early 11th century.<\/p>\n This was a time when the realisation of Alfred\u2019s dream of a united England was threatening to unravel during the tribulations of the Viking attacks under the rule<\/a> (some would say the misrule) of \u00c6thelred the Unready (who reigned from AD 978 until 1013, and then again from 1014 to 1016).<\/p>\n With little guarantee of the loyalty of lords to their king and defences quickly crumbling in the face of massive Viking onslaughts, it is little wonder that individual successes could capture the imagination of contemporaries.<\/p>\n The real Uhtred of the 11th century is a fascinating figure. Manuscripts from the period show the name \u2018Uhtred\u2019 in the lists of witnesses to the charters of King \u00c6thelred, the earliest of these being from 1009, recorded as a dux<\/em>. Dux<\/em> was a Latin word for someone with the regional governor office of ealdorman or, in Uhtred\u2019s case, the title of earl (from the Scandinavian jarl<\/em>).<\/p>\n As charters recorded those who came to the royal courts of the period, forming the \u2018witan\u2019 of the advisors of the king, this Uhtred was evidently a prominent person within the English kingdom \u2013 so prominent, indeed, that in the last years of his reign, King \u00c6thelred gave him the hand of his daughter, \u00c6lfgifu, in marriage.<\/p>\n There is evidence of Earl Uhtred as a man of action. It exists in a description of a defence of the city-fortress of Durham against attacking Scots that probably took place in 1006, when Uhtred\u2019s father (whose name was Waltheof, not Uhtred), remained in Bamburgh. When that battle was over, a particularly lurid source relates that Uhtred had the heads of the dead Scots displayed on poles around the walls of the city.<\/p>\n Though the account was written down some years after the battle occurred, such macabre displays of victory weren\u2019t uncommon in early medieval warfare, and the episode could have reflected Uhtred\u2019s new authority in the wake of a successful defence.<\/p>\n Uhtred probably earned recognition as the earl of the Northumbrians at this point, even though his father was still alive for a short time afterwards. Earl Uhtred\u2019s lordship seemingly extended from the northern realm dominated by Bamburgh to the whole Northumbrian region \u2013 probably also including the former Viking kingdom of York, which formed the southern part of Northumbria.<\/p>\n Despite being at the heart of the \u2018Land of the English\u2019, made famous as early as the 8th century by the ecclesiastical historian Bede, there was no guarantee that Northumbria would end up as part of the English kingdom that emerged in the early 10th century. But there is evidence of Anglo-Scottish hostilities, and the evidence of Uhtred\u2019s marriage to \u00c6thelred\u2019s daughter suggests that under Uhtred, Northumbria was moving towards the orbit of an English kingdom.<\/p>\n Many Viking attacks on England at this time were visited upon the south, so it is likely that Uhtred\u2019s activities were mainly focused upon countering Scottish pressure in the north of England. This may even have included leading a force against the Scots at Carham on the River Tweed in 1018, two years after the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle<\/em> reports Uhtred\u2019s death: historians disagree over which account to believe (in fact both might be correct), but less contentious is the suggestion that Uhtred\u2019s dominance of York helped to maintain its place within an English kingdom at a time of great political stress.<\/p>\n There is an air of pragmatism to Uhtred\u2019s actions during the final years of \u00c6thelred\u2019s first period of rule. He is recorded by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle<\/em> as submitting to Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard<\/a> in 1013, along with \u201call the Northumbrians\u201d and the inhabitants of Lincolnshire.<\/p>\n It was this event that led to Sweyn\u2019s brief kingship of England and \u00c6thelred\u2019s exile to Normandy. Like the fictional Uhtred of The Last Kingdom<\/em>, the historical Uhtred\u2019s position was determined by the need to balance out different interests in the face of changing political circumstances.<\/p>\n Sweyn\u2019s rule did not last \u2013 he died in early 1014 \u2013 and \u00c6thelred returned as king, but a political balancing act came into play again. This time, Uhtred joined forces with \u00c6thelred\u2019s son, Edmund Ironside<\/a>, attacking areas around the West Midlands as a way of countering the notorious ealdorman Eadric Streona, who had sided with another Danish invader, Cnut<\/a> (Sweyn Forkbeard\u2019s son).<\/p>\n Cnut responded by ravaging Uhtred\u2019s Northumbrian lands, forcing Uhtred to come to a truce, in which hostages were handed over. Whether Uhtred\u2019s historical death came at the orders of Cnut shortly afterwards, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle<\/em> has it, or some years later in the aftermath of the battle of Carham, there can be no doubt that one tradition of Uhtred\u2019s death was straight out of the world of Norse saga.<\/p>\n As Uhtred came into Cnut\u2019s presence under cover of a truce, the Danish king\u2019s soldiers were hidden behind a curtain. Stepping out, they ambushed the Uhtred, slaughtering him, along with 40 of his men. The 12th-century tract De Obsessione Dunelmi <\/em>appoints this act not to Cnut directly, but through \u201ca powerful king\u2019s thegn named Thurbrand, known as Hold\u201d.<\/p>\n Whether The Last Kingdom<\/em>\u2019s fifth season sees any curtains for Uhtred is yet to be seen, but there are clear parallels in the figure of a Northumbrian warrior, drawn into the various politics of different parts of Viking Age England.<\/p>\n Bernard Cornwell talks about the final novel in his The Last Kingdom<\/em> series \u2013 and why \u00c6thelstan<\/a> gets short shrift in history \u2013 on this episode of the HistoryExtra<\/em> podcast<\/a><\/p>\nThe Last Kingdom season 5<\/a><\/h4>\n
![\""Programme\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2018\/01\/the-last-kingdom-852e357.jpg?quality=45&resize=556,556"\" "\\"\"the-last-kingdom-852e357\"\\"\/")
<\/div><\/div> <\/div> <\/section>Is Uhtred of Bebbanburg real?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Timothy\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2020\/04\/1220TLK4_8ep_11sc_20Adrienn20Szabo_20140820192038-cb89c3d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C411"\" "\\"\"Timothy\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What did the real Uhtred do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Alexander\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/7\/2020\/04\/Alexander-Dreymon-as-Uhtred-in-season-4-of-The-Last-Kingdom-b3f1bee.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C411"\" "\\"\"Alexander\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What was Uhtred\u2019s relationship with Northumbria?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How does Uhtred of Bebbanburg die?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who did Bernard Cornwell base Uhtred of Bebbanburg on?<\/strong><\/h2>\n