David Woodman - Athelstan: First King of England

About this episode

The episode features an interview with historian David Woodman discussing Athelstan as the first king of England and his significant impact on the formation of the kingdom.

We chat to the historian David Woodman about his book The First King of England: Athelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom. He tells us about why Athelstan (not Alfred) should be considered England's first king, how Athelstan was able to exert so much power in England and Britain, plus gets us exciting for the upcoming millennium of the foundation of England. Head to David's website for more information about him and his work: https://www.dwoodman.co.uk/ Sign up for lots of bonus content, including an ad-free version of the main podcast and over 400 additional bonus podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/rexfactor "(00:00:00) Intro" "(00:02:30) Athelstan Becoming King" "(00:10:29) Athelstan as First King" "(00:15:14) Vikings" "(00:28:16) Athelstan's Laws" "(00:33:12) Athelstan and Religion" "(00:38:25) Emperor of Britain" "(00:49:57) Alfred vs Athelstan" "(00:56:52) Farewells" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Rex Factor

Guest: David Woodman

Topics covered

• Athelstan
• First King of England
• British history
• Vikings
• Athelstan's Laws
• Religion
• Power dynamics

Keywords

• Athelstan
• Alfred
• history
• England
• Vikings
• laws
• religion
• kingdom
• David Woodman

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: David's website

Books & works: The First King of England: Athelstan and the Birth of a Kingdom

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