Introduction
At the end of the 9th century, the eastern side of England was occupied by Danish invaders with their own government (‘the Danelaw’), and King Alfred of Wessex on the south coast inherited a kingdom on the edge of extinction. Little more than a century later, his successors had united all England under them.
THE first steps towards a Kingdom of England were taken by Alfred the Great, King of Wessex on the south coast. In 878 he pushed back against the invading Danes, and by astute government laid the foundations of a secure, civilised and stable Christian nation. Alfred’s son Edward the Elder added Mercia in the midlands to the realm in 899.
In 927, the Vikings’ hold over Northumbria was broken by Edward’s son Athelstan, who now found himself lord of a realm comparable to modern England. Athelstan’s brothers Edmund (who died saving his steward from a knife attack) and Edred, and Edmund’s sons Edwy and Edgar ‘the Peaceful’, consolidated the House of Wessex as Kings of England in the tenth century.
However, after Edgar’s son Edward was murdered – martyred, some would say – at Corfe Castle in 978, his half-brother Ethelred ‘the Unready’* allowed corruption and court intrigue so to weaken the kingdom that it fell to Danish king Sweyn ‘Forkbeard’ in 1013.
‘Unready’ here does not mean ‘ill-prepared’, but ‘badly advised’, being a corruption of the Old English word unrede, ‘no-counsel’. It was a play on his Christian name, Ethelred, ‘wise-counsel’.
Archive
Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Allow. Castle. Realm.
2 Consolidate. Steward. Tenth.
3 However. Kingdom. Some.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Confusables Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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