“It was the most terrible conflict that anyone could remember. Entire kingdoms were mobilized for combat. Slaughter fit to stupefy poets was visited on the ranks of the rival combatants. The memory of it would long endure. (…)  “Æðelstan cyning lædde fyrde to Brunanbyrig”: Athelstan the king led the levy to Brunanburh. (…) At stake, though, was not just the future of Athelstan’s kingdom. Beyond the world … Continue reading Tom Holland’s “Athelstan” – book review