I am Uhtred, son of Uhtred.
I was born a Saxon Lord, but raised as a Dane
until the eve of my sisters wedding,
when my family were murdered.
I am a warrior, but when the Danes attacked
Alfred's stronghold of Winchester,
all a man could do was run.
Some faster than others,
including my enemy, Young Odda.
And so Guthrum took Winchester.
Aethelwold pledged his allegiance to the Danes.
Though Guthrum still feared Alfred's God.
I could only hope that my now distant wife
We had no choice but to hide and pray for a miracle.
Iseult, my virgin queen, saved the King's son.
But at a cost only she could see.
She gave Alfred strength.
With the King alive and well,
there is hope for Wessex.
Destiny is all.
Agreed, we have fired a good number of ships.
- A fleet. - A fleet.
But in the meantime, we have left hundreds of Danes
stranded in Wessex, with no means of leaving--
Wulfhere I do not believe their intention was to ever leave.
And in a few months there will be more ships, more men.
Now is the time to fight.
To fight with what? We are without an army;
and the Danes will number thousands.
The men are out there, Wulfhere, and they are waiting.
What they need is the call.
Indeed but... Lord...
What if I was to suggest we escort you to Frankia--
That will not happen, I will not hide.
Not here nor in Frankia.
- [Wulfhere] But my-- - I have prayed daily
The only way I see to save Wessex is what we have begun;
one defining battle.
We shall be leaving the marshes.
Courage and faith.
- Amen. - Amen.
Amen.
- Shh... - [baby cries softly]
It will not be recorded that King Alfred
in mind, body and soul, unfit to be called king.
Nothing of what you say is true.
But it would become true.
Never.
Now you, my love, will remain here.
If I fail, you must go to Frankia.
Not without you.
You must save and protect our children.
For me, there can be no other country but England,
no other wife but Aelswith.
Father Beocca.
Father... I am not saying I know everything,
but the king must continue to trust me.
The arrival of Asser may change him.
The arrival of Brother Asser has given him strength.
The Brother is not a warrior. Now is a time for warriors.
And though I never thought I would say it,
He commands the largest fyrd.
He is the beginning of our army, that is where we are headed.
Uhtred I will do everything I can to help.
I will be at your side.
I will be a flea in Alfred's ear.
Thank you.
Your father would be a proud man... as am I.
I shall ready my men and by tomorrow
Uhtred...
You believe the Danes can be defeated?
I will see you across the water, Aelderman Wulfhere.
[sighs] You will.
[indistinct chatter]
Aethelcod, Aethelcod, my friend,
the man who would be King of Wessex, thank you.
Thank you for coming to see me.
Certainly... It is Aethelwold.
Yes, please. Sit down. Sit down.
So... I want you to tell me
everything you know about Alfred.
I have told you Lord, he thinks with his dick.
[chuckles]
He can barely keep his breeches on.
Hear the question, boy.
Not everybody enjoys a fool.
Alfred... though he may be afflicted by pain,
he is as strong a man as you will find.
He is also as clever a man as you will find.
I was ready to have him as my advisor,
His strength, Lord, I believe, comes from his faith--
- [scoffs] - [chuckles]
From God.
Do you believe in this God?
I believe in myself.
Why did Alfred steal the crown?
For silver, or to be a stronger king to the people?
No! Um... Yes, in part.
Which is it?
Unfairly, I was not seen as a man to follow... by some.
I was not a man to fight Danes, it was said,
and which is true because I know the Danes will win.
[chuckles] Yes...
Where as... where as, Alfred...
Alfred believes that he can win.
- Even now? - Yes!
Yeah, he is wrong, of course, but... but his faith,
that God will not desert him,
will make him believe that he will win.
Then you have to kill him.
I must kill him?
Who else... but King Aethelcod
can walk into Alfred's camp...
...and be welcomed as a friend?
[birds chirping]
Wulfhere and his men.
[gasps] [mumbles]
Stay away! I have skills!
Put that piece of tin away, boy.
Oh, thank Christ you are English.
I thought you were one of them, what with the hair.
Where is the Aelderman Wulfhere?
Gone, Lord.
I am Halig. I take care of the horses.
Gone where?
Now I'm thinking on it, Lord, he did not say.
- I thought you would know. - Wulfhere, where is he?
- He has gone, Lord. - Lord.
- He has gone where? - He didn't say.
- He has left you horses, Lord. - We keep moving.
Without Wulfhere?
Our plan doesn't change.
We make our way to Odda's estate.
We cannot use the Roman roads.
We can make our way to my farmstead and from there across
And that is the safest path, Leofric?
It is, Lord.
Let's return to the others.
There is pain here for you, my love.
- Do you know them? - Tenants.
[chickens clucking]
No...
[shuddering]
[sobs]
[dialogue muted over soundtrack music]
[sobbing] No... No...
We shall bury the dead... and pray for their souls.
When you are ready... I would like to say a prayer,
for Uhtred, son of Uhtred.
I must search for Mildrith,
she may be dead and unburied.
Uhtred no, no...
She has buried your son with care,
and she has left this place.
It is no longer home for her anymore.
Believe me.
Your tears on the Earth will show him that you loved him.
[sobbing]
Lord, may I ask what you are writing?
The first of many letters, each will say the same:
"The men of Wessex and beyond shall gather at Egbert's Stone,
and together we will fight."
[Beocca] When you send out your messengers Lord,
might I suggest you hand them the letters personally,
perhaps place your hand on their shoulder.
It will embolden them, I'm sure.
Thank you, Beocca, I will do that.
You know I did this to you; when I saved the king's son.
You did not.
[crying] I knew, an innocent would die...
I'm tired of being like this.
I have seen too much.
I know too much.
I want to see no more.
[Odda the Elder] Mildrith?!
Lord, you should be resting, we should all be resting.
I am tired of resting, I spend too many days doing nothing.
Then at least sit, before you become unsteady.
- Where is my wife? - She is resting, Lord.
- My son? - He is away, Lord.
Still?
Important business demands time.
It is not a betrayal...
No, it is not, Lord.
Look what I have done to you, child.
- I am content enough, Lord. - Look what God has done to you.
You deserve so much more than the clothes of a nun.
I have purpose, Lord.
My child is with God, and I am close to God.
There is joy in my days, at times.
Do not fear the Danes.
you will be protected.
My son will ensure that.
You are Earl Skorpa?
You are here to surrender and not waste my time?
I am here to negotiate.
[Skorpa] Surrender and you will live,
talk too much and I will kill you.
Of all the Aeldermen of Wessex,
I am the man who can assemble the greatest fyrd,
the greatest army.
I now have a choice to make a choice.
Whether to side with Guthrum, or with Skorpa.
One Dane looks much like the other to me.
I am occupying your land;
why should I not simply crush you?
Accept my invitation.
Eat with myself and with my father,
and I will tell you all about my my land;
the range of my influence.
I am sure an agreement can be reached,
neither of us need lose any men, neither of us need be weakened.
- Eat? - And drink, at my hall.
I assure you this is no trap.
I will arrive at your hall after the new moon.
I shall expect you.
Then we have peace, at least for a time?
Oh, we do.
You have lost much:
fathers, mothers...
...a son... lovers...
I have you...
I have a brother...
- Ragnar. - Yes.
Your sister, Thyra...
Yes?
She is alive?
[sighs softly]
No she's dead, the fire.
Uhtred she lives and is being held in the north.
It is the truth.
Skorpa told me.
I thought at first it could be a lie to torment you.
Hearing it from me would have made it true,
but now I know that it is true. She lives.
You've seen it?
Yes. I've seen her...
...but I will see her no more, the gift is fading.
When this battle is done, Uhtred, your path leads north.
It will be time to face your past.
And you'll be with me?
Always.
Lord... If God's help is required,
how could he look favorably upon Uhtred, a non-believer.
God is good.
Yes, Lord, but in following the heathen,
what does that say of our beliefs?
Death could be waiting over the very next hill
and it will be Uhtred who stands in its way.
I have no doubt, a Dane will always protect his plunder.
The king is of value.
He is here to protect the king.
Something neither you nor I could do.
He is a man without a soul.
Then I shall be his soul, Lord. I shall pray for him.
I will ride beside him, always and into battle.
I will be his conduit to God.
And if you fall, in battle?
With the help of your prayers, brother,
I shall become invincible I'm sure.
Brother Asser....
I should like you to be the first of my messengers.
[horse whinnies]
Morning.
Sleep well?
He means did you hump well?
- I know what he means. - Sleep well lady?
[Alfred] If I may speak... to you all.
Though we are yet to complete the first segment of our journey
to Odda's estate, it is important we begin the second.
Word of our army's gathering point must be despatched
to the further reaches of our land.
Brother Asser here will be my first messenger.
Halig.
Yes, Lord.
You will also be my voice.
I will, Lord.
And me, Lord.
Hild?
Lord, she is a woman.
I am as good a horseman as anyone here.
If it means more Danes will die then I'll do it.
Yes, Hild... you will.
Your horses... belong to whom?
The Lord Odda.
- You will let us pass? - Are you selling or buying?
Selling to the Danes. There is a peace.
Did you not know?
That Odda has made a peace, no, I did not.
Odda is loyal. We shall see for ourselves what is true.
[snickers]
Lord, you should remain out of sight
until we can be sure of your safety.
Odda is not a danger.
But who sits with Odda?
I will not hide.
[Beocca] Lord, please, hear the advice.
You are a symbol of Wessex, you are the standard around
which our army will gather. You cannot be put at risk.
Very well.
I must see this with my own eyes.
- Lord, that is not advisable. - I have made up my mind!
If there is treachery, it is something I must witness.
- Then I will go with you. - I do not require a nursemaid!
- I am a priest. - And I a King!
You will wait here with Iseult.
I am aware of the care I need to take.
[indistinct chatter]
Nuns should not be so pretty nor have lips that demand
I see you agree.
- When is it you are leaving? - When I am rested, Lord.
Lord...
[whispers indistinct]
[Odda the Elder] What is it? Have the Danes arrived?
Leofric, he is outside.
Then bring him inside, he is our man.
He is with Uhtred.
Bring them both to me.
[indistinct chatter]
Leofric, Uhtred! My prayers have been answered!
God is good.
Lords...
It is good to see you both safe and well.
Leofric, you are home.
Where in God's name have you been?
Hiding, Lord, and killing Danes.
Hopefully, not on my land.
[Uhtred] We have been sent by the king.
We bring orders from the king.
- What king is that? - King Alfred?
Who else, Lord?
[Odda the Younger] Wessex, it seems, is full of kings.
There is Guthrum, who is the King of East Anglia,
who now sits in Winchester.
There is Aethelwold here,
who will tell anyone who cares to listen that he is king,
where will it end?
- I have Alfred's written order. - It means nothing.
- You are to raise the fyrd. - It is over for Alfred!
Alfred gave up in Wessex.
He decided to save himself!
No man has been more loyal to Alfred than my father and I,
but he has failed us.
Danes surround us and he is hiding!
Alfred, is king of the eels, slippery and elusive.
I see it's true...
...you have sided with the Danes.
What has Skorpa promised you? Are you to be king, Odda?
- Leofric, are you are still my man?
I asked you a question, Leofric?
I am still your man, Lord.
Then you will finish the business you have
You have my order. Kill him.
Lord, I cannot do that.
I stand here as Alfred's messenger.
[Odda the Younger] I will not tell you again, Leofric.
[Uhtred] Should any man try to kill me,
then that man is a traitor to the king.
Leofric, you will kill him! Alfred is no longer my king!
[Leofric] I will not do it, Lord!
- My son-- - Father,
[gasps]
May your mother forgive me.
And may you be forgiven for your treason.
[all murmuring]
Lord, forgive him,
let him die a noble.
Forgive him...
I ask you this as your servant.
Odda... you will do as I command;
you will raise the Somerset fyrd.
Lord, forgive my son, please!
I will not forgive what I have seen.
You will raise the fyrd!
[sighs] Yes, Lord.
I will need 20 horsemen... to take word
to all men able to carry sword, hook or spear.
The word is that Alfred is king...
[all yelling]
...and will fight alongside
the swords of Wessex to his dying breath!
- Come on! - [all cheering]
Come on! Come on!
May we speak?
About our son.
You know?
Then there is nothing left to say.
I am sorry that his death
was something that you had to face alone.
[scoffs]
I was not alone.
Being without a husband does not mean I am alone.
Then I am sorry for the life that I have given you.
I have found peace, I hope you can do the same.
Was there sickness?
- I would like to understand. - Children are frail.
And you will have other sons, I'm sure, with your queen.
Is she here?
Yes.
I would like you to leave me alone,
never speak to me again.
We have nothing that binds us, nothing.
Avoid me, please.
Uhtred Ragnarson, should I be pleased to see you?
Skorpa of the White Horse.
I am expected, by the Lord Odda.
The Lord Odda is in the ground,
So what now, do I speak with you;
does the truce stand?
For today it stands, tomorrow we'll kill you.
You will kill me... with what?
I have almost 1,000 men to call upon.
Your ships have been burned, Skorpa, by Alfred.
He is gathering a great Saxon army.
I am aware my ships are gone, and I will have my revenge.
You should return to Guthrum and prepare to die!
Did your queen tell you that your sister
is being humped in the arse each and every night
Did your mother tell you that she should have
I will look for you first across the battle field.
I will be there, and I will not be difficult to find.
[Alfred] He will go to Guthrum?
I believe he will, Lord.
Then the battle is one step nearer.
Beocca, you should wash out your mouth.
Yes, Lord, I will... with ale.
How many men?
Four hundred. No more.
And this is the great Saxon army?
Their numbers will grow. We need to march.
There needs to be a story of a slaughter.
Only days ago Ragnar was asking if the war was over?
Skorpa is right, there must be a slaughter.
We must take the fight to Alfred and his God.
And you are ready to kill your brother?
If it comes to that, yes.
Then we shall face one great army with another.
[Alfred] Once the armies are assembled,
I shall speak to them, as one.
Each man should know...
...this war is not only about land....
Should the heathens win, then Christ is defeated.
[Uhtred] When you speak to the men, Lord,
Then what do you suggest I say?
Tell them that you will die for them, that's good.
Tell them that we will make the Danes pay in blood,
and that they will be rewarded in plunder.
I am to talk of revenge and greed?
They are men, Lord, not angels.
We shall stop for a moment.
Halt... We halt!
Lord?
It is Egbert's Stone.
Within these next few yards,
we will know if we have an army,
of angels or otherwise.
I will go alone.
If no one is there, what then?
I see...
Not a single one.
Not a single man has answered my call.
Then we wait. We must wait, Lord.
A fine knife...
A Dane's knife.
This thing?
Yes, I took it from a Dane,
a Dane I killed.
- Where? - Winchester.
This was before you groveled on your arse to Guthrum?
Before I presented myself to him, yes.
I was not, however, treated in a kingly manner
and decided to escape.
A king under the Danes is no king.
Uhtred, I do like you, but I rather tire of your preaching.
Have you ever thought of becoming a priest?
- Ever since I was a boy. - That is a lie.
I baptized him twice, he's still not a Christian.
[knife cuts]
For luck.
Then I will need a lock from you.
Where is Alfred?
Watching... waiting for his army.
I think I shall go and sit with him a while.
You are fond of him now?
For luck.
[breathing heavily]
Lord...
I thought you would like company.
What do you see? What do you hear?
- I hear nothing, Lord. - No... No...
There is a change in the shadows, in the air.
They are out there.
I see nothing but grass, Lord.
- Beyond the grass, trees. - There! There!
It's men.
And more... more men there.
They have answered the call.
The swords of England, they're coming.
[chuckles]
It's the swords of Wessex!
Swords of England!
Today, is a day for warriors.
A day to kill your enemies.
A day we make the Pagans wish they had never heard of Wessex!
Today, we fight for Wessex!
[all cheering]
[Alfred] And not only for Wessex.
We have men here from Northumbria,
from Mercia, from East Anglia.
And why are the Pagan's here?
They want your wives for their pleasure.
They want your children as their slaves.
They want your homes as their own!
But they do... not... know us!
[all cheering]
They do not know our swords,
they do not know our axes, our spears,
they do not know our courage!
And today... We kill them!
[all cheering]
We shall make the ground red with their blood!
We shall strip them of what they have plundered,
we shall make them cry out for mercy,
and there will be none!
No mercy!
[all chanting] No mercy! No mercy! No mercy!
[chanting continues]
Should I fall,
you and Hild are to take my horse and ride clear of here.
You will not fall, I forbid it.
Everything I have is packed in my bags, it's yours.
You will not fail.
I fight for you.
[chanting continues]
Kill them all!
Then no mercy it must be.
Should you meet Uhtred in battle there can be no doubt.
No mercy.
None.
We should not be holding back, Lord.
We should attack with every man.
I will decide how we fight. You will follow my orders.
Yes, Lord.
No mercy.
Form our lines.
Form our lines!
Shields up!
- Advance! - [Leofric] Come on!
Forward.
Hold the line, we work as one. We do not break.
Shields, lock.
Hold the line.
- Halt! - Halt!
Wulfhere, I will have your guts you traitorous bastard!
This is our land!
[all cheering]
[commanding orders indistinct]
First in line, as you wished.
[all yelling]
Here they come!
Hold!
[all grunting]
[screaming in pain]
Keep the wall tight!
[Leofric] Have that Wulfhere, you bastard!
Hold!
Leofric! [speaks indistinct]
Leofric!
Leave him! Leave him! Close the gaps!
Keep the wall tight!
[yells indistinct]
Three, two, one...
[all grunting in unison]
No mercy!
[yells]
No more ground shall be lost!
Follow me!
[screaming]
God have mercy!
[horse whinnying] [people screaming]
We fall back! As one!
We ease!
[all chanting in unison]
Hold! We hold here! We go no further!
Edge backwards with me at my level!
[screaming] [all grunting in unison]
Uhtred Ragnarson! Can you hear me?
I hear you, Skorpa.
Do you wish to surrender?
I have a gift for you! Your queen!
- No mercy! - [all yelling]
You will be struck down with my spear!
[screaming]
And you will spend eternity in the fires of hell!
Uhtred!
[grunts]
Take the horse.
[groans in pain]
Lord, what are your orders? Lord?
Did you see that?
It came as the priest said.
What, Lord?
Their God is with them.
So what are your orders?
[mumbles indistinct]
[yells indistinct]
No mercy!
His grave is to be marked like that of an Aelderman.
I shall see to it.
[Beocca] Uhtred...
Iseult is whole.
She has been wrapped and made ready for burial.
[Uhtred sighs deeply]
I want her to have a pyre.
Then she shall have it.
Uhtred... for all that you have done...
...all that you have shown me, thank you.
You have given everything.
You are the man I always hoped you would become.
[exhales]
[Uhtred] In the year 878, at Ethandun,
King Alfred defeated Guthrum of the Danes
and drove them from Wessex.
I am indebted, Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
Wessex is indebted.
There can be no negotiation, Lord, only surrender.
- That is your advice? - It is.
I hear you.
Lord.
[Uhtred] Peace was secured with hostages,
including my friend Brida... and my brother Young Ragnar.
Peace was further secured by Earl Guthrum's baptism
and acceptance of the Christian God.
You renounce the Devil and all his work.
- I do. - Let this water cleanse you
and make you worthy of God's blessing.
Guthrum, you are now a child of God.
[all] Amen.
[Uhtred] As for Uhtred the Godless...
...my journey continues.
My path leads north, to blood feuds, to revenge.
And to Bebbanburg.
Destiny is all.