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Who Was in the Great Hall in Uhtred’s Vision of Valhalla?
Inside the Great Hall, drinking and laughing, Uhtred sees Brida – his childhood companion turned lover turned enemy, who was killed by his daughter Stiorra in season five. With her are Danish warriors Clapa (who died in season two and was played by Magnus Samuelsson) and Haesten (who died in season five, played by Jeppa Beck Laursen). Most touchingly of all, they’re all joined by Earl Ragnar, Uhtred and Brida’s adoptive father, who was burned to death by the villainous Kjartan in season one.
Who Were the Titular Seven Kings?
Ingrith’s prophecy is brought back up in the film’s final moments, when that very question is asked. Five kings from the Scottish-Danish alliance escaped the battlefield, but their sons and heirs who fought alongside them were all killed (including Anlaf’s daughter Astrid) so their bloodline would not survive. Add King Edward’s death at the beginning of the film, and Uhtred’s possible death (though not styled as a king, there’s no doubt that he’s as much one as any of the Scottish chieftains or Danish Jarls in this story), and that makes seven.
Who Won the Battle of Brunanburh?
Thanks to Uhtred’s military nous (in the screen version at least), the Danish-Scottish alliance lost the battle, and King Aethelstan’s troops won, ensuring his reign over a united England. Uhtred had armed the front line of his troops with spikes to throw on the ground and injure their oncoming attackers, and roped logs to unseat them from their horses. He lured their opponents into position until they were surrounded by secondary troops led by Uhtred’s son Osbert who’d been hiding in nearby trees until they received the signal to fight.
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While it looked as though Father Pyrlig and Uhtred had both fallen in battle, they both survived and were brought back to Bebbanburg to recover. Ingilmundr, the traitorous former lover and advisor of King Aethelstan, fared worse and was executed on Aethelstan’s orders.
Was King Aethelstan Gay in Real Life?
We don’t know. Speaking to writer Sharon Kay Penman in this interview about War Lord, the final book in the Saxon Stories series, Bernard Cornwell explained that he’d used poetic license when it came to Aethelstan’s sexuality:
“I also took some liberties with Æthelstan, Alfred’s grandson, who eventually becomes the first king of a united England. History records that he never married, which is unusual in a king because of the desire to leave an heir, and also that he liked to decorate his hair with golden ringlets, and on that small evidence I decided he might have been gay; a choice that hasn’t pleased all my readers, but I was happy with it.”
