Æthelwold was a son of King Alfred the Great's older brother, Æthelred, who was King of Wessex from 865 to 871. While the West Saxons were fighting a Danish Viking invasion, Æthelred died; his sons were infants, so Alfred became king. He defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878, but when he died in 899 the Vikings still controlled Northumbria and East Anglia. In his will (pictured) Alfred favoured his own children over his brother's. Æthelwold, as senior ætheling (prince of the royal dynasty eligible for kingship), had a strong claim to the throne, and he disputed the crown with Alfred's son, Edward the Elder. Æthelwold attempted to raise an army to support his claim, but was unable to get sufficient support to meet Edward in battle and fled to Northumbria, where he was accepted by the Danes as king. In 902 he persuaded the East Anglian Vikings to launch an attack on Edward's territory in Wessex and Mercia. Edward retaliated with a raid on East Anglia, and when he withdrew, his men from Kent lingered and met the East Anglian Danes at the Battle of the Holme. The Danes were victorious but suffered heavy losses, including the death of Æthelwold, ending the challenge to Edward's rule. (Full article...)
... that the Afrikaans-language author Bartho Smit's play Putsonderwater could not be performed in his home country of South Africa because of its political message?
... that the construction of Palais Lantivy was part of the plan to develop and honour the town where Napoleon Bonaparte was born?
... that a dam on White Oak Run was once found to have spillway only capable of handling 17% of the Probable Maximum Flood without overtopping?
A detailed eighteenth-century map of Scandinavia by J. B. Homann, depicting Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic states of Livonia, Latvia and Curlandia. The map notes fortified cities, villages, roads, bridges, forests, castles and topography. The elaborate title cartouche in the upper left quadrant features angels supporting a title curtain and a medallion supporting an alternative title in French, "Les Trois Covronnes du Nord".
Born in 1664, Homann became an engraver and cartographer in the late 17th century, and opened his own publishing house in 1702. In 1715 Emperor Charles VI appointed him Imperial Geographer of the Holy Roman Empire. Homann held the position until his death in 1724.
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