by Ben Patterson For the beginning of the next unofficial saga in our story, we’ll be going far, far back, much further back than the Norsemen. Rather than focusing on a chain of events as we did in the Viking story arc, we will instead be focusing on one particular state – the Roman Republic. Most are familiar with the Empire (hopefully through historical research and not the TikTok trend), but the Republic is an often-overlooked and crucial part of the history of the world’

by Ben Patterson Following on from the last instalment: Cnut The Great Our last instalment covered the Danelaw, from its zenith under Cnut the Great to its waning as the reign of Edward the Confessor began in 1042. One would not be remiss to think of this as the end of the Viking Age, but that would come twenty-four years later, in the fateful year of 1066 – the year when the fate of England was set, when the King of England desperately fought to protect his people from being

by Ben Patterson Following on from the last instalment: The Heathen Army The Danelaw would continue to persist for the next few centuries, suffering waxing and waning at the hands of the Anglo-Saxon lords. Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, led several campaigns into the Danelaw (such as the Midlands and East Anglia) in the early 10th century, and under the later King Edgar the Peaceful, the Danelaw was conquered in its entirety. He instituted a number of new reforms

What to do with a 20-year-old history/politics university student kicking about the house on his summer holidays? (aka my son). Set him writing challenges - that's what! So, here we have The Tale of Vinland, written by Ben Patterson Modern pop culture knows the Vikings as bloodthirsty raiders and conquerors, setting out from the frozen hellscape of Scandinavia that they called home to terrorise Europe for the next two centuries, whether sailing down the Seine and razing Pari