 was Ethelstan, the first king of the English from 927 to 939 AD, gay. In the new last kingdom film on Netflix, seven kings must die. King Ethelstan is depicted as being in a gay relationship with one of his advisors. But is there any historical basis to this, or is it just woke nonsense that has been inserted into this film? To be clear, I don't have any issue with any historical figures being gay, or anyone at all, I really couldn't get less. The only issue I do have is when woke politics are inserted into films, TV series for no reason, especially when they're historically grounded TV series, films in general. So in this instance, there's no historical basis that King Ethelstan was gay as such, although it's not quite so straightforward as is usually the case. Ethelstan is known to not have been married and not to have had children, leading to many speculations about what the reasons are for this. In a 2020 interview, Bernard Cornwell, who's the author of a series of books, The Last Kingdom is based on, called The Saxon Stories, details why he decided in his books to make Ethelstan a gay character. History records that he never married, which is unusual when 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 that he might have been gay. It's a choice that hasn't pleased all my readers, but I was happy with it. So the decision to make King Ethelstan a gay character isn't completely unfounded, although it is unknown as to the precise history around us and the documentation isn't completely clear from that time. Obviously there could have been many other reasons, outside he's simply been gay as to why he wasn't married and didn't have any children. It could have been infertile for instance, or various other reasons of that nature. But what's your thoughts? Please let me know in the comments below. Ethelstan himself is considered to be the first king of England by many historians, but it should be made clear that numerous previous generations, including Alfred the Great, and previous subsequent generations were instrumental in the idea of England and the creation of England itself. King Ethelstan won numerous battles in the unification of England, including against the Viking Kingdom, centred on York, known as Scandinavian York, or the Kingdom of Jorvik. After King Ethelstan's death in 939, the Vikings retook York, and it wasn't reconquered by the English by the Anglo-Saxons until 954 AD. This speaks to the back and forth nature of the unification of England. Ethelstan's most famous victory was at the Battle of Brunenburg in 937 AD, which is the final battle in the last kingdom film itself. Ethelstan the King of England fought against their alliance led by Olaf the King of Dublin, Constantine II, King of Scotland, and Owen, King of Strathclyde. With Ethelstan emerging victorious, and a battle that many say was fundamental for English nationalism and England as a state, as a nation state that later evolved into. As for the film itself, The Last Kingdom, Seven Kings Must Die, recently uploaded to Netflix, as for a very quick review of the film, basically it's a decent watch, and it's a decent way to wrap up The Last Kingdom series in general, as I presume this will be the final installment. They've done five, five series and then the film I believe, which obviously is a significant kind of chunk. So Last Kingdom TV series in general I've really enjoyed. I would highly recommend it if you haven't seen it before, particularly the first couple of series. The Last Kingdom TV series in general, as well worth a watch you would say if you haven't seen it already, centered around Uhtredd, a semi-mythical-historical figure, based on a somewhat historical figure, but then lots have been added to it. But his character's fascinating and it's a really interesting way to explore the dynamics of the kind of Saxons against the Pagans, the Christian Anglo-Saxons against the Pagan Vikings and the invasions in the Danelow period, and the Viking presence in England, at a time point Alfred the Great had the vision of England as a nation, and Uhtredd has a kind of central character that's kind of divided between the two worlds. So it's really fascinating from that perspective, really a good way to explore that dynamic in England at that point. And yeah, this latest film is a good way to kind of round off the series in general, and it's a relatively well-made film. The stand-out for me in relation to the TV series and the film is Uhtredd, the actor that plays Uhtredd, Alexander Dreaming, I think it is, I think he's brilliant in that role. The supporting cast, as well, do a very good job. Mark Rowley, who's actually, I think he was born in Paisley in Scotland, plays Finnan, one of the kind of, you know, Sidemen of Uhtredd. He's one of my favourite supporting characters. In the spirit of Deadpool, I would give it three avocados out of five. It's not the best film you've ever seen, but it's definitely worth a watch. And hopefully we can explore the wee bit of the history behind it. And it's listed based on the historical themes, major points in the film are relatively accurate. Obviously, they play quite well on the Olaf, you know, his alliance, or basically to unify some of the kings of Scotland, some of the kings of the Isles, Constantine II, I think it is in this film, and various other elements, to rebel against the Anglo-Saxons. Obviously, the last one of the last scenes in the film, or the last battle scene of the film anyway, is the Battle of Brennambur, which is a real battle obviously, and that's the defining moment. So the historical basis of the film is relatively true. Fair enough about my thoughts, more importantly, what are your thoughts? Have you seen the film? If so, please let me know in the comments below, and what did you make of the historical accuracy of the film? But have you ever wondered what would have happened if the Anglo-Saxons had invaded or migrated into England? To find out, please click here. Thanks for watching, please subscribe and hit the bell, and tell your friends and family about this channel. For ways to support this channel, all the links will be in the description below. Paytrainbymeacoffee.com and PayPal. Thanks for all your support, but thanks again for watching, and I'll see you next time.