William Sterling
Upcoming Events
November 2021
England’s Earliest Kings: 2 Offa and the Mercian Supremacy
In the mid-C7th Mercia rose to challenge Northumbria for supremacy but after a brief set back became the dominant kingdom in England for about a century from the early C8th to the early C9th under three remarkable kings, Ethelbald, Offa and Coenwulf. Offa is still well known today and nearly succeeded in making England a Mercian kingdom. Mercia was established later than most of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms but found a war leader to be feared in Penda, the last…
Find out more »December 2021
The Etruscans
Discover the mysterious people who lived in Central Italy and ended up being enveloped by the Romans. The Etruscans are one of the more mysterious civilisations of Ancient Europe. The Greeks and Romans are well known but the influence of the Etruscans on them is less well known. The course will look at the history of Etruria and the 12 Etruscans city states from the eighth century to the first century BC. This history is difficult to piece together as…
Find out more »February 2022
England’s Earliest Kings: 3 Alfred the Great and the Vikings
After the Mercian supremacy Wessex became the dominant kingdom in the C9th. One reason was the kings managed to have capable sons to follow them thus avoiding the succession struggles of the Mercians. Another was the remoteness from the Viking attacks which concentrated on the North Sea coast targeting Northumbria and East Anglia and pushing on through Mercia. Alfred’s grandfather, Egbert, had been forced into exile when Offa dominated the country but returned in triumph to make Wessex the most…
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