TBF AEthelstan may have had internal control, but his reign still waged continuous warfare against Danish invasion, a conflict that continued for almost another

TBF AEthelstan may have had internal control, but his reign still waged continuous warfare against Danish invasion, a conflict that continued for almost another century, until Harold Godwinson finally repelled them permanently in 1066. Sadly Harold could only savour that success for a few weeks as three week later he fell at Hastings, where the current King’s ancestor William managed through luck to eke out a victory thanks to a lucky arrow strike. They must all have been tough bastards: to repel the Danes in Yorkshire, then race south on foot 300 miles in heavy armour and almost defeat another marine invasion. Had I been around then and clapped eyes on even one of them I would have done whatever I could to hide and try to escape the slightest attention.