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Brian Groom
@groomb.bsky.social

THESE ISLES: Alfred, king of Wessex, who lived 849-99, is renowned as an English national hero for resisting the Vikings’ advance and for promoting learning and literacy. He gained the epithet ‘the Great’ as early as the 13th century, popularised from the 16th. 1/6

Kevin Mc
@kevinmac27.bsky.social

The question of "who are natives in a land" is such a complex one. The conflict of the English (Anglo-Saxons) v Danes sounds so stark, until one remembers that the Angles were themselves from Denmark. So was it really a conflict between 5th/6thC Danes and 9thC Danes? /1

Mike Foster
@swanmore.bsky.social

I think I remember (senility alert) a Radio 4 programme where a historian said the population of the Frisian islands is descended from Anglo Saxons who left England and re-colonised the Frisian islands. So maybe the proper English are in German and the Dutch islands instead of England.

Kevin Mc
@kevinmac27.bsky.social

Interesting. I saw a film (YTube) where an expert in ancient languages, who has learned Anglo-Saxon(!), goes to Frisia where the dialect is still stong, and chats to the natives- eg walking up to a farmer and asking to buy a cow🙂, and buying food in the market. He gets by pretty well.

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Mike Foster
@swanmore.bsky.social

wûnderlik and wundorlic - may be wrong, but I spent a few minutes search for 'wonderful' in West Frisian and Old English. But that is a very nice film clip.