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MICHAEL WOOD SHARES HIS FASCINATION WITH THE FIRST KING OF ALL ENGLAND

One of the country’s most informed and passionate interpreters of the Age of King Athelstan will be heading to Malmesbury in July to talk about the lost life of England’s first king.

Film maker Michael Wood, who has had a 45-year career in broadcasting and published several number one books, has been interested in King Athelstan’s life and times since his teens. Though he has made films about the king and written extensively on him, he has planned to publish a full-length biography for over four decades and finally intends to publish in late 2025 or early 2026.

“I’ve been fascinated by the Anglo-Saxons and by Athelstan in particular since my school days. At that time I read Sir Frank Stenton’s Anglo-Saxon England, which mentions Athelstan as ‘the greatest English statesman for whom no biography exists’ and I thought ‘one day with a bit of luck I’m going to do that’!

“I did research on him at university, then started to write the book in the 1980s after my first film on the king came out, but because evidence for his reign is so fragmentary, and difficult to interpret, I gradually realised it was going to be a long term project. In the meantime I was diverted by my BBC TV projects -In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, The Story of India, The Story of China, and other series. But now I’m on the home straight!

“I’ve always hoped to get to know the man himself, and to answer some of those questions – Was he really illegitimate? Was his grandfather Alfred the Great his big influence even though he only knew him till he was about six? Was there a guiding vision behind the huge changes that took place in England in his time? Did he actually plan them? Why did he never marry? And where did the Battle of Brunanburh take place - the most famous lost battle in British history? Lots of questions!’

Dates around Athelstan’s official ‘moment’ of becoming king are open to historical interpretation. His brother died in 924 so technically he then became King – as did our own King Charles III on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.

For Michael, it was in 924 AD that Athelstan became king of Mercia, the first step on his journey to becoming King of both Mercia and Wessex in 925 and then the first King of all England in 927.

His relationship with Malmesbury of course is written deep in the DNA of the town and he chose to be buried at Malmesbury Abbey – though the exact location of his remains is unknown.

Michael said: “Malmesbury was very important to Athelstan and that stemmed from his reverence for St Aldhelm, who became the Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey from around 671 to 675 AD. I believe Aldhelm’s story influenced Athelstan deeply in childhood and that connection continued into his adulthood. He gifted land and holy relics and many treasures to the abbey including a crystal reliquary holding a fragment of the True Cross which Malmesbury tradition said he wore round his neck in his battles.

“St Aldhelm was one of the most important people in early English culture. He was a brilliant Latin poet-and he wrote poems in the vernacular. He was a member of the West Saxon royal family , brother of King Centwine, yet he renounced the world of power and became a holy man. It’s clear that Athelstan was devoted to Malmesbury and its association with St Aldhelm. He buried his cousins there (who were killed at Brunanburh) and alone among the kings of Wessex he was buried there himself.”

Michael’s talk takes place in Malmesbury Abbey on Friday July 5 at 7.30pm and, at time of writing, there are only a handful of tickets left. Other talks planned for the Athelstan 1100 celebrations include: