![]() ![]() His defeat of the Vikings earned him the name Alfred the Great. 'The discovery of this hoard strengthens the case that Ceolwulf and Alfred were allies, and that Alfred's spin-doctors later re-wrote history to suit the political situation of the time.'Īlfred the Great is an Anglo-Saxon kingwarrior king who protected the country from the Vikings.Īlfred ruled from 871 to 899 was instrumental in setting the foundations for the England known nowadays without whom the English may have even spoken another language. 'This isn't a completely new idea, but until recently coins of this period were too rare to prove the idea. 'Some of the coins show the name of Ceolwulf and the images on their back show two emperors standing side by side, and was almost certainly a deliberate choice to symbolise their alliance.' 'However, the coins show a working relationship with Alfred which the sources 'forgot' to mention, and his name suggests that he may well have been a legitimate descendant of earlier kings of Mercia. ![]() 'Sources from Alfred's court, writing more than fifteen years later, describe as 'a foolish king's thegn', who was only made king by the Vikings. Speaking to The MailOnline, Dr Williams added: 'I think that the coins show that Ceolwulf II was in an alliance with Alfred of Wessex, and not a puppet of the Vikings as suggested in sources written at Alfred's court a few years later, by which time Ceolwulf had disappeared without trace from history and Alfred had taken over his kingdom. 'Around the time the hoard was buried,probably in AD 879, Ceolwulf mysteriously disappeared, and Alfred then took over Ceolwulf's kingdom as well as his own.' 'The coins I have seen so far add significantly to our understanding of the political history of England in the AD 870s. The coins show a working relationship with Alfred,which according to Dr Gareth Williams at the British Museum, sources in Alfred's court 'forgot' to mention.Ĭeowulf may well have been a legitimate descendant of earlier kings of Mercia possibly of his namesake Ceolwulf I (821-3), brother of Coenwulf (796-821). However, recent coin finds show images of Ceowulf sitting side-by-side on the throne next to King Alfred which suggest that the alliance between the two was more significant than previously thought. He ruled for five years and disappeared and disappeared without trace from history around AD 879, after which Alfred took over his kingdom. It has long been thought that Ceowulf was simply a 'puppet' King put on the throne and controlled by the Vikings. He reigned between 874 to 879AD based on a Mercian ruler's list.Īccording to sources from Alfred's court, Ceowulf was described as 'a foolish king's thegn', where thegn means a minor noble. They refused to give further detail on the arrests.Ĭeowulf was King of Mercia, an Anglo saxon kingdom, and reigned at the same time as Alfred the Great who is widely thought to have defeated the Vikings and united England. Police, who have now handed over the haul to the British Museum, have arrested a number of people on suspicion of dealing in culturally tainted objects and the complex police operation - codenamed Operation Fantail - is said by Durham Police to be in its early stages. If confirmed, the discovery could reshape our view of how England was united and those who made it happen. While Alfred became known as a national hero who defeated the Vikings, Ceolwulf was written off as insignificant and disappeared without trace, with experts now suggesting the Mercia King was later ‘airbrushed out of history’ by Alfred. The haul of coins and a silver ingot, dating back to the 9th Century reign of King Alfred the Great, were recovered by police at homes in County Durham and Lancashire earlier this month.īelieved to be worth at least £500,000, a leading expert has told the MailOnline they could ‘add significantly to our understanding of the political history of England in the AD 870s’ as they reveal a previously unknown alliance between King Alfred and his contemporary Ceolwulf II, King of Mercia.Ĭeolwulf of Mercia was believed by historians to be simply a puppet of the Vikings - a minor nobleman rather than a proper King.īut the recently discovered coins show the two rulers standing side by side, as allies suggesting a different story. Police investigating an illegal trade in historic treasures have seized a hoard of Viking coins that could rewrite British history. ![]()
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