Post A #3

Again, the cultures of 9th century Britons were very much different than our own. The men of Wales were considered barbarians and justly so. Nowadays, Wales is a part of Great Britain that is as advanced as any other part. Even at this time, it was adjacent to Wessex, the richest and most powerful of the kingdoms in Britain. So, if it was adjacent to Wessex, why was it not rich and powerful too? Wessex didn't invade Wales or take any of its trade... Wales was the one that was raiding Wessex constantly. I believe the main reason for Wales being so behind is that it didn't really have a king. There was no centralized government to speak of. But, then why didn't Wessex or the vikings invade and make their own king the king of Wales too? Wales has a powerful geography, as well as many natural resources. The title "The Prince of Wales" was even given to the heir to the throne of England a few years ago, and it may still be in use. This kind of praise of Wales makes me wonder why it was not better than it was.

Another cultural item that I am going to bring forth is actually a similarity. Many of the vices that exist today also existed at the time of this novel's setting. Alcoholism is one thing that stands out, especially since King Alfred's nephew, the rightful heir to the throne is an ardent alcoholic. He is constantly drunk, which reduces his respectability. He is always trying to start rebellions to take back the throne for himself, but Alfred lets him live because nobody ever takes him seriously. A second vice is that of prostitution. There are many instances in this novel in which men frequent whore houses. Alfred's nephew is also said to be a regular at many of those fine residents. Even Uhtred, our fearless protagonist can be found using prostitutes at times, or reminiscing about them. The biggest cultural difference in this region is that now people view prostitution as cheap, dirty, and a great way to get AIDS. Then, it was a fairly normal thing to frequent brothels, which were more mainstream and thus less dirty and STDs were probably much less common at the time.