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Cover of The Pale Horseman
The 13 books · 877–878

The Pale Horseman

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Wessex nearly falls and Alfred hides in the marshes

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Do you need to read it?

Yes. It's part of the chronological order leading up to the end of the saga.

Where it falls in the order

  • Chronological2 of 13
Spoilers for this title

Quick recap

It's 877. Uhtred arrives at Alfred's court to claim credit for killing Ubba and finds that Odda the Younger lied. He draws his sword before the king and has to do penance. Bored by peace, he raids Cornwall, gets tricked, teams up with Svein of the White Horse and ends up with Iseult, a queen said to see the future. Guthrum breaks the truce and attacks Wessex. Uhtred escapes with Leofric and Iseult and finds Alfred hiding in the Athelney marshes. He burns Svein's fleet and helps build the counterattack. At Ethandun, Alfred's smaller army wins and saves the kingdom, but Leofric and Iseult die in the battle.

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3 what changed on screen

What changed on screen

  1. ChangeSkorpa instead of Svein

    In the book, the Dane who takes Uhtred to Cornwall and later turns enemy is Svein of the White Horse. The show created Skorpa for that role.

    source ↗
  2. ChangeIseult's death

    In the book, Iseult dies during the battle of Ethandun. On the show, Skorpa's riders kill her when they hit the camp while the men are fighting.

    source ↗
  3. ReferenceAlfred's hideout is real

    The marshes where Alfred hides are at Athelney, in Somerset. After his victory, the real Alfred founded a monastery there.

    source ↗
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