Uhtred, Son of Uhtred

Occasionally on this blog, I review television programs of note. When I do this, I am not endorsing the show in particular but rather speaking of a positive message within the show. One such show that I cannot endorse for all viewers is the BBC/Netflix series, The Last Kingdom (2015-2020). The show is a “blade-slinger” story set in the England of the late 800s CE and is about the conflict between the Saxon land holders and the invading Danes, Vikings, and Northmen (Norsemen) from Denmark and other points north. Uhtred is the hero (or perhaps anti-hero) of the story. He is a Saxon by birth who is born heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Bebbanburg at a time when Alfred the Great is seeking to draw together all of the Kingdoms of England under one king. Uhtred is kidnapped by the Danes and adopted into the family of Ragnar Ragnarson. Thus, Uhtred is known both as Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Uhtred Ragnarson, and simply Uhtred, Son of Uhtred and he grows to become the greatest warrior of England and supports King Alfred time and time again. But Alfred cannot quite accept that Uhtred will not accept his God and so he does not fully trust him and sometimes wishes him banished or even dead. Time and again Uhtred saves Alfred’s England, only to be mistrusted by Alfred. Season 3, Episode 10 offers brilliant dialogue emphasising darkness and light, good and evil, and the struggle of the two within the various people groups.

As King Alfred dies, Father Beocca, one of Uhtred’s most constant friends says,

“All that Alfred stood for is crumbling.

You, Uhtred, cannot be dragged into the shadows.

You must become the light….”

But as Uhtred is on trial in the open court of the palace, the following dialogue unfolds,

Beocca: Do you object to the people bearing witness to justice, Lord Aethelwold?

Aethelwold: I do not.

Lady Aelswith: Uhtred, the king swore that you were to die. Why the change in his heart?

Uhtred: Because he believed that I deserved his forgiveness.

Aelswith: Is that a boast?

Uhtred: Look to his chronicle. I am on every page.

Aelswith: That is a lie. You are not named, even once!

Uhtred: But I am there. Unwritten, Lady, but I am there! The warriors of Wessex know it. The Danes know it. And it is what the king has told me himself.

Aelswith: I have heard enough.

Uhtred: I am with him from the Somerset Marshes to Ethandun and all of the battles that have followed. We were bonded, him and I. He was the man that I could never be, nor did I wish to be. He was a man that I loved and despised but it was never less than an honor to serve him. He was my king. And he did not wish to go to his God without granting me what I have earned many times over! My freedom….

At this point, Edward, the heir to the throne of England is brought into the conversation. It is his first test as king apparent.

Uhtred: Perhaps your father chose not to announce my freedom for this very reason so that the people could witness their new king, Edward, dispensing justice. Fairly, I hope.

Beocca: Will you accept the decision of Edward Rex? I will. I give you my word….

Edward: A heathen would not be trusted completely until he had embraced Alfred's god as his own. And yet it was a heathen he did trust most. It was the word of Uhtred that he respected most. Uhtred of Bebbanburg, I find the letter written by my father to be true. Alfred's pardon does stand. You are a free man, able to choose your own path.

Beocca: May I ask, Lord Uhtred, may I ask? Now that you are a free man once more, where will your path lead? I would like to know….
Uhtred: One day, Father, I hope that my path will eventually lead north to Bebbanburg, but now, I believe I am needed here….

Then as the followers of Edward prepare for another battle with the Danes of the North,

Uhtred: All of you, hear me. Yes, it is likely that the Danes will have greater numbers, but this is a battle that we can win. Though it will take all of us, every man and every sword, and we will fight with all the guile and wit that Alfred has instilled.

Edward: God is with us.

Then, to the soldiers prepared to march into battle:

Uhtred: A letter has been sent. It speaks out to every man in the kingdom, demanding that he answers the call and joins us on the road to battle. It says that this will be a battle that will be spoken of for lifetimes to come. It is a battle that no man can ignore, no man can stand by and watch. Every man must find a weapon and every man must fight! Wessex will always be the light. And no matter how heavy our swords become, we must fight. Fight! Fight and keep on fighting until the victory is ours! We march!

The episode closes with Uhtred giving a monologue:

It will be written in the Saxon chronicle that Edward did gain a great victory over the Danes, ensuring he would become King of Wessex. But other battles lie ahead, both with the Danes and within Wessex itself. A king must decide who he can trust and who he must discard. He must understand the minds of both his enemies and his friends. He must recognize that the truth of a man lies not in the land of his birth, but in his heart. A king must be a king on his own terms. He cannot be his father. He can only be himself. The chronicle will grow. Pages will be added. But Uhtred of Bebbanburg will not be mentioned. Although I, too, was victorious. My name is Uhtred, son of Uhtred. My name is Uhtred Ragnarson. Destiny is all.[1]

Uhtred is a marvelous character created by Bernard Cornwell and adapted for this television series. He is constantly torn between being Saxon and Dane. He is honourable, honest, and loyal to any vow he swears. He is not Christian, despite being baptised twice over, yet he is more honourable and shows more Christian character than most of the Christian men of England. Many of the “good Christian” men of the kingdom are horribly broken, sinful, filled with hatred, and murderous. Uhtred, on the other hand, leads well, serves well, takes life only as necessary, and is the most valuable right-hand man to both King Alfred and King Edward. He sacrifices land, wives, children, family relationships, and wealth to justly carry out the will of Alfred. At the end of the day, all of England believes Uhtred will be eternally punished in hell because of his rejection of the Christian religion, yet he is one of the truest men of his time. His fictional life, as portrayed in this series, causes one to ask questions about what it means to be honourable, just, moral, and a person of true character. May men like him call us to our best humanity and highest calling by God.

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[1] Last Kingdom Season 3; Episode 10 Quotes 2019-10-08 https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-last-kingdom-2015&episode=s03e10

Last Man on the Moon

“If you begin to think you're something you're not, you're looking in the wrong mirror.” - Eugene Cernan

I have been watching the Mark Craig directed documentary, Last Man on the Moon (2014). It is great educational entertainment for an Apollo junkie like me. It describes the career path of Eugene (Gene) Cernan as he was transformed from a Navy aircraft carrier, jet pilot to an astronaut during the heyday of lunar exploration from the time of the Gemini missions and right up to the last Apollo mission. The title of the movie comes from the fact that Cernan is the last person to have stood on the surface of the moon which was on December 14, 1972, more than 42 years ago.

Cernan is fascinating. He is both ordinary and extraordinary. He is an ordinary citizen with a Texas Longhorn cattle ranch who enjoys watching a good Texas rodeo. He is an outspoken proponent of space exploration who believes that America has lost something important by not returning to the moon since he last set foot there.

“After Apollo 17, America stopped looking towards the next horizon. The United States had become a space-faring nation, but threw it away. We have sacrificed space exploration for space exploitation, which is interesting but scarcely visionary.”

He believes that humanity as a whole needs a greater degree of curiosity and pioneering ambition. He suggests that we need to ask questions about who we are and our place in the universe.

“Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't know. I don't have any answers to those questions. I don't know what's over there around the corner. But I want to find out.”

I may be a bit of a product of my own generation (I was 9 years old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon) but I tend to agree with Cernan. We do need more pioneering spirit; we do need more curiosity; we should be looking toward the next horizon. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when the horizon is just one goal before reaching toward the next goal. Horizon after horizon after horizon will allow anyone to encircle the earth. Gene Cernan is also very practical and does not see himself as special. He says that, “People try to typecast astronauts as heroic and superhuman. We're only human beings.” May we and all of humanity be as ordinary as Gene Cernan.

Words

“It’s only words.” “Actions speak louder than words.” “How can you tell if a politician is lying? His lips are moving.” We make these statements and many more like them; but there is another reality. Our words are the only true currency of character that we will ever have. Let me say that again, “Our words are the only true currency of character that we will ever have.” If we spend this treasure with empty or false words, we will never be able to recover our reputation and will be poor indeed.

Words may be just words, but they are very important. Words represent a contractual agreement between conversational participants. Sometimes we can rely upon the facts of how this person has acted in the past. Sometimes, words are all we have.

I am challenged to always make my words true and easy to digest. I want people to sense that every one of my words has been carefully chosen for its meaning in the present context. I want people to be able to understand and trust me. Will you join me in a culture changing revolution? The only ones who stand to lose may be the litigation lawyers; but they can find work other than lawsuits against those who tell untruths.

Next Five Minutes

It is common to worry about the future; we often lament our past; the universal truth is that we must live in the present. The only moment I have is right now. What will I do with it? Emily Dickinson once said, “Forever is composed of nows.” Adam Anders wrote a song that conveys this truth; Stephen Curtis Chapman recorded it. 

The Next Five Minutes
(Words and music by Adam Anders; performed by Steven Curtis Chapman on the Speechless album; 1999)

I can reminisce about the already
I can worry and fret about the not yet
But when it all comes down, and
It really, really comes down to the right now,
So right now

I'm living the next five minutes
Like these are my last five minutes
Cause I know the next five minutes
May be all I have
And after the next five minutes
Turn into the last five minutes
I'm taking the next five minutes
And start it all over again

Every morning God is giving is precious
Every heartbeat, every breath I take
I'll never have them back once they've left us
There will never be another right now,
So right now

This is the day
This is the hour
This is the moment God has made

I'm living the next five minutes
Like these are my last five minutes
Cause I know the next five minutes
May be all I have
And after the next five minutes
Turn into the last five minutes
I'm taking the next five minutes
And start it all over again
I'm starting all over again
Gonna start it all over again

Simon Whitfield

dad who loves dancing with his little girls. oh and the relentless pursuit of athletic excellence.
 http://simonwhitfield.com

Even as Simon Whitfield crashed in the Olympic triathlon he had already shown himself to be a fitting representative of Canada. Long before he started the race he had spoken in ways that showed that he took it seriously that his wife and children sacrificed much to allow him to be an international triathlete. He spoke of his wife and himself being a team. Whitfield is a man who gives all he has got to run the race marked out for him but he also recognizes he does not do this without a Canadian team and a family that supports him.

After his crash and withdrawal from the race he had this to say,
“It was hard to see my daughter [Pippa] upset and my wife. I was pretty upset. That’s life. That means it means something." He recognizes that his athleticism means something to him, to his wife, and to his children. He was upset for them because he knew that they had poured much into his success.

Yet, he and his wife were also good-natured and expressed their sense of humour:
He said, my wife “hugged me, my collarbone is quite sore, and she said but you can still drink beer with your right hand. We had a good laugh at that.”

I am proud that Simon Whitfield carried the flag for Canada in the parade of nations. He is an awesome Canadian role model.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2.

Character

I had a dream last night that prompted me to think about the word "character." More specifically, I have been thinking about "good character." What does it mean to be a person of good character? In this dream I was asked for my opinion of a definition of character. The definition I was given was, "the ability to ask good questions." I considered the definition and said, "yes, it is the ability to ask good questions but also the ability to make good choices." Good character is about asking good questions and making good choices whether or not anyone will ever see our good questions and good choices. J. C. Watts said,

Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.

May each of us seek to be a person who lives in such a way that our secret choices might be shouted from the roof-tops without fear or fault.