Uhtred of Bebbanburg

Uhtred of Bebbanburg is a fictional protagonist created by Bernard Cornwell for *The Saxon Stories* novels and adapted for *The Last Kingdom* television series.

Uhtred of Bebbanburg is a fictional protagonist created by Bernard Cornwell for *The Saxon Stories* novels and adapted for *The Last Kingdom* television series. He is depicted as a Northumbrian nobleman raised among Danes, whose life is shaped by loyalty conflicts and his efforts to reclaim Bebbanburg. The character is loosely inspired by the historical Uhtred the Bold, but the fictional Uhtred lives more than a century earlier.

Fictional character

Uhtred of Bebbanburg is the central fictional hero of Bernard Cornwell’s Anglo-Saxon novels. The character was later adapted for television in *The Last Kingdom*. He is portrayed as a warrior and nobleman whose story drives the narrative of both the book series and its screen adaptation.

Character background

In the story, Uhtred is born into Northumbrian nobility and later raised among Danes after being captured as a child. This background gives him a divided cultural identity and drives much of the series’ conflict, as he navigates loyalties between his Saxon birth and Danish upbringing.

Relation to history

The character is loosely based on Uhtred the Bold, a historical ruler of Bamburgh and ealdorman of Northumbria. However, the fictional Uhtred is set in an earlier century and does not closely match the historical figure, making him a fictional creation rather than a documented medieval person.

Adaptations

Uhtred appears in *The Saxon Stories* novels and their screen adaptation, *The Last Kingdom*. The television version expanded the character’s visibility well beyond the books, with Alexander Dreymon portraying Uhtred in the series.