This episode covers the unification of the Anglo-Saxon/Scandinavian kingdoms in Britain during the tenth century. It begins with Edward the Elder's conquests and ends with the assassination of Edward the Martyr. Some consider this to be the birth of an England but since the Anglo-Saxons didn't really think of it like that, it's hard to argue. Recommended Reading: James Campbell et al. - The Anglo-Saxons (1991) - I will never stop recommending this book to everyone. Just be aware it is not up to date with the changes in the opinion of modern scholarship. Sarah Foot - Æthelstan: The First King of England (2011). A very good book (as is all of the Yale English Monarch series) which covers pretty much everything.