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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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The Essay Podcast

The Essay

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Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

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The Essay: Anglo-Saxon Portraits

The Essay: Anglo-Saxon Portraits: Episode 22: Wynflaed

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Anglo-Saxon Portraits

Episode 22

Episode 22: Wynflaed

Wynflaed

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Michael Wood on Wynflaed, seen as the first woman in British history to have left a will.

Michael Wood presents a portrait of Wynflaed, considered to have been the first woman in British history to have left a will.

The return of the major series which rediscovers the Anglo-Saxons through vivid portraits of thirty individuals - women as well as men, famous and humble - written and presented by leading historians, archaeologists and enthusiasts in the field.

22.Wynflaed

Michael Wood presents a vivid portrait of Wynflaed, who has left us the first woman's will in British history - a document that, for the first time, opens a window on the life of an Anglo-Saxon woman below the rank of royalty. 

With his characteristic passion for the era and ability to bring long-dead characters to life, Michael Wood recreates the story of Wynflaed, her family and household, through the clothes, jewellery and books which she left behind. He writes:


"Wynflaed to me is a recognisable English countrywoman: capable, fair-minded, strongly aware of class and status but with a sense of obligation to the less well off - pious and practical."

Producer: Beaty Rubens.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Portraits of ground-breaking Anglo-Saxon men and women from the era between 550 and 1066AD

Series of portraits of ground-breaking Anglo-Saxon men and women from the era between 550 and 1066AD

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Episode 22: Wynflaed

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