The Old Minster
The Old Minster was an Anglo-Saxon cathedral in Wincestre, Hamtunscire.
History
In 648, Cenwalh of Wessex became King of Wessex once more, and learning from his exile, he ordered the construction of the Old Minster. The construction was his way to make amends towards the Christian faith.[1] In 667, Bishop Wine became the first bishop to be consecrated in the Old Minster.[2]
In 877, the Viking shieldmaiden Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan arrived inside the cathedral to find the "man in white." Finding the man, Eivor spoke with Sigebeald and offered the coded words she was given to enter. After a brief conversation, Sigebeald ultimately led Eivor to meet her actual contact in a closed room upstairs. Eivor found herself meeting with King Alfred, who called her to help him, as the Order of the Ancients was planning to kill him. Reluctantly, Eivor agreed and was told the monikers of three targets, The Gallows, The Quill, and The Seax, with the last one apparently being dead. Eivor was also informed to investigate Reeve Goodwin's disappearance, thus she left to find Aelfred's ally.[3]
After a series of events, Eivor found and killed all the Order targets and later traveled back to the Old Minster to meet with Aelfred. There, Eivor noticed Aelfred, with soldiers around him and Sigebeald sitting in the benches. Alfred proved to be hostile with Eivor, especially giving his payment in form of a silver cross, with Goodwin's help. Alfred also offered her a place as a Christian by his side and to renounce her "pagan" ways, to which Eivor disagreed. In response, Alfred signaled the bells as he left, while Eivor had to leave after being marked as a hostile threat in Wincestre.[4]
After the majority of Order members were eliminated, a key, alongside an Order medallion was given to Eivor by the Grand Maegester of the Order of the Ancients, who proved to be King Alfred himself. Alfred's key was for the study in The Old Minster, where Eivor met Alfred earlier. Eivor went and saw that Alfred's archives detailed his thoughts on how the Order killed a scholar, Alcuin, under Charlemagne's orders, and that a "new order" must be constructed against the Order of the Ancients.[5]
Through her travels, Eivor came across a chest within a room, behind a glass window. However, the chest needed three keys to open it. Thus, Eivor searched all around the cathedral, only to find one key in a room, one atop near the ceiling, and one in a tower's room. After retrieving the keys, Eivor opened the chest and retrieved Thegn's Great Helm. Eivor also found and synchronized a viewpoint atop of the cathedral's cross.[6]
Behind the scenes
The Old Minster was demolished in 1093 and replaced by the Winchester Cathedral.
Appearances
References
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla − Viking Expansion notes − Historical Musings
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Viking Age − Learnings: The City of Winchester
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla − The Reeve of Wincestre
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla − Impaling the Seax
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla − Breaking the Order
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Valhalla