The Last Kingdom: Rumcofa explained

The final season of The Last Kingdom is out now on Netflix, and it’s pretty awesome. We reviewed every episode of the show’s final season, and found it to be a solid send-off for Uhtred of Bebbanburg and all the companions and villains who have been part of his journey. While The Last Kingdom has never quite achieved world domination, it’s been an extremely solid show throughout its entire run.

The Last Kingdom is based on the Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, and both do a great job of embellishing the lives of actual people and events from history. Many of The Last Kingdom’s key characters, like Edward, Alfred, Aelswith, and Sigtryggr, all existed in the history books.

However, the show has stayed so true to history that it can at times be confusing, and nowhere is that more evident than in its naming conventions. You need look no farther than how many characters have names that start with “Ae” to see what I mean. It’s also an issue with the place names. The show often gives us two names for cities and settlements: what it was called at the time and its modern name. Take York, for example. That’s the modern name for the city, but the Saxon characters in the show call it Eoforwic, while the Danes call it Jorvik. It can be easy to lose track.

Yet while York’s history is well documented, another lesser-known city which features prominently in The Last Kingdom season 5 is Rumcofa, aka Runcorn in the modern day. This is the home base for Uhtred and his men throughout much of the season. If you’ve found yourself wondering about the history of Rumcofa, you’re in the right place.

Rumcola Last Kingdom…medieval stronghold or mix cocktail?

During the 9th and 10th century when The Last Kingdom is set, Rumcofa was a small agricultural settlement at the northwestern edge of the kingdom of Mercia, though archeological findings have indicated it existed as far back as the Iron Age. The earliest recording of the settlement in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle lists it as “Rumcofan,” which roughly translates to “broad cove.” That lines up with what we actually see in The Last Kingdom, as Rumcofa is a trading port at the edge of the River Mersey. It has been known by many other names throughout its history, including Rumcoven, Ronchestorn, Runckhorne, Runcorne, and Runcorn (modern day). So if The Last Kingdom is confusing on the naming front, it’s only because actual history is confusing as well.

As for how this translates in the show’s timeline, during the reign of King Alfred’s daughter Aethelflaed over Mercia, she ordered Rumcofa to be built up as a stronghold against raiders, owing to its strategic position by the river at the northern end of Mercia. The real-life Aethelflaed commanded the fortress of Castle Rock to be built in the river at Runcorn.

While we don’t see any fortress at Rumcofa in The Last Kingdom, this does still shed a bit more light on why Uhtred is there and who the town actually owes allegiance to. Uhtred was tasked with holding Rumcofa on behalf of Aethelflaed and Mercia, safeguarding the kingdom’s northern border. It also gave him a safe place to raise Edward’s son Aethelstan, since it is a remote settlement that was mainly frequented by traveling traders.

The Last Kingdom season 5 is out now on Netflix. Check out our full review of the show’s final season here:

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