The Last Kingdoms Uhtred gets the nickname Arseling but the deeper meaning of the word has historical relevance beyond the obvious comedic value.

 In The Last Kingdom Uhtred receives the nickname Arseling and the meaning behind it is more than just comic relief. The Netflix series follows the fictitious protagonist Uhtred (Alexander Dreymon) in his struggled effort to reclaim his birthright of Bebbanburg during the formation of England in the Middle Ages. The moniker is given by one of King Alfreds soldiers Leofric (Adrian Bower) and is initially meant to be derogatory. But while arseling has become synonymous with ones rear end in its Modern English interpretation the term has a more general meaning in Old English.

Based on the book series The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell The Last Kingdom is more of an interpretation of history rather than an accurate account. Uhtred gets the Arseling nickname in The Last Kingdom season 1 episode 4 when Leofric meets him and is taken aback by his Danish resemblance and sword placement which is on his back. No historical account supports this placement as its inconvenient to draw a properly proportioned longsword from the back. Since Uhtred is wearing his sword incorrectly the shows writers intentionally point this out by having Leofric use the word as an insult.

Uhtreds nickname in The Last Kingdom comes from the word arseling which had the humble meaning of backward  as in going in the direction of ones backside — in Middle English. It originated as earsling in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and could also be translated as on ones back or concerning ones backside or from ones backside. The first known recorded use of the word was in a Psalm translated by the real King Alfred (Alfred the Great) into the Anglo-Saxon which is where he used the phrase to mean backward.

 The Arseling nickname is played for comedy in The Last Kingdom yet the meaning of it is based on fact. This is an incredibly subtle tie to history that shows the research and reverence the writers have had for the show while remaining true to the genre. Such hidden acccurate links to the past are rewards for eagle-eyed history buffs. The connections between the fictional characters of The Last Kindom have a basis in history with seemingly intentional inaccuracies. The implied meaning of arseling in the show is anachronistic of its historical usage.

 While Netflix surprisingly decided to cancel the popular series after its recently concluded fifth season The Last Kingdom will end with a movie titled Seven Kings Must Die. There is certainly no shortage of material to work from with three of Cornwells novels still not yet adapted plus there are many plot threads that still need to be closed so the show continuing in some form is a relief. Hopefully The Last Kingdom will end as strong as it started regularly tying its storytelling to history and nodding to real events but not limiting itself to those true facts and figures.