England in 878
The first recorded landing of Vikings took place in 787 in Dorsetshire, on the south-west coast. The first major attack in Britain was in 793 at Lindisfarne monastery as given by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. However, by then the Vikings were almost certainly well-established in Orkney and Shetland, and many other non-recorded raids probably occurred before this. Records do show the first Viking attack on Iona taking place in 794. The arrival of the Vikings (in particular the Danish Great Heathen Army) upset the political and social geography of Britain and Ireland. In 867 Northumbria fell to the Danes; East Anglia fell in 869. Though Wessex managed to contain the Vikings by defeating them at Ashdown in 871, a second invading army landed, leaving the Saxons on a defensive footing. At much the same time, Æthelred, king of Wessex died and was succeeded by his younger brother Alfred. Alfred was immediately confronted with the task of defending Wessex against the Danes. He spent the first five years of his reign paying the invaders off. In 878, Alfred's forces were overwhelmed at Chippenham in a surprise attack.
It was only now, with the independence of Wessex hanging by a thread, that Alfred emerged as a great king. In May 878 he led a force that defeated the Danes at Edington. The victory was so complete that the Danish leader, Guthrum, was forced to accept Christian baptism and withdraw from Mercia. Alfred then set about strengthening the defences of Wessex, building a new navy—60 vessels strong. Alfred's success bought Wessex and Mercia years of peace and sparked economic recovery in previously ravaged areas.
Alfred's success was sustained by his son Edward, whose decisive victories over the Danes in East Anglia in 910 and 911 were followed by a crushing victory at Tempsford in 917. These military gains allowed Edward to fully incorporate Mercia into his kingdom and add East Anglia to his conquests. Edward then set about reinforcing his northern borders against the Danish kingdom of Northumbria. Edward's rapid conquest of the English kingdoms meant Wessex received homage from those that remained, including Gwynedd in Wales and Scotland. His dominance was reinforced by his son Æthelstan, who extended the borders of Wessex northward, in 917 conquering the Kingdom of York and leading a land and naval invasion of Scotland. These conquests led to his adopting the title 'King of the English' for the first time.
The dominance and independence of England was maintained by the kings that followed. It was not until 978 and the accession of Æthelred the Unready that the Danish threat resurfaced. Two powerful Danish kings (Harold Bluetooth and later Sweyn, his son) both launched devastating invasions of England. Anglo-Saxon forces were resoundingly defeated at Maldon in 991. More Danish attacks followed, and their victories were frequent. Æthelred's control over his nobles began to falter, and he grew increasingly desperate. His solution was to pay the Danes off: for almost 20 years he paid increasingly large sums to the Danish nobles in an attempt to keep them from English coasts. Known as Danegelds, these payments slowly crippled the English economy and eventually became too expensive.
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Æthelred then made an alliance with Normandy in 1001, through marriage to the Duke's daughter Emma, in the hope of strengthening England. He then made a great error: in 1002 he ordered the massacre of all the Danes in England, which had serious consequences. It angered Sweyn, who unleashed a decade of devastating attacks on England. Northern England, with its sizable Danish population, sided with Sweyn. By 1013, London, Oxford, and Winchester had fallen to the Danes. Æthelred fled to Normandy and Sweyn seized the throne. Sweyn suddenly died in 1014, and Æthelred returned to England, confronted by Sweyn's successor, Cnut. However, in 1016, Æthelred also suddenly died. Cnut swiftly defeated the remaining Saxons, killing Æthelred's son Edmund in the process. Cnut seized the throne, crowning himself King of England.
Notes
Lindisfarne - Ли́ндисфарн — приливный остров площадью в 5 км² у северо-восточного берега Англии. Также известен под названием Святой остров (англ. Holy Island), так как стал одной из колыбелей христианства на севере Англии.
Orkney - Оркне́йские острова́ архипелаг в 16 км от северной оконечности Шотландии, состоящий из более 70 островов, из которых обитаемы около 20, расположенный между островом Великобритании и Шетландскими островами, и на границе Северного моря и Атлантического океана.
Shetland - Шетла́ндские острова́ — архипелаг на северо-востоке Шотландии.
Great Heathen Army - Великая языческая армия, или Великая армия, или Великая датская армия — армия викингов родом из Дании, разграбившая и завоевавшая большую часть Англии в IX веке. В отличие от многих скандинавских набегов армий того периода, сохранившиеся источники не дают точного указания их численности, но это, очевидно, были крупнейшие силы в своём роде, включая сотни судов и тысячи людей.
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Northumbria - Королевство Нортумбрия — одно из семи королевств так называемой англосаксонской гептархии, которое возникло на севере Британии. Нортумбрия — это англосаксонское государство, образовавшееся в результате объединения в 655 году Берниции и Дейры. После объединения оно просуществовало вплоть до 867 года, когда было захвачено викингами.
Æthelred - Этельред I (Æþelræd I) (ок. 837 — 23 апреля/28 мая 871) — король Уэссекса, правил в 865 — 871 годах. Сын короля Этельвульфа и Осбурги, брат Этельбальда,Этельберта и Альфреда Великого.
Guthrum - Гутрум (умер в 890) — военачальник викингов-данов, участник датского вторжения в Англию (865—878), первый король Восточной Англии после её завоевания норманнами (880—890)
Æthelstan - Этельстан (Æðelstān, ок. 894 — 27 октября 939) — король Англии в 924—939 годах из Уэссекской династии, сын Эдуарда I Старшего и его первой жены Эгвины. Современные историки считают его первым королём Англии и одним из величайших англосаксонских королей.
Æthelred the Unready - Этельре́д II Неразу́мный (968(?)—23 апреля 1016) король Англии (978—1013 и 1014—1016), представитель Уэссекской династии. Сын Эдгара и Эльфриды был провозглашён королём после гибели своего единокровного старшего брата Эдуарда Мученика.
HaroldBluetooth - Харальд I Синезубый Гормссон (930-е—1 ноября 986?) — король Дании и Норвегии.
Sweyn - Свен или Свейн I Вилоборо́дый (англ. Sweyn I Forkbeard; 960-е — 3 февраля 1014) - король Дании, Норвегии и Англии. Наследовал (как король Дании и Норвегии) своему отцу Харальду I Синезубому.
Danegeld - «Датские деньги» — поземельный налог в средневековой Англии, введённый в 991 г. для уплаты выкупа датским викингам.
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Battle of Maldon - Битва при Молдоне (Малдоне), происшедшая 10 августа 991 года битва между англосаксами и вторгшимися в Англию викингами, на реке Блэкуотер у города Молдон в восточной Англии. В этом сражении англосаксы были побеждены.
English unification
Edward the Elder
Alfred of Wessex died in 899 and was succeeded by his son Edward the Elder. Edward, and his brother-in-law Æthelred of (what was left of) Mercia, began a programme of expansion, building forts and towns on an Alfredian model. On Æthelred's death his wife (Edward's sister) Æthelflæd ruled as "Lady of the Mercians" and continued expansion. It seems Edward had his son Æthelstan brought up in the Mercian court, and on Edward's death Athelstan succeeded to the Mercian kingdom, and, after some uncertainty, Wessex.
Æthelstan continued the expansion of his father and aunt and was the first king to achieve direct rulership of what we would now consider England. The titles attributed to him in charters and on coins suggest a still more widespread dominance. His expansion aroused ill-feeling among the other kingdoms of Britain, and he defeated a combined Scottish-Viking army at the Battle of Brunanburh. However, the unification of England was not a certainty. Under Æthelstan's successors Edmund and Eadred the English kings repeatedly lost and regained control of Northumbria. Nevertheless, Edgar, who ruled the same expanse as Athelstan, consolidated the kingdom, which remained united thereafter.
Notes
Battle of Brunanburh - Битва при Брунанбурге — сражение между войсками англо-саксов, возглавляемых королём Этельстаном и его братом Эдмундом, и объединённой армией из скандинавов и кельтов под командованием норвежско-ирландского короля Дублина Олафа Гутфритссона, короля Шотландии Константина II и короля Стратклайда Оуэна I, произошедшее в 937 году (по некоторым данным — в 934 году).
Unit 6