Over the centuries the land of England had changed dramatically. The arrival of the Great heathen army in the year 865 would transform the culture and way of life in the British Isles, especially in the North of England. The Vikings had come from the icy north on their dragon headed longboats seeking plunder, treasure and glory. For over a century the Vikings would raid in England, having heard tales of the legendary sons of Ragnar and how they had became Kings in foreign lands. After the death of the Ragnarssons, the Danelaw had been established; it was a land north of Wessex where the Norsemen could worship their Pagan Gods in peace with the culture being a mixture of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon.
Alfred the Great had laid the blueprint for his descendants to become the Kings of all England, and his Grandson Aethelstan would unite the land in the year 927. Nearly a century later in the year 1002 Aethelred the Unready was now the King of the English, and the Norse influence of the Danelaw was still as strong as ever, in addition, just like in the times of Alfred, the Viking Raids on England were still numerous.
The current King of England, King Aethelred would do something no other King of the English had done before. Due to a perceived threat on his life, he would order a mass killing of all Danes in England; this would take place on the 13th of November in the year 1002. His armoured knights would leave his hall and would round up soldiers, they then rode into the heart of the Danelaw and began slaughtering men, women and children in the name of their King. The bloodshed caused was devastating, many innocent settlers and farmers were slain for the sins of their ancestors and fellow Norsemen. A Royal Charter reflects the events that transpired, in the words of King Aethelred this is what he told his men.
“All Danes who have sprung up in this island are to be destroyed by a most just extermination.” (Paraphrased)
This evil act would haunt King Aethelred who had acted out of impulse, as word would spread to Scandinavia the Vikings would become infuriated with the massacre of their kinsman.
Sweyn Forkbeard, the King of Denmark had heard that his sister Gunhilde and her husband Pallig were killed during the massacre. Sweyn was a very capable King and was restless. He started his reign with violence when he revolted against his own father Harald Bluetooth. Before he thought to retaliate against King Aethelred, he first negotiated an agreement with Duke Richard II of Normandy, whereby the Danes gained permission to sell all of their spoils of war in Normandy.
Sweyn would then raise an army, like the Vikings of old; he would sail towards England with his goal being conquest. King Aethelred’s lands would burn and a devastating war would change England forever. This is the story of the first Viking Kings of England and how the royal line of Alfred the great was pushed aside. This is the story of the Viking conquest of England.
Map of Anglo-Saxon Britain Author: www.timeref.com/people/kings_...
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction - St Brice's Day massacre
03:27 Chapter 1 - Sweyn’s Invasion of England
08:35 Chapter 2 - The Jomsvikings set England ablaze
17:28 Chapter 3 - The first Viking King of England
20:53 Chapter 4 - A King Returns
23:57 Chapter 5 - The Rise of a Warrior King
29:22 Chapter 6 - Two Kings at war
33:11 Chapter 7 - The Battle of Assundun
36:10 Chapter 8 - The Aftermath after an age of chaos
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Song: Savfk - Music
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXOeF...
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Sources:
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
ia601601.us.archive.org/25/it...
The Jomsviking Saga:
vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Sa...
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