Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester. Of the nine battles mentioned by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle during that year, only one was a West Saxon victory. 60. The Vikings were defeated in 878 AD by King Alfred the Great at the Battle of Edington. World War 2 was a battle between two groups of countries - the 'Allies' and the 'Axis'. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Viking Invasion of British Isles across 26 in-depth pages. Depicting scenes recorded using the strategy game A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA, the British studio Creative Assembly have made a short documentary charting the rise and fall of the Anglo Saxons, between Alfred the Great's victory over the Viking invaders at the battle of Edington, to King Harold's demise at the Battle of Hastings. The importance of the Battle of Edington, A.D. 878: a lecture given at the annual meeting of the Friends of Edington Priory Church, August 27th, 1977 Title: The importance of the Battle of Edington, A.D. 878: a lecture given at the annual meeting of the Friends of Edington Priory Church, August 27th, 1977 Author: Whitelock, D. Location: Edington Battle of Edington was an event which occurred in The Saxon Stories novel series, and The Last Kingdom television series. The event takes place in Season 6 Episode 20, The Last Act. The chronicle was compiled during the reign of Alfred the Great and is thus a contemporary record. "Episode 1.8" In the spring of 878 at the Battle of Edington the tide of English history turned. In 1904 William Henry Stevenson analysed possible sites and said "So far, there is nothing to prove the identity of this Eandun [as named in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle] with Edington" but then goes on to say that "there can be little reason for questioning it". It is likely that the battle took place at Edington in Wiltshire. However, the system of military reforms and the Burghal Hidage introduced by Edward the Elder enabled Alfred's successors to retake control of the lands occupied in the North of England by the Danes.[59][60]. Once a sufficient force of levies had been raised, they marched to Edington, where Alfred engaged Guthrum's warriors in one final, definitive battle. [28] However, the location has been much debated over the centuries. The victory at Edington forced Guthrum to abandon Wessex , and Alfred resumed control of the entire kingdom, ensuring that the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom survived the Viking onslaught. Over four thousand warriors embarked in two hundred ships and sailed for England. Some scholars have suggested that Asser's life of King Alfred was a forgery. Omissions? Primary sources locate the battle at "Eandun". According to the Life: "Fighting ferociously, forming a dense shield-wall against the whole army of the Pagans, and striving long and bravelyat last he [Alfred] gained the victory. Early in 1314 Edward II assembled a large army to restore his crumbling authority in Scotland an, Edinger, Johanna Gabrielle Ottilie (Tilly), Edinboro University of Pennsylvania: Tabular Data, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania: Narrative Description, Edison College: Distance Learning Programs, Edison Community College: Distance Learning Programs, Edison Community College: Narrative Description, Edison State Community College: Distance Learning Programs, Edison State Community College: Narrative Description, Edison State Community College: Tabular Data, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/edington-battle. [20] Internal disunity was threatening to tear the Danes apart, and they needed time to reorganize. pp. In the 19th century there was a resurgence in interest of medieval history and King Alfred was seen as a major hero. Northampton, battle of, 1460. It is possible that the enforced conversion was an attempt by Alfred to lock Guthrum into a Christian code of ethics, hoping it would ensure the Danes' compliance with any treaties agreed to. Chastened - but not yet broken - the Norse warlords have settled across Britain. Queen Elsewith was then captured by two Viking warriors disguised as Mercian soldiers and dragged accross rhe battlefield, but she managed to free herself and kill her captors. Alternatives to Edington, Wiltshire, have been suggested since early times. But for the average person, I don't think much would have changed over time. At the Battle of Edington an army of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May AD 878. Consequently, in 879 the Viking army left Chippenham and made its way to Cirencester (in the kingdom of Mercia) and remained there for a year. In May 878 in Edington, there was a greatest battle of this war. A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. Siege of Parisii. Prelude Wessex had always been the focal point for Viking raids and invasions. Primary sources locate the battle at "Eandun".Until a scholarly consensus linked the battle site with the present-day village of Edington in Wiltshire, it was . Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. A map of the area around the battle positions Battle of Borodino summary. The Domesday Book of 1086 has an entry for Romsey Abbey holding land at Edendone in the county of Wiltshire at the time of Edward the Confessor (before 1066) and also in 1086, and this is known to be at Edington, Wiltshire. At the Battle of Edington, an army of the kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. Having saved Wessex, Uhtred's path now leads back north so he can face his past (Taking back his homeland Bebbanburg). the battle is often cited as the point of origin for english nationalism: historians such as michael livingston argue that "the men who fought and died on that field forged a political map of the future that remains [in modernity], arguably making the battle of brunanburh one of the most significant battles in the long history not just of According to the Life: "Fighting ferociously, forming a dense shield-wall against the whole army of the Pagans, and striving long and bravelyat last he [Alfred] gained the victory. As Alfred ordered his first three ranks to move forward to engage the Norse troops, his first line of a couple dozen soldiers was suddenly trapped by animal traps which had been set underneath the leaves. [10] Alfred the Great had spent the winter preceding the Battle of Edington in the Somerset marsh of Athelney, protected somewhat by the natural defences of the country. It tried to provide a framework that would minimise conflict and regulate commerce between the two peoples. Battle of Ellendun: King Egbert of Wessex defeats Mercia and establishes the kingdom of Wessex as the supreme Kingdom in England. The annals for 893 reported that a large Viking army had landed in the Lympne Estuary, Kent and a smaller force had landed in the Thames estuary under the command of Danish king Hastein. George Brayton Biography, BLUE = Guthrum's forces. The location of the battle generally accepted by most present-day historians is at Edington, near Westbury in Wiltshire. The year is 878 AD, the embattled English king Alfred the Great has mounted a heroic defence at the battle of Edington, and blunted the Viking invasion. As the Saxon forces gradually gained ground, King Harald gave a signal and Norse warriors atop a makeshift tower poured oil on Saxon soldiers and burned them. The Saxons had set a huge cross in front of their troops to give them courage and motivate them. YouTube. Guthrum and his men had adopted the usual Danish strategy of occupying a fortified town and waiting for a peace "treaty", involving money in return for a promise to leave the kingdom immediately; Alfred shadowed the army, trying to prevent more damage than had already occurred. [5] In 836, Ecgberht of Wessex met in battle a force of 35 ships at Carhampton,[5] and in 838 he faced a combined force of Vikings and Cornishmen at Hingston Down in Cornwall. Moving inside the country in the English rivers, they began burning villages and forcing civilians to flee before their advance. Episode [15] Alfred spent Christmas at Chippenham (in Wessex), thirty miles (50km) from Gloucester . [9] Guthrum, with two other unnamed kings, "departed for Cambridge in East Anglia". Danish army was placed at the medium size hill. The Battle of Edington was fought in May 878, when an army of West Saxons under King Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army under the Viking king Guthrum. The primary reason for Alfred's victory was probably the relative size of the two armies. [9], By 878, the Danes held the east and northeast of England; their defeat at the Battle of Ashdown had paused but not halted their advance. Other writers place the battle near Starveall, a short distance north of the village of Aldworth and south east of Lowbury Hill. By May he was ready to attack again and encountered Guthrum's Danes at Edington, near Westbury on the Wiltshire downs. The kingdom of Mercia was divided up, with part going to Alfred's Wessex and the other part to Guthrum's East Anglia. At a signal from Ivar, boulders were set aflame and loosed on the Saxon ranks, inflicting casualties. The indicates that the character was not fighting during the event. [53], Also in 879, according to Asser, another Viking army sailed up the River Thames and wintered at Fulham in Middlesex. Let us know. The fact that his army could not defend the fortified Chippenham, even in "an age as yet untrained in siege warfare"[14] casts great doubt on its ability to defeat the Danes in an open field, unaided by fortifications. This name continues to be used. It was where Alfred the Great managed to defeat the Viking army and reclaim his kingdom. THIS STONE, PRESENTED BY F. SWANTON AND SONS, NORTH FARM, WEST OVERTON, IS A SARSEN STONE SIMILAR TO THOSE AT KINGSTON DEVERILL, THE AREA WHERE KING ALFRED RALLIED SAXON LEVIES FROM HAMPSHIRE, WILTSHIRE AND SOMERSET TO MARCH AGAINST GUTHRUM'S VIKING ARMY BASED AT CHIPPENHAM. This site may or may not be it. [58] It is not clear how seriously Guthrum took his conversion to Christianity, but he was the first of the Danish rulers of the English kingdoms to mint coins on the Alfredian model, under his baptismal name of Athelstan. Alfred seems at this time to have ineffectually chased the Danes around Wessex, while the Danes were in a position to do as they pleased. [51], Under the terms of the Treaty of Wedmore, the converted Guthrum was required to leave Wessex and return to East Anglia. The Battle of Edington took place between 6 and 12 May 878. Casualties By 878, Guthrum was no longer supported by other Danish leaders such as Ivar the . [4].mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, "This year dire forwarnings came over the land of the Northhumbrians, and miserably terrified the people; these were excessive whirlwinds, and lightnings; and fiery dragons were seen flying in the air. The indicates that the character died during the battle. Meanwhile, Hvitserk, after cutting down several Saxon warriors despite receiving several injuries, gradually began to tire and struggled to fight on. Known as the "blood stone", legend says that King Alfred's men used it to behead the defeated Vikings of Guthrum after the Battle of Edington in 878 AD. The year is 878 AD, the embattled English king Alfred the Great has mounted a heroic defence at the battle of Edington, and blunted the Viking invasion. [14] The Danes promptly slipped off to Exeter, even deeper into Alfred's kingdom, where they concluded in the autumn of 877 a "firm peace" with Alfred,[13] under terms that entailed their leaving his kingdom and not returning. He left a manor called Eandune to his wife, in his Will. Guthrum was left overextended, and Alfred and his ealdormenbroke up the Danish supply lines and lines of communication. It is believed that Asser's Life was originally written in 893; however, no contemporary manuscript survives. A map of the route taken by the Viking Great Heathen Army which arrived in England from Denmark, Norway, and southern Sweden in 865. The Edington family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. Previously, the Vikings had come to raid and settle around the coast; this force came to conquer. By 878, the Danes held the east and northeast of England; their defeat at the Battle of Ashdown had paused but not halted their advance. 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