Upon landing they entrenched themselves at Appledore and Milton, both in Kent. In 892 or 893 the Danish Vikings made their way from Europe to England in 330 ships broken into two divisions. He even had new, larger ships built based on his own designs to better combat the Vikings.Īll of this meant that in the 890s, when Danes from the European mainland attacked, Alfred was ready. He reorganized his armies to make them more effective, and also met Viking invaders on the water with ships of his own. He strengthened old forts and built new ones on strategic sites, and he ensured that his important forts were manned at all times. In doing so he forced all Englishmen not under Danish rule to accept him as their king.Īlfred went on to regenerate London, making it liveable again, and also to consolidate his defenses. In 886 he went on the offensive and captured London for himself. While this would not be the last time that Alfred would battle with the Vikings in England, it was a decisive victory that allowed Alfred to consolidate his power. The Danes were forced to leave Wessex and set themselves up peacefully in Cirencester. The Vikings were forced to surrender, and Guthrum and 29 of his leading warriors forced to convert to Christianity with Alfred as their sponsor. With his new army, he won a decisive victory over the Danes at the Battle of Edington, and then starved them into submission in their stronghold at Chippenham. In that same year, Alfred rode to Egbert’s Stone, where he gathered people from Somerset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire to form a new army. By 878, of all the English powers in the area, only Alfred was holding out against the Vikings. But he responded by cutting off their supply line by blockading their ships and setting up a new fort at Athelney in the Somerset marshes. The Vikings took Chippenham, one of Alfred’s strongholds, killing many of Alfred’s men. That was the end of peace, and Alfred went on to defeat the Danish Vikings on several fronts. Alfred blockaded them within the city and was able to negotiate another peace with the Vikings through an exchange of hostages.īut the Danes, despite swearing an oath on the “holy ring” associated with Thor, broke their word and killed the hostages. The Danes, under the leadership of their chiefs Guthrum, Oscetel, and Anwend, advanced on Wessex again in 876 and took Wareham in Dorset. The Danish Vikings left Wessex alone for five years, time which Alfred used to prepare. Alfred was forced to make peace, paying the Vikings to leave the Wessex territory.īut this would only mark the start of Alfred’s campaign against the Danish Vikings. While he was burying his brother, the Danes defeated his Saxon army in his absence. In 868, at the age of just 19, we know that he fought alongside his brother Aethelred, the current King of Wessex, against the Danish Vikings as they attacked their ally Mercia.Īlfred succeeded his brother Aethelred as the King of Wessex in 871 when Aethelred was killed in a Danish invasion of Wessex. So power was passed through the brothers to ensure their ruler was ready to fight.Īs such, despite being a younger son, Alfred would have had a warrior’s upbringing. The Saxons decided that they could not risk child-kings at a time of such great threat. This is because Danish Vikings had been busy raiding England since 790 and posed a genuine threat to Wessex. Nevertheless, Alfred succeeded to the throne of his father as it was agreed that power would pass through Aethelwulf’s sons, rather than from father to oldest son and then to grandson. His success against the Vikings is why Assassins Creed has picked the king as their ultimate antagonist in their new game Valhalla.īut what exactly do we know about this king and his interaction with the Vikings?īorn in 849 in Wantage in Berkshire, Alfred the Great was the fifth son of Aethelwulf, the King of Wessex. Where is the glory without a formidable foe? To many Vikings in the second half of the 9 th century, Alfred the Great, the King of Wessex, was that foe.Īlfred the Great is largely considered responsible for repelling Danish Vikings raids of England in the last 30 years of the 9 th century. We spend a lot of time talking about Viking warriors, but often, it is the opponent that makes the warrior.
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