Originally written March 9th, 2021
The Vikings had a substantial impact on the unification of Anglo-Saxon England. The Vikings in the process of removing and weakening some of the smaller Anglo-Saxon kingdoms forced the remaining kingdoms, namely Wessex and Mercia to fight together against a common enemy. The Viking invasion would weaken Mercia to the point that it could not compete with Wessex, and by the time that the Viking threat had passed, the line of King Alfred had inherited the crown of Mercia. This would eventually lead to Wessex gaining superiority and allowing them to bring the remainder of the kingdoms under their authority. While the Anglo-Saxon rulers would be forced off the throne on multiple occasions and would not be the ruling power beyond 1066 after the Norman Conquest, the concept of a united England survived.
Before the arrival of the Vikings, the kingdoms of Wessex and Merica had been the two major powers in England. The control of many of the smaller kingdoms would swap between them in this period. The Danes would capture and settle a significant portion of England known as the Danelaw. The Danelaw removed many of the smaller Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, making it easier for the larger ones to gain control after the end of the Danelaw. There would only be three Kingdoms that would avoid being completely captured by the Danes: Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. Mercia and Northumbria would lose significant parts of their kingdoms to the Danes. Wessex would lose many of the vassal states that it had already captured but would retain its sovereignty. Without the Viking invasion, Alfred the Great would have been required to fight the other three major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms at the time: Mercia. Northumbria, and East Anglia. The Vikings allowed him to focus on one enemy that would weaken the other three.
The common enemy forced the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to cooperate. Major differences included religion, the Anglo-Saxons had converted to Christianity by this time, while the Vikings were still pagans and hostile to Christians. The Vikings would even attack churches and the clergy,[1] something that was not done by other Christian armies. The differences in culture and language between the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons must have pointed out many of the similarities between the various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The Vikings first began to settle in Ireland in 841, which came as a surprise to the local population, as they had previously only raided.[2] This process would be repeated elsewhere in Europe. While England had previously been targeted solely for raiding, the Vikings now began to settle England. The aggression by the Vikings helped to unify the Anglo-Saxon people under the leadership of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. This of course did not mean that there was an England at this point, the Danes were still there. The fact that there were already Dane settlements in England would complicate this.[3] The fact that the Danes stayed and settled contributed not only to complicate the situation but also to permanently alter the genetic makeup of the British Isles, giving many people Norse roots.
The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy was the term given to the seven kingdoms that had been settled by Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in the post-Roman period; who were Germanic in origin. There were four main kingdoms and three minor kingdoms, all of which would eventually be captured by or merged into Wessex. Before the arrival of the Great Heathen Army in 865, Essex was captured by Wessex in 825.[4] East Anglia was captured by Mercia in 794, East Anglia would be restored as an independent kingdom in 825 was then captured by the Danes in 869, to be finally conquered by Wessex in 918. Northumbria, founded in 653, was cut in half in 876 when the southern portion became part of the Danelaw. Northumbria was absorbed into England in 954. Mercia was formed in 527, it lost much of its territory to the Danelaw. The Crown of Mercia would merge with the Crown of Wessex in 918. Kent was formed in 455. It became a vassal of Mercia in 764, and a vassal of Wessex in 825, before being absorbed into Wessex in 871. Sussex was formed circa 477, became a vassal to Wessex in 686, Mercia in 771, and Wessex again in 827[5], before being integrated into Wessex in 860. In addition to the seven kingdoms, the area of modern England also includes the area of the former Celtic Kingdom of Dumnonia located in modern-day Cornwall and Devon. Dumnonia would be gradually absorbed into England.
The Danelaw lasted from 865 to 954 before it was finally captured by the Anglo-Saxons. Its impact can still be felt today in many places in England with Scandinavian names,[6] and the many words in the English language of Scandinavian origin.[7] The Danelaw would consist of a significant portion of Anglo-Saxon England. It would completely cut off Northumbria from Mercia and Wessex in the south, and would in places extend across the entire island of Great Britain. The Origins of the Danelaw may be found in the invasion of the Great Heathen Army, which was led by the sons of the legendary Ranger Lodbrok, Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan Ragnarsson.[8] The size of the army is a large contrast compared to the smaller raiding parties who had been attacking England and the Franks. The size of the army is debated, with suggestions of tens of thousands, right down to only about a thousand.[9] Regardless of the size of the army, it was significant to shake up Anglo-Saxon England for decades to come. The Great Heathen Army would initially invade East Anglia and then Invade Northumbria in 866, and then on to Mercia 867. They would then attack Wessex in 871.[10] At this point, Ethered, the older brother of Alfred was King of Wessex.[11] In 876, Halfdan and those under his command would carve out a large section of Northumbria and proceeded to settle. This would become a good portion of the Northern part of the Danelaw.[12] In 877, the Danes would carve out a portion of Mercia as well, while Ceolwulf would remain King of the area still under Anglo-Saxon control. This would significantly limit the power of Mercia. Mercia was already declining at this point, and would never again be able to be self-sufficient, and would depend on Wessex. In 878 the Danes, under Guthrum would launch their third invasion of Wessex, which was initially successful in forcing King Alfred into hiding at the marshes in Athelney. He would not stay there long. Alfred would defeat the Danes at the Battle of Edington in 878. Guthrum and some of his followers would convert to Christianity and settle in East Anglia.[13] King Alfred would sponsor him in baptism.[14] Guthrum’s conversion must have been significantly devastating to the Danes, even compared to the loss at Edington. This victory would dishearten the Danes and would secure Alfred time to reorganize his army and improve his defences.[15] He would no longer need to pay tribute to the Vikings. He was even able to construct ships to counter the ships of the Vikings in shallow water.[16] In 894 the Danes in Northumbria and East Anglia, both gave oaths to King Alfred, and in the case of East Anglia, hostages. Alfred would end up positioning his army in a way that he could face either one if required. These two Dane forces would take to ships and attack Devonshire and Exeter. The King would move to Exeter with his army, with another force being joined by citizens from London was also sent. They would defeat the Danes at Banfleet.[17]
After the invasion of the Great Heathen Army and the division of Mercia, Mercia no longer had the power they once held. After the death of their King Ceowulf in 879, they would begin to gravitate towards Wessex, allowing Alfrid to take advantage of the circumstances.[18] They would lose the influence they had in Wales. By the time of his death in 901, King Alfred was the overlord of all of the parts of England, that was not under Danish control. His son Edward the Elder would take over.[19] Mercia would become subject to Wessex through the aftermath of a marriage alliance between Æthelflæd, the daughter of King Alfred the Great, who would later be known as the Lady of the Mercians; and Æthelred, King of Merica who accepted the overlordship of Alfred. Alfred’s grandson Æthelstan became the King of both Wessex and Merica. Northumbria would be both the last Anglo-Saxon kingdom to be added to England, and the last section of the Danelaw to be recaptured when in 954 Eric Bloodaxe was forced out and King Eadred added Northumbria to England.[20] Nearly 90 years and the rule of six kings of Wessex/England had passed from the arrival of the Great Heathen Army to the annexation of Northumbria, but England was finally united. While Denmark would conquer England in 1013 and 1016 and rule until 1042, and the Normans would conquer England in 1066; the concept of a single united England would remain intact, and survives to the present day.
While the Vikings contributed many words to the English language and added many place names to England, their greatest legacy is England itself. The Viking invasions would force the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms to cooperate for mutual defence. They would also weaken all of the remaining Anglo-Saxons, except for Wessex, allowing Wessex to extend their influence and later their rule over all of England. King Alfred the Great was able to exploit the circumstances to extend his influence over all of the Anglo-Saxon controlled areas of England. His grandson Æthelstan would become the King of both Wessex and Mercia, becoming the first King of the English. Alfred’s grandson Eadred would annex Northumbria and capture the remnants of the Danelaw.
[1] Simon Coupland, The Vikings in Francia and Anglo-Saxon England to 911, in The New Cambridge Medieval History. (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2008), 200
[2] Sawyer, 89
[3] Sawyer, 69
[4] Carruthers, 96
[5] Carruthers, 96
[6] Sawyer, 64
[7] Clayton Roberts, David Roberts, A History of England, Volume One: Prehistory to 1714, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1985), 44
[8] Sawyer, 54
[9] Coupland, 194
[10] Peter Sawyer. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 52-55
[11] Bob Carruthers, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. (Arden: Coda Books Ltd, 2012), 106
[12] Sawyer, 55
[13] Sawyer, 57
[14] Carruthers, 110
[15] Sawyer, 58
[16] Coupland, 201
[17] Carruthers, 115-116
[18] Swyer, 63
[19] Carruthers, 121
[20] Carruthers, 136
Charles Veale
January 16th, 2022
My Corner of the Internet 