It has long been argued that the Anglo-Saxons
were war-making people. Heroic poetry, narrative chronicles, law codes, burial
evidence, all emphasize the role of a warrior in the Anglo-Saxon culture.5 As the historian
Eric John explains: Anglo-Saxon society was so violent that a central fact of its politics, its
way of life, even, was fighting and making war. However, when Danes and Norsemen of the Great
Heathen Army arrived upon English shores, they swept through Saxon lands like a firestorm,
with only the Kingdom of Wessex providing any meaningful resistance. This begs the question:
why did the Saxons, a people historically known for their skill in war, fare so poorly against
the invaders of the Viking age? In this video, we will delve into the historical record, and
examine the social, political and technological reasons why most of the English Kingdoms
fared so poorly against the Northern tide. Perhaps it was just too easy to plunder
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KINGSANDGENERALS to get a ten percent discount! The history of middle and late Saxon England
was shaped by the Viking invasions and the military response of English Kings. Until
the autumn of 865, the Vikings who raided England can be considered more as pirates
than as territorial rulers. The strategy the Vikings followed up to 865 was to obtain as
much wealth as possible with a minimum of risk. Their main targets were the monasteries and
churches that held considerable amounts of wealth and were poorly if at all defended. It was
when “a great heathen raiding army” overwintered in the kingdom of East-Anglia, that the
Vikings presence in England became much larger. To cite historian Richard Abels: “In the autumn
and winter of 865, the very nature of the threat changed. The ambitions of the leaders of the Great
Heathen Army took on a territorial dimension.” The saga of Ragnar Lodbrok mentions
that the titular Lodbrok’s sons, including Ivar the Boneless and Ubba, attacked
the kingdom of Northumbria which was ruled by King Ælla (r. 862-867). Between 865 and
878 every Anglo-Saxon Kingdom with the exception of Wessex came under control of
the Danes, either directly as in East-Anglia, or intermediately through the establishment
of native client kings, as in Mercia. Early medieval sources like the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle and archaeological findings give us some understanding on how the English were not
able to defend themselves against the Vikings. However, one must be aware that historians today
cannot examine the Anglo-Saxon reaction to the Danish invasions in full detail because the
dynasties and kingdoms that were defeated by the Vikings left few or no records themselves. In
fact, the East Anglian kings of the ninth century are mostly remembered by their names, known only
form their coins. This lack of sufficient evidence makes it hard to understand why the Anglo-Saxons
failed to defend themselves against the Vikings, or what allowed Wessex to resist where
other Kingdoms were quashed. Moreover, most surviving written sources from this time were
composed by chroniclers from Wessex, who were not too concerned with describing details about the
Mercian, East Anglian or Northumbrian resistances. Ultimately, these lack of sources presents a
challenge in understanding why the Anglo-Saxons struggled with the Vikings. To understand why the
Anglo-Saxons failed we first need to understand the threat the Vikings posed. Horses and ships
had a foremost importance in the success of Viking raids. Viking longships were fast-sailing
vessels that could use oars to support the sails when needed, and made it possible for the
Vikings to use islets in shallow estuaries as landing-places on English soil, where they
could entrench themselves in winter strongholds. In contrast, English ships drew too much water to
be able to land in these islets. Other advantages of the Viking ships were their capability to
effectively land horses, making it possible for heavily armed cavalry to move off a Danish vessel
and swiftly overrun an English fortified position. Prior to 865, Vikings usually concentrated their
activities on a particular river basin and used an island site off-shore or up-river as a permanent
base-camp for an upcoming winter, from where they raided coastal and riverine settlements
or monasteries. These hit-and-run tactics where effective against the Anglo-Saxons who were
usually not able to organize a defence in time. With the arrival of the Great Heathen Army in 865,
these tactics changed. This grand Viking force moved each autumn to a new kingdom or district
where it established a new camp for the following year. The army of 865 did not construct
new fortified camps, nor did they sequest themselves in isolated island sites. Instead,
they occupied royal and administrative centres in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. These Danish annual
camps needed to protect the men, food supplies, their treasure, and their wounded. Therefore,
in 865, the Great Heathen army was designed to be highly mobile and unpredictable, which
made it harder for the Anglo-Saxons to react. Political instability was aanother important
reason the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were vulnerable to the Viking invasion, and often, it was the Vikings
themselves who contributed to the destabilization of the Saxon realms. For example, in 838,
Vikings supported the Celtic Britons in Cornwell, who rebelled against their Wessex overlords, while
in 844, a deposed Northumbrian king was restored to power after his usurper was defeated and killed
by Viking invaders. Raids became more frequent in the 830s and more penetrating. This may be
significant that these developments coincided with the increasing degrees of social and political
unrest in the affected Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. During the mid-800s AD, the main focus of Viking
aggression was the Kingdom of West Frankia. However, in the latter half of the century,
there had been profound changes in Frankia and England. In 862 the West-Frankian King Charles
systematically began ramping up the defenses of his Kingdom. He had bridges built across the Seine
and Loire to hinder passage of Viking ships, and he fortified towns and abbeys. Charles’ defensive
measures proved fruitful; and many Vikings began to concentrate instead on England. While Frankia
slowly stabilized, the British Isles were not able to overcome its political instability
when the Great Heathen Army arrived in 865. We must also stress the importance of religion
and religious life when discussing Anglo-Saxon vulnerability. In places that were frequently
raided, the organization of the Christian Church certainly disrupted. Long-established religious
houses that were scattered throughout the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were destroyed by Viking
armies; their communities were slaughtered or scattered, their books and other possessions
burned or destroyed, their treasures looted, and their controlled land were brought under secular
control or taken over by force by the king. The quality of religious life in England had been affected not only by the Viking raids
but also by negligence and complacency. King Alfred believed that the raids were rather
an effect then a cause of neglect and decline, asserting that the Vikings arrived because of
God’s displeasure with the Anglo-Saxon people. With the lack of sources about East-Anglia, it is
hard to assume why the easternmost Saxon Kingdom was not able to resist the Viking invasion
in various aspects. There is no evidence that supports a rise or decline of the kingdom
during the ninth century. The only sources that are beneficial to us are records of the
arrival of The Great Heathen army in Kent. Here, the Vikings plundered the land, even though
a tribute, referred to as Danegeld, had been paid by the locals. The raiders continued moving
further into East-Anglia, which was currently ruled by King Edmund (r. 855-869). Initially
there was no conflict between the Anglo-Saxons and the Great Heathen Army. The Vikings made their
way to Edmund’s court; they had superior forces, and they knew that the East Anglians had no
option for resistance. The Chronicler Æthelweard described that the Vikings fleet was provided with
food, money, and horses by King Edmund, the latter asset proved to be a fatal mistake, as the Viking
army was now as mobile over land as it was by sea. Asser (d. 919), biographer of Alfred the Great,
mentioned that almost the whole army was supplied with horses. The Vikings were now mobile enough
to launch surprise attacks inland as unpredictably their ships had allowed them to do on the coast.
In the autumn of 869, the Vikings returned to East-Anglia. They defeated Edmund in battle
and killed him, which made the king a martyr. The Vikings installed a loyal
Scandinavian ruler in the kingdom. Historians tend to assume that the shortage of
sources on Northumbria in the ninth century, coupled with the conquest of the Vikings, must
indicate that the kingdom was undergoing severe decline. Continuing disputes between rival
claimants are noticeable, but we should stress the importance of the domination in this period
of the family of Eardwulf (r.796-806) and the long reign of Eanred (r. 808-840) in particular. Since
the ninth century the Northumbrian coinage was in decline. After the gap of minting in the reigns
of Eardwulf and Ælfwold II (r. 806-808), King Eanred produced a debased form of the sceatta
coinage. The content of these silvers coins was less than that of the sceattas, and only
became further debased as the century progressed. By the reign of Æthelred II (840/1-844
and 844-848/9) coins were produced almost exclusively with the substantially
less valuable metal of brass. If these economic indicators are anything to go
by, then by the arrival of the Great Heathen Army, Northumbria was an instable country currently
undergoing decline since the begin of the century. After the death of King Offa (r. 757-796) near
the end of the 8th century, the Kingdom of Mercia had begun to flounder. The power of the Mercian
ealdorman grew to rival that of the Mercian kings, resulting in great friction between the Royal
House and the nobility, with only Kings Offa and Cenwulf (r. 796-821) able to maintain their
authority. The next six years were followed by civil war and gave East Anglian and West Saxon
kings the opportunity to overthrow Mercian power. The loss of territory in this conflict made
it harder for Mercia to increase its revenue. The reign of King Burgred (r. 852-874) saw its
resources stretched even further when the Vikings attacked. As his reign progressed, it became clear
that Mercian defences and army were not able to contain the increasingly powerful Viking armies.
Wessex in the ninth century While Northumbria and Mercia declined
partly because of internal instability, Wessex was less impacted by civil war and claimant
factions. The Kingdom of Wessex was reasonably successful against the Viking invaders. By
the time the Great Heathen Army arrived, the West Saxons had already been fighting major
campaigns against the Vikings for fourteen years. Wessex was fortunate that the Vikings’ priority
was the conquest of northern England and of York in particular, but they still faced a substantial
Danish threat, and were almost fully overrun on several occasions. Facing this existential
challenge, Wessex developed new strategies and increased the demands on their subjects
in order to defeat the Vikings. One important innovation was the burh, or fortress, which could
be used by the West Saxons for local refuge and as a base for militia to intercept Viking
forces and disrupt their maneuverability. The dynamic and charismatic leadership of King
Alfred the Great also played an important part in Wessex’s independence. Alfred’s victories against
the Vikings on the battlefield and his ability to be obeyed by his subjects in his struggle
against the Scandinavians is an important reason why the Vikings were not able to conquer Wessex.
Ultimately, while the size and innovative prowess of the Viking army contributed to the rapid
fall of most of Anglo-Saxon England, it was the political and economic decline of most of the
English kingdoms that eventually led to their own downfall. If the ninth century were a period of
stability and prosperity, it could be assumed that when the Great Heathen Army arrived in 865, all
kingdoms would be able to aid East-Anglia against the Vikings. While Wessex was no exemption for
civil war in the ninth century, they did overcome their political unrest. With a far more stable
economy than its rival piety kingdoms, Wessex was not forced to stretch it resources like Mercia and
had not decline in its coinage like Northumbria. Their previous experience fighting the Vikings
and not being a priority to the heathen horde in the 865 campaign gives us further reasons as
to why this more or less stable kingdom was able to maintain the integrity of its borders
while other Kingdoms in England failed. It was mostly the problems the Kings and
their kingdoms faced themselves that sees us to understand their incapabilities to fight of
the Vikings. More videos on the Viking age are on the way, so make sure to subscribe and have
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