The Danish in
From 800AD the Vikings began to make an appearance, their towns are recognised
by the name suffixes of -by or -thorpe. It is a common misconception that
the Vikings had horns on their helmets
The Danish in
From 800AD the Vikings began to make an appearance, their towns are recognised
by the name suffixes of -by or -thorpe. It is a common misconception that
the Vikings had horns on their helmets, no evidence for this has ever been
found. However it is well recognised from the ecclesiastical writings of
the time that their raids were much feared.
a) The Danes from Denmark landed on the east coast of England. The Danes
led by Guthrum established by treaty with Alfred of Wessex,
the Danelaw, whose southern
boundary lay approximately along lines drawn from the Thames to London, north
along the river Lea to its source then a straight line to Bedford, then to
the river Ouse and finally to Watling Street.
b) The Norsemen from Norway, landed on the West coast, Old Cumbria and
In the 800's England was divided into four parts2:
All but the West Saxons (Wessex), controlled by Alfred, fell to the
Vikings which was the most distant from their incursions. Wessex recovered
the other three when Eric Bloodaxe, ruler of York died in 954.
Wessex used a system of BURGHAL HIDAGE (a