Reading, Berkshire from the "Readingas", an Anglo-Saxon tribe whose name means "Reada's People" in Old English, or less probably the Celtic "Rhydd-Inge", meaning "Ford over the River". In late 870, an army of Danes invaded the kingdom of Wessex and set up camp at Reading. On 4 January 871, in the first Battle of Reading, King Ethelred and his brother Alfred the Great attempted unsuccessfully to breach the Danes' defences. The battle is described in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", and that account provides the earliest known written record of the existence of Reading. The Danes remained in Reading until late in 871, when
Battle of Tettenhall according to the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" defeated them and inflicted losses of many thousands including two or three kings. While little is known of the exact manoeuvres employed at the battle, it is obvious the allies trapped their Viking opponents and inflicted heavy casualties on them. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" states that "many thousands of men" were killed, referring to the Danes. Seemingly unable to retreat, the Kings leading the Viking raid were both killed by the allied troops. With the Northern Danes subdued, the forces of Wessex and Mercia could be focused against those who had settled further south. It was