came 350 ships to the mouth of the Thames, and stormed Canterbury, and put to flight Beorhtwulf, king of Mercia, with his levies, and went then south over the Thames into Surrey.’
Aethelwulf of Wessex eventually defeated this force, but by the second half of the 9th century, Viking warlords had conquered the land around York, laid claim to half of Mercia, and held all of East Anglia.
In Wessex, the last Saxon realm to resist the Vikings, King Alfred led a determined defence, but even he was overwhelmed and forced to flee to the shelter of the marshes in Somerset. He organised guerrilla resistance, but it was through diplomacy as well as military skill that he eventually triumphed. He penned the Vikings into a fort at Chippenham, where they awaited a crushing blow, but instead Alfred invited the leading Vikings to his camp. There, he declared that if the Vikings accepted the Christian faith and left Wessex, he would spare their lives and let them live in the eastern part of England. The Vikings accepted the offer and their realm became known as the Danelaw. Alfred eventually united Saxon England by having his daughter marry the ruler of Mercia. For this reason, Alfred was later dubbed ‘the Great’ by British historians, the only English monarch to receive that honour. The high point of Saxon rule was reached under Alfred’s son, Edward, who by 918 had won back all the Danish settlements and united England under one king.
Recreated Viking raiding party comes inland on the marshy flats outside Wareham. They are well equipped with helmets, mail, swords and spears and are typical of warriors of the 10th century. [Regia Anglorum]
RECREATING ARTHUR’S KNIGHTS
When it comes to portraying King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table at the cinema or on television, he is usually shown wearing a shining suit of plate armour. This portrayal is true of when Thomas Malory wrote Le Morte D’Arthur as this kind of beautiful armour was typical of the 15th century. But the original Arthur, on which all the later legends and tales have been based, was a warlord living towards the end of the 5th century. What would he and his warriors really have looked like?
Dan Shadrake of Britannia, the leading re-enactment group of this early medieval period, has devoted much time and effort to gathering the evidence and then using it to recreate the authentic arms and armour of the Arthurian period. The result is a figure that looks more Roman than a medieval knight. The main influence which preceded the Britain of Arthur was that of Rome,’ states Shadrake. The later Roman Empire provides the material with which Arthurian Britain can be tentatively reconstructed.’
The main forms of body armour were mail or tunics made out of scale or lamellar armour, both of Eastern origin. A kilt of leather strips would then have hung from the waist protecting the upper thighs, just like that worn by Roman legionaries in earlier centuries. Iron helmets with a nasal and cheekguards would have been of the Sassanian or Ridge type or the more Germanic spangenhelm segmented form. Germanic influence was strong in the form of spatha-style, long double-edged swords. Shields were large and oval, made of wood reinforced with iron and probably adorned with Christian emblems such as the crucifix or the Madonna.
Norman knights charge at the recreated Battle of Hastings. Although the warriors here carry their lances underarm in later medieval fashion, many lances would have been thrown overarm during the battle, the word lance deriving from the French verb to throw. [Alan Jeffrey]
Reconstructed spangenhelm with nasal of the type worn by both Vikings and Normans. It was an enormously popular form of helmet that continued to be worn as late as the 13th century. Recreated by Russell Thomas and Chris Lydamore. [Dan Shadrake]
A flavour of the fighting between Saxon and Viking is conveyed by the 10th century poem The Battle of Maldon. Fought in 991, the battle took place in Essex in south-east England. The Vikings under the command of Svein Forkbeard, king of Denmark, had sailed with an army of some 4,000 warriors in 93 ships and entered the Blackwater Estuary near the town of Maldon. They camped on Northey Island and expected to cross the causeway to ravage the hinterland. Before them stood Byrhtnoth, the local Saxon warlord, and his hastily assembled force. In order to fight a defensive battle, Byrhtnoth ordered his leading warriors to dismount and form a shield wall in which the warriors stood close to each other so their large round shields overlapped each other. Byrhtnoth was a white-haired man of about sixty and a landlord of considerable wealth, but this did not prevent him from taking his place among younger warriors in the shield wall.
The confrontation with the Vikings began with an exchange of insults. This may well be a poetic device to raise the tension for an audience, but it may also be true of ancient warfare in which warriors would jeer and rush forward out of their line to show their lack of respect for the opposition. The Vikings declared they would be happy to leave if the Saxons gave them a tribute of gold. ‘Listen pirates,’ replied Byrhtnoth, ‘the only tribute we shall send you is one of spear-points and veteran sword-edge. We are the guardians of our people, our land and our King. It is the heathen who shall fall.’ Arrows followed the insults, but the Vikings had a problem. They could not leave the island to cross the narrow causeway while the Saxons defended it. They asked permission to cross the water and begin the battle on a more equal footing. Amazingly, and over-confidently, according to the poet, Byrhtnoth allowed the enemy to cross over onto the mainland. This decision may not have been so crazy as it seems, for, denied combat here, the Vikings could easily have sailed elsewhere, whereas at least the Saxons were ready for them now.
Dubbed Wolves of Wodan, the Norse God of War, by the poet, the Vikings wade across the ford with their lime-wood shields and weapons held high. The battle begins with the loosing of arrows and flinging of spears. Immediately, the Saxon leader Byrhtnoth comes under attack. A ‘southern spear’, meaning a spear made in France, wounds the Saxon lord but he breaks the shaft with the edge of his shield and throws his own spear which plunges into the Viking attacker’s neck. Byrhtnoth bellows with laughter and thanks God for his good luck, but is then attacked again and wounded for a second time with a thrown spear. A comrade pulls out the spear and throws it back at the Dane. Yet another Viking closes in, determined to steal the rich mail armour and sword from the wounded lord, but Byrhtnoth swings his sword at the assailant. The Dane parries the blow and slashes at the Saxon’s arm, so that he drops his gold-hilted sword and, under more blows, Byrhtnoth and his closest warriors are killed.
Seeing the death of their lord, many of the Saxons lose their nerve and one, disgracefully, even steals the horse of his dead chief to escape. The poet notes that Byrhtnoth had generously given this man many horses in the past. Many warriors remain, however, and the fighting grows fiercer. A noble hostage from a Northumberland family proves his worth by wounding the Vikings with his bow and arrows. Mail shirts ring and split under sword blows, shields shatter leaving warriors to punch their enemies with the remaining metal bosses. With their lord gone, the Saxons are doomed, but it is an heroic last stand and a veteran warrior expresses the virtues expected of a loyal fighting man:
Pictish crossbowman recreation based on the figure on the Drosten stone of the 8th or 9th centuries AD. Although associated with later periods, there is evidence that crossbows were used by the Romans. It is a simple crossbow with a rising peg trigger and wooden prod. [Lyn Smith]
Saxon archer hunting with long wooden bow. At his side he wears a long single-edged sword or seax, typical of Saxon warriors. Archery was used in battle to harass the enemy and provoke them into combat. [Regia Anglorum]
‘Heart must be braver, courage