TOPIC ONE

• First recorded Viking attack on the monastery of Lindisfarne

  Scandinavians who raided and settled in Britain from 793AD
• 850

  vikings begin to settle in England
• Alfred the Great


  Anglo-Saxon king of Wessex 871-899
• 878


  Viking leader Alfred defeated at the Battle of Edington

  Guthrum converts to Christianity

  Alfred signs Danelaw
• The Vikings conquer the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of Northumbria, East Anglia and most of Mercia in 870
• Alfred becomes king of Wessex- the largest unconquered Anglo-Saxon kingdom in 871
• Alfred's actions as King

  1. Secured England against future Viking attacks by building burhs across the country

  2. Encouraged learning. He made sure all nobles could read English and he translated many great Latin books into English

  3. Other Anglo-Saxon leaders recognised Alfred as their "overlord"-meaning Alfred could be seen as the first real King of England
• Alfred's grandson reconquers Northumbria from the Vikings in 927
• Push factors for Viking migration

  • Poor and/or hilly land in Scandinavia making it hard to grow food
  • Lack of land for younger sons in Scandinavia as only oldest sons inherited land
• Pull factors for Viking migration

  • Gold and slaves available in English monasteries
  • Lots of good, fertile land in England to grow food
• Alfred the Great stopped a Viking conquest of the whole of England. He united the Anglo-Saxons against the Vikings and created a sense of national identity
• The Vikings were attracted to England by its gold and slaves
• The Vikings were pushed to migrate from Scandinavia by the lack of land in the area. Younger sons inherited no land so had to seek land in England
• The Anglo-Saxons allowed the Vikings to remain in England as long as they converted to Christianity
• The Vikings used raiding and then invasion to conquer and then migrate to the eastern parts of England
• The "Danelaw"


  Treaty/policy Alfred negotiated with the Vikings allowing them to peacefully settle and live in the eastern parts of England
• Growth in sense of English national identity under Alfred and the other Anglo-Saxon leaders of Wessex as they united to defeat the Vikings
• The Viking attacks on England after 793 caused deaths and disruption all over England's coastlines
• The Vikings attacks led to the destruction of many Anglo-Saxon kingdoms such as East Anglia, Mercia and Northumberland
• Eastern parts of England under the Danelaw developed own distinct place names and traditions. For example Viking settlements end in suffix "by" meaning village. Such as Grimsby. Also Thursday "Thors day."
• Alfred defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878 preventing further Viking conquest and expansion into Anglo-Saxon areas
• Over time the peace treaty negotiated by Alfred allowed Anglo-Saxons and Vikings to live peacefully side-by side. Intermarriage and trade gradually led to mixing of the two cultures
• After uniting to defeat the Vikings the other kingdoms in England acknowledged Alfred as their "overlord." Under his rule Anglo-Saxons called themselves Angelclynn-the English
• Edgar the Peaceful


  Alfred's great-grandson who became King of the Anglo-Saxons in 959
• Danegeld


  Tax raised by the Anglo-Saxons to pay off the Vikings to stop them attacking England
• Normandy


  A province of North Western France
• Edward


  Edgar's second son and King of England (978-1016)
• Aethelred


  Edward's second son and King of England (978-1016)
• Sven Forkbeard


  Viking King who conquered England in 1013
• Aethelred is forced to pay the Vikings 3000 kg of silver as "danegeld" to get them to leave in 991
• Further Viking attacks force Aethelred to pay more danegeld to the Vikings in 997
• Aethelred marries the Duke (leader) of Normandy's sister Emma to stop Normandy being used as a based to attack England in 1002
• Aethelred then carries out a mass killing of Vikings in England known as the St Brice's Day Massacre- during which Forkbeard's sister is killed in 1002
• Forkbeard conquers England, overthrows Aethelred and becomes King in 1013
• Forkbeard dies and his son Cnut becomes King-only for Aethelred to return and overthrow Cnut in 1014
• Edmund Ironside


  Aethelred's son and briefly King of England (1034)
• Cnut defeats Edmund at the Battle of Assandun- shortly after which he becomes King of all England in 1016
• Emma of Normandy


  The Duke of Normandy's sister who married King Aethelred and after he died King Cnut
• Cnut's skilful leadership allowed him to conquer England and then rule it with limited opposition to his rule
• Cnut was attracted to England by its large amount of quality land, as Cnut's Scandinavian Empire was far poorer than England