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Many English began to demand that a more hostile approach be taken against the Vikings, and so, on St Brice's Day in 1002, King Æthelred proclaimed that all Danes living in England would be executed. It would come to be known as the St. Brice's Day massacre. [46] The news of the massacre reached King Sweyn Forkbeard in Denmark.
Many of his subjects did not like this idea, and shortly before 988, Sweyn, his son, drove his father from the kingdom. [123] The rebels, dispossessed at home, probably formed the first waves of raids on the English coast. [123] The rebels did so well in their raiding that the Danish kings decided to take over the campaign themselves. [124]
Map of Britain in 878, showing territory held by the Danes in pink In 871, the Great Summer Army arrived from Scandinavia , led by Bagsecg . [ 41 ] The reinforced Viking army turned its attention to Wessex but the West Saxons, led by King Æthelred 's brother Alfred, defeated them on 8 January 871 at the Battle of Ashdown , slaying Bagsecg in ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 7 January 2025. Period of European history (about 800–1050) Viking Age picture stone, Gotland, Sweden. Part of a series on Scandinavia Countries Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden History History by country Åland Denmark Faroe Islands Finland Greenland Iceland Norway Scotland Sweden Chronological ...
Raids in Europe, including raids and settlements from Scandinavia, were not unprecedented and had occurred long before the Vikings arrived. The Jutes invaded the British Isles three centuries earlier, from Jutland during the Age of Migrations, before the Danes settled there. The Saxons and the Angles did the same, embarking from mainland Europe ...
The findings indicate Vikings were not only stealing animals when they arrived in Britain, but brought some with them. Study finds first solid scientific evidence Vikings brought animals to ...
Most of the Vikings arriving in the northern parts of Britain also originated in Norway. Settlement was densest in the Shetland and Orkney islands and Caithness, where Norn, a language descended from Old Norse, was historically spoken, but a Viking presence has also been identified in the Hebrides and the western Scottish Highlands. [42] [43]
That access—and the timing of it all—backs up Viking legends that claimed there was a regular trading route between Greenland and North America about 500 years before Christopher Columbus led ...