chapter one- Alfred and the Vikings

Question 1

The defence of Wessex before 871

Answer 1

the organisation of the defence of Wessex was before 871 was difficult because of its geographical breadth and the way it was administrated and governed. it stretched all the was across the bottom of England.

Question 2

problems with the geographical spread 871-1

Answer 2

the isle of Thanet- away from mainland, a post for entering the Thames estuary providing access to the middle of England. this meant this area demanded special attention and resources stretching Alfred’s capabilities.

Question 3

problems with the geographical spread 871- 2

Answer 3

westerns part of the region required focus due to the river near Hampshire Avon because it was an important river obsticle to invaders.

Question 4

problems with the geographical spread 871-3

Answer 4

if support from other Saxon kingdoms was needed, especially from east Saxons, access to Wessex was restricted to two roadways. both of these roads would be relatively easy to obstruct. furthermore, the east of Wessex was cut off from the west by the densely wooded Andreaswald forest, with the result that he strategically important coastal area of eastern Kent became isolated form the rest of Wessex

Question 5

fryd

Answer 5

a fryd is used in Alfred’s law code and in another important primary source, the Anglo Saxon chronicles, to signify a royal military expedition. Before 893 Alfred did not maintain a standing army ( that is, a full time, ‘professional’ army) but this hanged with the renewed Viking threat from 892 to 896

Question 6

shires

Answer 6

shires were districts that came together to form larger geographical regions. shires were the main units of local government and each shire had administrative legal, financial and military responsibilities. in Wessex, during the time of Alfred, each shire was overseen by an ealdorman (Kent, being an exception, had two)

Question 7

ealdormen

Answer 7

Ealdormen were men who held a very high rank in Anglo Saxon society and who were possibly of royal birth. However, they remained subordinate to the king during the time of Alfred

Question 8

thegn

Answer 8

was also someone of a high rank but one who aspired either to become a reeve (sheriff or law enforcer) or ealdormen. thegns owned substantial amounts of land and would therefore be lords over their own estates. they would also be expected to play an important part in organising soldiers when called to muster

Question 9

the recruitment and organisation of military forces

Answer 9

by 871 the structure of the Wessex soldiery could be broken down into three categories
-the Fryd were seen to be used however evidence of this is flimsy, members of households all over the country came together to form a host army. despite this lack of evidence, there is evidence to show that armies from different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were sent to help out others as a result of the formation of alliances
-There was also Fryds that belonged to separate shires and that were led by ealdormen who usually had close relations to the king.
-there were also groups of war-bands lead by individual Thegns how would, on call-out independently choose to join up with the main body of soldiers at a shire Fryd official meeting point.

Question 10

Weaknesses of the system of military recruitment and organisation

Answer 10

-it took a while to mobilise fryds because of the complicated recruitment system. one solider per 5 hides. this was difficult because the hides had to pay the bills for the soldiers equipment and food.
-fryds which belonged to shires were organised to deal with local issues which could sometimes lead them to making peace with potential opponents which would be detrimental for the rest of the kingdom.
-fryds were commanded, at grass root level, by Theigns who often showed loyalty to their ealdormen before allegiance to the crown which may have been why Alfred struggled to gain support from the eastern provinces of Wessex in 878

Question 11

The anglo-saxon chronicles

Answer 11

a series of annals (year by year historical accounts) the final writings came out later on in Alfred’s reign and therefore was probably written by scholars in the court cycle. historians believe that it was created to glorify the history of the English people up to the 890’s in hope that it would boost moral to create greater unity. a problem with the chronicles is that the original copy was added to and had parts subtracted at the time and later on.

Question 12

how serious of a threat was the great heathen army (865-78)?

Answer 12

misleading because it was two Viking armies that joined together, the great summer army, lead by Guthrum , joined up with the great Heathen army in 871

Question 13

early Viking raids

Answer 13

earliest raids can be seen to be Lindisfarne in 793 . they were serious but isolated affairs. things got worse by the 830’s because the no of attacks doubled and now consisted of not only the Norwegians but also the dames. as time went on the Viking’s became more wide spread and powerful. historians believe that the armies Alfred faced during 865 and 878 were truly great in terms of numbers organisation and skill. at first the Vikings only wanted to raid and trade however they were then seen to shift their aims towards conquering and settling.

Question 14

the traditional view of the Vikings

Answer 14

For medieval observers, the Viking raids had never been seen before and cataclysmic . they believed that they sought to wreak havoc and destruction wherever they went. it was seen that the magnitude of the threat was intense due to geographical spread, immense numbers and their intention to remain.

Question 15

Lindisfarne

Answer 15

an island off the coast of Nothumbria. was an important place of Christian learning and worship due to St Cuthbert being the bishop and after his death, became a cult of the saint which resulted in the famous Lindisfarne gospels. in the accounts Lindisfarne is referred to as the first major religious site to be sacked by the Danes

Question 16

changes in the scale of nature of Viking attacks

Answer 16

pre 850- 50 ships, were aimed at gaining ‘movable wealth. (people and coinage).
post 850-150-250 ships , aimed at grabing and sharing land in Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia.

Question 17

the modern view of Vikings

Answer 17

historians believe that the scale of attack and violence my have been exaggerated by medieval observers. The attacks on monasteries and churches are said to have been purely commercial reasons and not due to complete distain for Christianity. -said by Peter sawyer, a historian.

Question 18

challenge to the modern view

Answer 18

Some challenged Sawyers view, such as Wormald. they believe that Viking armies almost definitely numbers many thousands, as they were a conjglomeration of soldiers taken from viking war-bands across the whole of Europe.

Question 19

what was the significance of Alfred’s refuge at Athelney?

Answer 19

The arrival of Guthrum into Wessex took Alfred by surprise due to it being a breaking of a truce. it was seen that Alfred’s only option was to go into hiding and despite this being his only option it seemed to be a cleverly calculated one because he escaped to the Somerset levels which was a area of wild, hostile marshland that deemed difficult to penetrate and was the ideal refuge from Guthrum. Alfred could have abandoned his kingdom much like Burgred of Mercia but the result was that the Vikings ‘conquered all that land’. he also could have planned a counter attack, similarly to what Edmund, king of East Anglia did however that resulted in his capture and execution which Alfred did not want to risk.

Question 20

Talismanic raven banner

Answer 20

Vikings carried a banner which had a raven on it as a symbol of war. According to pagan legend, Odin, god of war, had two ravens thought and memory and when the birds were pecking at the dead bodies it was seen as a sign that Odin had accepted the blood sacrifice that had been made to him. The banner was significant because it was supposedly created by the three sisters of ubbe.

Question 21

the incident of the swineherds wife and the burning of the cakes

Answer 21

Alfred is travelling alone and in disguise, needed to find shelter and stumbled across a Swinherds hut. he entered and resulted in him failing to deal with some cakes that were burning and the wife not knowing who Alfred was, scolded him for being neglectful.

Question 22

the appearance of st Cuthbert

Answer 22

St Cuthbert apparently visited Alfred at Athlney disguised as a pilgrim begging for food. Alfred was going to share and ordered his servant t share it out however he had disappeared but reappeared to Alfred in a dream and offered Alfred instructions on how to defeat the Vikings in return for his generosity.

Question 23

why was Alfred able to defeat the great hethen army

Answer 23

more to do with his survival rather that how and why he managed to defeat his opponents in battle. in regards to the fact that the Vikings had succeed in conquering Northumbria and Mercia it is quite impressive that Alfred managed to protect Wessex and unify two kingdoms to fight back. Alfred’s victory seem to be a mixture of military, political and religious factors working together.

Question 24

military factors- GHA

Answer 24

in 870’s vikings had great military success. they were able to break into Wessex frequently and take riche. Vikings were confident and would break agreements. They were confident because of the spread and mobility of the Viking armies as well as the sheer numbers. longboats were used to gain access strategically. the Vikings were skilful. they also used horses. Alfred had to do something about this so he made a number of reforms and then the Vikings had to leave, they did however come back in the 890’s to re-establish power they had however they were not as successful because Alfred was much more organised.

Question 25

political factors-GHA

Answer 25

-some of Alfred’s family and lords of Wessex would form alliances with the Vikings
-Alfred was never guaranteed support from other regions meaning there was always chance they could form alliances with the Vikings or not provide Alfred with help.
an example would be Aethelwold, Alfreds brothers son being angry at him for giving the kingdom to his own son. resulting in Aethelwold forming an alliance with the Vikings

Question 26

religious factors-GHA

Answer 26

Alfred believed one had to be pious in order to defeat the Vikings through the military reforms and political factors however he believe that the only way to become pious was to be able to read and write. this was an important reason as to why Alfred enacted the Alfredian renaissance and educational reforms.

Question 27

what were the terms of peace made with the Vikings?

Answer 27

peace was usually made at the end of a battle. At first, Alfred was not experienced and made uneducated decisions however over time he started to become more skillful.

Question 28

Wilton 871

Answer 28

Was the first battle Alfred had experienced as king. Alfred just paid them out however this was risky because they were not reliable and had a tenancy to just go to other kingdoms which could have damaged relations between different kingdoms however, his decision did give him to regroup and rethink.

Question 29

Wareham 876

Answer 29

this conflict marks the beginning of the second invasion of Wessex by the Vikings. After the conflict, Alfred proposed to the Vikings that they could swap hostages and they would pay significant amounts of riches to the Vikings to leave but only after the had sworn under oath that they would not return under their own gods , as an act of assurance. Although Guthrum did leave Wessex, he just set up camp over in Exeter. According to Asser, on his way Guthrum had throats of hostages cut however this could have been part of Asser’s anti-Viking propaganda

Question 30

Exeter 8770

Answer 30

Guthrums fleet did no arrive safely at Exeter and he lost about 3000 med due to a storm. Alfred marched to Exeter to make the same agreement as to what was made at Wareham. they exchanges hostages and swore under oath but this time Guthrum stuck to the agreement and moved up his camp to Mercia to set up camp in Gloucester.

Question 31

Chippenham 878

Answer 31

he again invaded Wessex and settled at Chippenham. the timing and strength took Alfred by surprise to which he took refuge at the somerset levels. months later Alfred had prepared a counter atk and met Guthrum at the battle of Edgington. Alfred succeeded greatly. Guthrum was in a weak position and so Alfred forced him to adapt Christian peace through baptism. Guthrum eventually left Wessex in oct 878 to settle in Cirencester, before focusing his attention on making a more permanent base in East Anglia. Generally, all was well till 885.

Question 32

Rochester and Benfleet 885

Answer 32

Vikings from Francia came and attacked Rochester. Alfred managed to fight them and make them flee England however some remained and ended up gaining some support from Guthrums East Anglian forces to plan revenge type raids against Wessex. Alfred tried to stop this and ended up wounding part of Guthrums flee however they regrouped and Alfred’s naval expedition were defeated. the events of 858 showed that Alfred would have to think of something far more reaching to reach lasting peace.

Question 33

francia

Answer 33

roughly the same territory as modern day France

Question 34

the fulham incident

Answer 34

Vikings arrived on the Thames in 879 potentially to join nup with Guthrums fleet and raiding London and East Anglia. some may have stayed however the majority seemed to vanish as quickly as they had arrived.

Question 35

why did Alfred capture London in 886

Answer 35

After the Rochester incident, Alfred seemed to think that London had strategic importance. the chronicles suggest that he may have tired to seize London somewhere between 882-883. Alfred officially took London in 886. He recognised that London would be a significant place for production and commerce.

Question 36

How did Alfred capture London in 886

Answer 36

Little is actually known om how Alfred took ctrl of Lundenwic . Asser claimed that it occurred “after so many towns had been burned and so many people slaughtered”. suggesting that something of a planned and fairly long-drawn out military campaign took place.

Question 37

with what effect did Alfred capture London in 886

Answer 37

taking London had effects on the city and on relations between Wessex and Mercia.
-Alfred restored the city and relocated the center to the old Roman site. he also utilized the old Roman remains and “restored the city of London splendidly”
-he built a new buhr for further defense
- Alfred allowed administration of commerce and trade along the river and gave the jurisdiction of the city to Aethelred to control.
- created a firmer bond with Aethelred (leader of Mercia) by arranging a marriage between Aethelred and his daughter Aethelflaed.
-the whole thing created “a sense of common identity under a common leader, in a common cause.”

Question 38

military success against the Vikings -leadership

Answer 38

Alfred seemed to gain a better understanding of military fights by learning from his mistakes. At the battle of Wilton(871) he wasn’t very prepared and had bad resources and couldn’t control his men. At the battles of Wareham(875) and Exeter(877, he showed more confidence and tactical awareness and gain some revenge. however he did get defeated at Chippenham(877). from 877 onwards Alfred seemed to show great military strength especially at the battle of Edington

Question 39

military success against the Vikings-strategy and tactics

Answer 39

his main aim was to keep the Vikings out of Wessex therefore he mainly focused on defense rather than offence. However changes in 886 when he took over London. Alfred learned to change his tactics according to what position he was in during different battles for example, when he was hiding at Athelney ,his deployment of gruella tactics really paid off as well as the Viking feigned retreat at Wilton.

Question 40

military success against the Vikings- reorganisations of army and navy resources

Answer 40

Before the 880’s the military was very badly organized and Alfred realized he needed to change this in order to defeat the Vikings.
-he split his army in 2, half at home, half away. this was effective because men at home could tend to the land and produce goods which ensured the land wasn’t neglected. and, this made room for rotation so that the men were not fighting on every battle. this helped the men plan their time more effectively and possibly boosted morale.

Question 41

Danelaw

Answer 41

a term used to describe the Land the Vikings usually had jurisdiction over and is roughly Yorkshire, East Anglia and the East Midlands. The Saxon chronicles makes it clear that the Danelaw was a completely separate division from Wessex and Mercia.

Question 42

Vikings feigned retreat at Wilton

Answer 42

May have been intentional however, it involved the Vikings retreating and their ops following. After time the Vikings wheeled around the Saxon soldiers this tactic was usually effective as the entrapment made it fairly easy to squeeze the ops into submission.

Question 43

why and with what consequences did the Vikings return in the 800’s

Answer 43

were most likely the same Vikings that arrived t the Thames estuary in 878 . they arrived in 892. they found out about Alfred win at Edgington and was discouraged to move towards London and further afield which made them flee the continent. Guthrum settled in east Anglia (879-890) thus establishing the final stage of the Danelaw. the Danelaw was cemented between 886-890 because Alfred and Guthrum signed a treaty. the forces that arrived in 892 were of great forces and were said to be lead by Hastein, a Viking warrior of the Great Heathen army of 865.

Question 44

why did the Vikings return

Answer 44

• in 891 the Vikings suffered a great defeat by King Arnulf of Francia in Flanders. A large number of the army were slaughtered.
  -in 892 the Vikings found it difficult to gather food due to some kind of blight that effected the crops. this initiated a famine which forced the Vikings to find resources in England. the franks aided them to get rid of them which allowed them to easily get across the channel.

Question 45

what were the consequences of the return of the Vikings in 892

Answer 45

-the English defenses were to be stretched more than ever there were four different groups of Viking armies and they would all Attack at the same time but at different locations.
-a positive would be that the Vikings left England again until 886 because they found it difficult to get a foothold into Wessex and Mercia due to the burh system and the reorganized army.
-England was becoming more unified because it was seen that Wessex, Mercia and Wales were all fighting together to defeat the Vikings and they used significant amounts of co-operation. the chronicle of the 890’s refers to Saxon groups as Christians, that is, as different people bound by one faith against a common foe.
- the chronicles state that Alfred had great skill and were destroying the Vikings however, historians such as Richard Abels suggest that the chronicler probably exadurated Alfred’s involvement to further promote him as king of all the Angle Saxons.