BattlefieldsSweyn Forkbeard's Conquest — Gainsborough (1013)
Early Medieval

Sweyn Forkbeard's Conquest — Gainsborough (1013)

1013
Lincolnshire, England
Also known as: Sweyn's Conquest of England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Siege
Location
Lincolnshire, England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Aethelred II of England
Forces
Aethelred II c. 5,000–10,000.
VS
Victor
Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark
Forces
Sweyn c. 10,000–15,000
Outcome
England submitted; Aethelred fled to Normandy; Sweyn crowned king
The Battle

History & Significance

Sweyn Forkbeard's 1013 campaign was not a raid but a systematic conquest. Landing at Gainsborough, the Five Boroughs and Northumbria submitted immediately. Oxford, Winchester, and most of England followed. London — where Aethelred and Thorkell the Tall still held out — finally submitted. Aethelred fled to Normandy. Sweyn was accepted as king of all England, though he died only five weeks later in February 1014.

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