The Battle of Maldon is one of the most famous engagements of the Anglo-Saxon period, celebrated in the Old English poem of the same name. Ealdorman Byrhtnoth of Essex allowed the Viking army to cross from the island of Northey at the causeway — a perhaps chivalric or tactical error — and was then killed and his army routed. The battle led directly to the policy of paying Danegeld, the tribute to buy off Viking attacks that drained England\'s resources for decades. The poem\'s account of Byrhtnoth\'s retainers dying with their lord became the definitive statement of Anglo-Saxon loyalty.
Byrhtnoth killed; significant English losses; Viking casualties unknown
Viking: Olaf Tryggvason with fleet army. English: Byrhtnoth with Essex levy and household troops
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