BattlefieldsViking Raid on Minster in Thanet 853
Early Medieval

Viking Raid on Minster in Thanet 853

853
England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Monastic community and Kentish defenders
Forces
monastic community and Kentish defenders
VS
Victor
Danish Vikings
Forces
Danish raiders
Outcome
Minster in Thanet raided; Viking use of the island as forward base continued
The Battle

History & Significance

A Viking force overwintered on the Isle of Thanet in 850-851 and raided Minster abbey repeatedly in the 850s. The monastery at Minster in Thanet had been one of the earliest and most important English religious houses. The repeated Viking use of Thanet as a base showed the vulnerability of the Kentish coast to sustained Danish pressure.

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