BattlefieldsExeter Viking Siege 1003
Early Medieval

Exeter Viking Siege 1003

1003
England
Era
Early Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Exeter garrison and English defenders
Forces
Exeter garrison
VS
Victor
Danish army under Sweyn Forkbeard
Forces
Danish army under Sweyn Forkbeard
Outcome
Exeter sacked; walls demolished; city heavily damaged
The Battle

History & Significance

Sweyn Forkbeard besieged and sacked Exeter in 1003, having the gates opened by Hugh the Norman reeve who was apparently in his pay; the city was devastated and the walls demolished, one of the most damaging Viking attacks on a fortified English town in the Ethelredian period.

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