Great Heathen Army Arrives in East Anglia (865)
Who Fought
The Great Heathen Army, led by Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless, and Ubba, sons of Ragnar Lodbrok. Precise numbers are unknown, though sources described it as among the largest forces of its kind. East Anglian forces under King Edmund did not resist the initial landing.
History & Significance
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Viking Great Army, was a coalition of Scandinavian warriors who invaded England in AD 865. Since the late 8th century, the Vikings had been engaging in raids on centres of wealth, such as monasteries. The Great Heathen Army was much larger and aimed to conquer and occupy the four kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex.
The name Great Heathen Army is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The force was led by three of the five sons of the semi-legendary Ragnar Lodbrok, including Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ivar the Boneless and Ubba. The campaign of invasion and conquest against the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms lasted 14 years. Surviving sources give no firm indication of its numbers, but it was described as amongst the largest forces of its kind.
The invaders initially landed in East Anglia, where King Edmund provided them with horses for their campaign in return for peace. They spent the winter of 865–866 at Thetford, before marching north to capture York in November 866. York had been founded as the Roman legionary fortress of Eboracum and revived as the Anglo-Saxon trading port of Eoforwic. During 867, the army marched deep into Mercia and wintered in Nottingham. The Mercians agreed to terms with the Viking army, which moved back to York for the winter of 868–869. In 869, the Great Army returned to East Anglia, conquering it and killing its king. The army moved to winter quarters in Thetford.
In 871, the Vikings moved on to Wessex, where Alfred the Great paid them to leave. The army then marched to London to overwinter in 871–872. The following campaigning season the army first moved to York, where it gathered reinforcements. This force campaigned in northeastern Mercia, after which it spent the winter at Torksey, on the Trent close to the Humber. The following campaigning season it seems to have subdued much of Mercia. Burgred, the king of Mercia, fled overseas and Ceolwulf, described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as "a foolish king's thegn" was imposed in his place. The army spent the following winter at Repton on the middle Trent, after which the army seems to have divided. One group seems to have returned to Northumbria, where they settled in the area, while another group seems to have turned to invade Wessex.
By this time, only the kingdom of Wessex had not been conquered. In May 878 Alfred the Great defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington, and a treaty was agreed whereby the Vikings were able to remain in control of much of northern and eastern England, a region later known as the Danelaw, which was formalised in the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum.
The ground they fought on
The site of Great Heathen Army Arrives in East Anglia (865) lies on White Chalk Subgroup, bedrock that formed in the Maastrichtian. The rock here is chalk.
When the Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia in 865, King Edmund chose accommodation over confrontation, supplying the Norse warriors with horses in exchange for peace. The army wintered at Thetford before striking north to seize York the following year, demonstrating from the outset that this was no ordinary raid but a methodical campaign of conquest led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, including Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan Ragnarsson.
- No casualties recorded for the initial arrival and settlement in East Anglia in 865.
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