Other writers place the battle near Starveall, a short distance north of the village of Aldworth and south east of Lowbury Hill. [11] In the spring of 878, he summoned his West Saxon forces and marched to Edington, where he met the Danes, led by Guthrum, in battle. [8] So he retreated to the south, preparing himself and his forces for another battle, and then defeated Guthrum and his host. Guthrum was left overextended, and Alfred and his ealdormenbroke up the Danish supply lines and lines of communication. The Danes attacked Chippenham "in midwinter after Twelfth Night",[13] probably during the night of 67 January 878. This contribution has not yet been formally edited by Britannica. In January 878, during the Christmas festival, Guthrum and his army of cavalry raiderssurprised Alfred at his royal estate at Chippenham, nearly ending Alfred there and then. The first we read of Alfred after the disaster at Chippenham is around Easter, when he built a fortress at Athelney. Tinhead is labelled on the Ordnance . In May 878 in Edington, there was a greatest battle of this war. Both armies charged at each other and hand-to-hand fighting emerged. Travelers, explorers and adventurers like Florence Nightingale, David Livingstone, Ernest Shackleton, Lewis and Clark and Sherlock Holmes relied on maps to plan travels to the world's most remote corners, Timeless Maps is mapping most locations on the globe, showing the achievement of . Over the next few years this particular Danish faction had several encounters with Alfred's forces. The Great Heathen Army, which was formed to avenge the death of Ragnar Lothbrok, had smashed the Saxon . Updates? Meanwhile, Hvitserk, after cutting down several Saxon warriors despite receiving several injuries, gradually began to tire and struggled to fight on. Update now. The Account Given By Ohthere; . Hvitserk himself showed remarkable skill, cutting down dozens of Saxons while Alfred took down some Norse fighters. Battle of Edington - Location of The Battle Location of The Battle The primary sources for the location of the battle are Asser's Life of King Alfred, which names the place as "Ethandun" and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which has Eandune. Further Danish forces had settled on the land before Guthrum attacked Wessex: in East Anglia, and in Mercia between the treaty at Exeter and the attack on Chippenham; many others were lost in a storm off Swanage in 876877, with 120 ships wrecked. . Viking defeat. Alfred spent Christmas at Chippenham (in Wessex), thirty miles (50km) from Gloucester . Alfred gains his army. At the Battle of Edington, an army of the kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. Although these articles may currently differ in style from others on the site, they allow us to provide wider coverage of topics sought by our readers, through a diverse range of trusted voices. This name continues to be used. Consequently, in 879 the Viking army left Chippenham and made its way to Cirencester (in the kingdom of Mercia) and remained there for a year. Joshua Fit De Battle of Jericho (l. 13), 'Woeful Danes', Michinhampton, Gloucestershire. They held the northeast area of the country. Place Guthrum and his men had adopted the usual Danish strategy of occupying a fortified town and waiting for a peace "treaty", involving money in return for a promise to leave the kingdom immediately; Alfred shadowed the army, trying to prevent more damage than had already occurred. Also in 879, according to Asser, another Viking army sailed up the River Thames and wintered at Fulham in Middlesex. Internal disunity was threatening to tear the Danes apart, and they needed time to reorganize. According to the Life: "Fighting ferociously, forming a dense shield-wall against the whole army of the Pagans, and striving long and bravelyat last he [Alfred] gained the victory. The primary sources for the location of the battle are Asser's Life of King Alfred, which names the place as "Ethandun" and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which has Eandun. Something Something. "The Pale Horseman" Primary sources locate the battle at " Eandun ". 118-120, Wood. Battle of Edington At the Battle of Edington, an army of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same Year. The men of even one shire could be a formidable fighting force, as those of Devon proved in the same year, defeating an army under Ubbe Ragnarsson at the Battle of Cynwit. [9] He made several attacks on Wessex, starting in 875, and in the last nearly captured Alfred in his winter fortress at Chippenham. The next day, Alfred's host moved to Iley Oak, and then the day after that to Eandun. However, the system of military reforms and the Burghal Hidage introduced by Edward the Elder enabled Alfred's successors to retake control of the lands occupied in the North of England by the Danes.[59][60]. Wessex had always been the focal point for Viking raids and invasions. Warriors don't show their heart until the axe reveals it. Something Something. Fought on 14 October at what is now Battle (Sussex), where William the Conqueror ordered the construct, Battle of Northampton Edington, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, England, N 51 16' 32'', W 2 6' 23'', map, Timeless Map published in 2021. A great famine soon followed these tokens; and a little after that, in the same year, on the 6th before the Ides of January, the ravaging of heathen men lamentably destroyed God's church at Lindisfarne through rapine and slaughter. Edington, Wiltshire is known to have been part of Alfred's family estate. Battle Edington Memorial. Ivar then took his last breath as both his and Alfred's army ceased hostilities. Fight of Athelney This was even truer after the Twelfth Night attack. Of course, at times, tension or violence would flare up between different polities, especially as the geopolitical map began to shift in the late ninth century and early 10th century. He overthrew the Pagans with great slaughter, and smiting the fugitives, he pursued them as far as the fortress.". Where is Edington, the scene of Alfred the Great's great victory over the Danes? Depicting scenes recorded using the strategy game A Total War Saga: THRONES OF BRITANNIA, the British studio Creative Assembly have made a short documentary charting the rise and fall of the Anglo Saxons, between Alfred the Great's victory over the Viking invaders at the battle of Edington, to King Harold's demise at the Battle of Hastings. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Guthrum came to England with an initial force of six hundred warriors, but soon gains more influence among the . He was then carried away in a wagon on the road back to Winchester. In May of 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. [39] Although most early historians had sited the battle as in the Edington area, the significant interest in the subject encouraged many antiquarians to dig up Alfredian sites and also to propose alternatives for the location of the battle. Photo by Hel-hama CC BY-SA 3.0 . Sursele primare localizeaz btlia la Ethandun sau Ethandune i, pn la un consens academic, locul btliei este identificat cu Edington, n Wiltshire.Btlia a fost cunoscut i sub numele de . The chronicle was compiled during the reign of Alfred the Great and is thus a contemporary record. [9], By 878, the Danes held the east and northeast of England; their defeat at the Battle of Ashdown had paused but not halted their advance. Over 2,500 Warriors deathsKing HaraldIvar the Boneless They captured Chippenham and forced Alfred to retreat "with a small force" into the wilderness. Queen Elsewith was then captured by two Viking warriors disguised as Mercian soldiers and dragged accross rhe battlefield, but she managed to free herself and kill her captors. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Icelandic Saga Map; slendingasgur; Vlsunga saga; Ohthere and Wulfstan at the Court of King Alfred. At a signal from Ivar, boulders were set aflame and loosed on the Saxon ranks, inflicting casualties. In the meantime, more information about the article and the author can be found by clicking on the authors name. These articles have not yet undergone the rigorous in-house editing or fact-checking and styling process to which most Britannica articles are customarily subjected. The battle which took place at Ethandun on this day, May 6, 878 ensured that Christianity would survive in England. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}511550N 020834W / 51.26389N 2.14278W / 51.26389; -2.14278. . This points primarily the area around Wilton House and the former abbey, or possibly the site of the current town centre. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! The Memorial stone plaque reads: Wood. Ivar soon caught up with his brother and told him not to fight anymore. Vicious hand-to-hand fighting emerged but the Saxon ranks were thinning as archers took their toll. This site may or may not be it. Ivar's legs then completely gave out, shattering all of his bones before collapsing on the ground. Alfred's decisive defeat of Guthrum the Dane freed much of the south and west of England from Danish control and brought to a halt Guthrum's assault on Alfred's Wessex. Only the victory of Alfred the Great at Edington saved Anglo-Saxon independence. The arrival of a Danish "great army" in East Anglia in 865 marked the start of a new phase of Viking attacks on Britain. At the start of the year, the Vikings, led by Guthrum (one of many self-proclaimed Danish kings) broke previous terms of peace between him and Alfred and launched a surprise attack on Chippenham, where Alfred was staying over the winter. Hist. In 1904 William Henry Stevenson analysed possible sites and said "So far, there is nothing to prove the identity of this Eandune with Edington" but then goes on to say that "there can be little reason for questioning it". Burkitt, Annette, Burkitt suggests that on philological grounds, Iley, written by Asser as 'y glea', may refer to Old Welsh (Asser is writing, a Welshman) 'y lle' 'at the place'. . 867: Macedonian Renaissance. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Viking Invasion of British Isles across 26 in-depth pages. Hide Map Menu. Heavy, 1,300 soldiers deathsSister AnnisBishop Aldulf The kingdom of Mercia was divided up, with part going to Alfred's Wessex and the other part to Guthrum's East Anglia. Although most early historians had sited the battle as in the Edington area, the significant interest in the subject encouraged many antiquarians to dig up Alfredian sites and also to propose alternatives for the location of the battle. Map from Laborde's original 1925 paper suggesting the location of the Battle of Maldon. Alfreds Wessex controlled the south and west, Viking Danelaw the north and east. To his horror, Hvitserk noticed that Ivar's eyes are now completely blue as this was a sign that he was more capable of breaking the bones of his legs. The first Viking raid on Anglo-Saxon England is thought to have occurred between 786 and 802 at Portland in the Kingdom of Wessex, when three Norse ships arrived; their men killed King Beorhtric's reeve. 120-125. Despite the victory of the king of Wessex Ethelred over the Great Heathen Army at the battle of Ashdown fought in 871, Viking leaders - the sons of Ragnar Lo. In the 9th century, the Danes had been steadily invading England, pushing and prodding the Anglo-Saxon residents. 878: Alfred the Great defeated the remnants of the Great Heathen Army at the Battle of Edington. A Black Dane Army nearly attacked Wessex a few months after Harald's defeat but Ubbe convinced them to settle in East Anglia instead. [27], The location of the battle accepted by most present-day historians is at Edington, near Westbury in Wiltshire. After it had set up camp, the West Saxon Army moved on to the forest beyond the field of Edington to confront the Norse forces. Alfreds warriors, fighting on foot, confronted the Danes with a dense shield wall. In this year, Alfred succeeded his brother Ethelred, who died after the Battle of Merton. The primary reason for Alfred's victory was probably the relative size of the two armies. It is possible that the enforced conversion was an attempt by Alfred to lock Guthrum into a Christian code of ethics, hoping it would ensure the Danes' compliance with any treaties agreed to. Battle of Ethandun 878. The battle was fought in 878, when the Wessex army, under King Alfred, defeated the "Great Heathen Army" under the Viking king Guthrum. Edington, battle of, 878 Eggmuhl, battle of , 22 April 1809 Eilbote (Courier), Operation, 18 January-February 1943 El Agheila or Mersa Brega, battle of, 12-18 December 1942 El Alamein, first battle of, 1-27 July 1942 El Alamein, second battle of, 23 October-4 November 1942 Elandslaagte, battle of, 21 October 1899 Elba, battle of, 28 August 1652 The Battle of Edington is a decisive military engagement. The Battle of Barry is a legendary battle in which the Scots, purportedly led by Malcolm II, defeated a Danish invasion force in 1010 AD. But four months is around 120 days. After the victory, when the Danes had taken refuge in the fortress, the West Saxons removed all food that the Danes might be able to capture in a sortie, and waited. Alternatives to Edington, Wiltshire, have been suggested since early times. What made this army different from those before it was the intent of the leaders. (January 18, 2023). 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