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Article: ANGLO-SAXONS UNITE AGAINST THE VIKING THREAT.
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- February 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Vikings first invaded England in A.D. 789. More came in 793, when, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the "ravages of heathen men miserably destroyed God's church on Lindisfarne, with plunder and slaughter." For the next century, Danish Vikings routinely raided England.
While some rulers of England's various kingdoms met the invaders on the battlefield, others temporarily "made peace" by paying the raiders. By 870, Wessex was the only surviving Anglo-Saxon kingdom, and it refused to surrender to the Vikings. In 871, the West Saxon leader Aethelred and his brother Alfred organized a campaign of military resistance. Aethelred died soon after and the ...