THE VIKING KINGS OF ENGLAND

THE VIKING KINGS OF ENGLAND

The Vikings of Scandinavia had been raiding Britain since the 780, sacking the famous monastery at Lindisfarne in 793. The Vikings soon began to settle, and progressively defeated the English kingdoms. The Danish leader Guthrum made a famous peace treaty with Alfred that set him up as ruler of eastern England, or ‘Danelaw’ as it became known. He ended up effectively as King of East Anglia. In the north the Vikings established the Kingdom of Jorvic (or York) that ruled Northumbria. Its last king was the murderous Eric Bloodaxe, who was ousted by King Eadred after murdering several half-brothers in a colourful career. There was a lull in attacks in the tenth century but in the early eleventh century the Vikings came back in force. King Aethelred and King Edmund desperately fought to maintain England’s independence but England fell under the control of King Swein (‘Forkbeard’) of Denmark, whose son Cnut became the first Viking King of all England.