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In the mid-tenth century Denmark began to emerge as a major power, heralding in what is known as the Second Viking Age. As the Danish kingdom became increasingly powerful, Viking raiders began to target the British Isles with a renewed ferocity.
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On 8 June 793, the terrified inhabitants of the small Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne found themselves under attack. Norse longboats landed on the holy island with the intention of plundering its monastery’s riches. Treasures were stolen, religious relics destroyed and monks murdered, in a brutal and shocking start to centuries of Viking activity in Britain.
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The formation of the Great Heathen Army in 865 marked a turning point in the Vikings’ relationship with Britain. Up until this point, Scandinavian expeditions to the British Isles had consisted of smaller raiding parties on ‘smash-and-grab’ missions. Their intention was to plunder the islands’ riches before returning to their homelands with the loot. The Great Heathen Army was different however – it was a calculated invasion force.
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Led by Ivar the Boneless and Halfdan, Scandinavian forces attacked the town on All Saints’ Day. Launching the assault on a holy day proved an effective tactical move – most of York’s leaders were in the cathedral, leaving the town vulnerable to attack and unprepared for battle.
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By the 870s, the Great Heathen Army had conquered huge swathes of north-east England. However, Viking forces had failed to conquer Wessex, under the rule of Alfred the Great. After two unsuccessful invasion attempts, in 878 the army launched a third attack on Alfred’s kingdom. At the ensuing battle of Edington, they met with a crushing defeat at the hands of the Anglo-Saxons and Viking leader Guthrum met with Alfred to negotiate terms.
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The British Isles were not the only destination of seafaring Norse traders, raiders and adventurers. Paris, Iceland, Italy and even the Iberian peninsula and Morocco were also visited by the Vikings.
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By 1013, after years of raiding England, Danish king Swein Forkbeard set his sights on conquering the country entirely. Although Swein had been campaigning in Britain from 991 onwards, fighting had been piecemeal. His troops were repeatedly forced back to Scandinavia – in 999 by an attempted coup in his homeland and in 1005 by famine in Britain. However, after decades of patchy campaigning, in 1013 Swein’s attempts to conquer the entirety of Anglo-Saxon England finally came to fruition.
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The death of Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor (of the House of Wessex) in 1066 led to a power-struggle for the English crown. The Viking contender for the throne was Harald Hardrada, king of Norway. Descended from the line of the kings of Norway ousted by Cnut a generation earlier, Hardrada claimed a right to the throne based on an agreement between his father and Hardicanute, Cnut’s son and successor.