Swein Forkbeard S Invasions And The Danish Conquest Of England 991 1017

This book takes a new look at Scandinavian invasions of England after 991 and the personalities involved, drawing on re-examination of manuscript sources.

The battle of Fulford was fought just south of York on 20th September 1066 between the Northern Earls and King Harald Hardrada, leading a Norse army. Harald Hardrada had the trecherous Earl Tostig, the brother of King Harold II, king of England, as his ally. Tostig might have devised the strategy that detained his brother, defending the south coast from the expected invasion from Normandy. But King Harold was already on his way north when the battle took place. Finding Fulford sets out a confident hypothesis for the location, based on the body of evidence and research undertaken to find the first of the three battles of that autumn. The report finds that the literature identifies a location south of York and the geology uniquely points to Germany Beck as the only militarily significant ditch mentioned in several sources as the place of the battle. Modelling the way the landscape has changed since 1066 allows the descriptions provided for the battle, to be tested. The reconstructed surface provides positive feedback for the literature and helps to make more sense of what was written in Norse sources about the course of the battle. The emergence of substantial quantities of ferrous material just south of the Beck, reinforces the claim of Germany Beck as the place of the battle. These notable concentrations of ferrous finds, including, tools, axes and other shaped billets, were co-located with hearth bottoms, slag, charcoal, and tuy res fragments. The shape of the billets suggests a military rather than a civil use. The interpretation provided is of post-battle reprocessing. There was not one centrally organised workshop since the number, and spread of hearths, suggests a 'gold rush', perhaps with each warband processing material. These sites were found to corresponded closely to the assumed area of the fighting and no similar sites were found in the surrounding areas which was also surveyed. It is also suggested that the work was disrupted by the defeat of the Viking invaders at Stamford Bridge, five days after their victory at Fulford. This is an important assumption as it helps explain why so much material was abandoned at Fulford in a pattern that has not yet been found elsewhere. The interrupted-reprocessing hypothesis also explains why other sites of similar antiquity have failed to yield a single weapon fragment. If the recycling work had been completed, only hearth debris would have been found, so the Fulford site might be unique. Almost as important as the evidence that has emerged was that no contra-indicators were found to cast doubt on the proposed site nor were any consistent pointers to another location identified, even though much work was devoted to searching for alternate sites before Germany Beck was identified as the locus. The investigation of the Fulford battlefield was done under some unnecessarily restrictive conditions and a chapter is devoted to work that needs to be undertaken. The evidence suggests that the site still has much to reveal. Alongside the archaeological investigations, the report relates the events of the three battles of 1066 and also provides a detailed narrative of the battle, based on all that has been revealed by the work. The whole style of the work is designed to make it accessible to any interested reader.

If the Viking Wars had not taken place, would there have been a united England in the tenth century? Martyn Whittock believes not, arguing that without them there would have been no rise of the Godwin family and their conflict with Edward the Confessor, no Norman connection, no Norman Conquest and no Domesday Book. All of these features of English history were the products, or by-products, of these conflicts and the threat of Scandinavian attack. The wars and responses to them accelerated economic growth; stimulated state formation and an assertive sense of an English national identity; created a hybrid Anglo-Scandinavian culture that spread beyond the so-called Danelaw; and caused an upheaval in the ruling elite. By looking at the entire period of the wars and by taking a holistic view of their political, economic, social and cultural effects, their many-layered impact can at last be properly assessed.

This volume explores the issues of taking, using and being hostages in the Middle Ages. It brings together recent research in the areas of hostages and hostageships, looking at the act of hostage-taking and the hostages themselves through the lenses of political and social history. Building upon previous work, this volume in particular critically examines not only the situations of hostages and hostageships but also the broader social and political context of each situation, developing a more complete picture of the phenomenon.

A leading medievalist of his generation studies Anglo-Norman practice in the raising and maintaining of armed forces, and its effect on the government and economy.

"Although this book provides a selection from sources and interpretations of warfare in Viking-Age England, and presents a consideration of them, it is more than a purely historiographical study. It investigates the current state of scholarship and the key points of its development, indicating areas for enquiry and point out some less familiar sources along the way. The intention is not to deal with the canon of historical works on the Anglo-Saxon army, for remarkably there is no 'canon' as such. Much, though by no means all, scholarship on the organization of military systems in the Anglo-Saxon state has been undertaken by historians and scholars from related disciplines for whom warfare is not a primary concern. Many of the sources used will be familiar to students of early medieval England, but others are included because they are less often considered ... I have not attempted to use a chronological structure, nor have I retold any particular narrative history of the English Kingdom during the Viking Age, although for the reader's convenience a chronology of events is included as an appendix. The focus is rather the exploration of the practice and politics of warfare."--Preface.

Harold II is chiefly remembered today, perhaps unfairly, for the brevity of his reign and his death at the Battle of Hastings. The papers collected here seek to shed new light on the man and his milieu before and after that climax. They explore the long career and the dynastic network behind Harold Godwinesson's accession on the death of King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, looking in particular at the important questions as to whether Harold's kingship was opportunist or long-planned; a usurpation or a legitimate succession in terms of his Anglo-Scandinavian kinships? They also examine the posthumous legends that Harold survived Hastings and lived on as a religious recluse. The essays in the second part of the volume focus on the Bayeux Tapestry, bringing out the small details which would have resonated significantly for contemporary audiences, both Norman and English, to suggest how they judged Harold and the other players in the succession drama of 1066. Other aspects of the Tapestry are also covered: the possible patron and locations the Tapestry was produced for; where and how it was designed; and the various sources - artistic and real - employed by the artist.

A complete survey of the military campaigns of the early Saxons, tactics, strategy, and logistics, demonstrating in particular the sophistication of the administration involved. Over the course of half a century, the first two kings of the Saxon dynasty, Henry I (919-936) and Otto I (936-973), waged war across the length and breadth of Europe. Ottonian armies campaigned from the banks of the Oder in the east to the Seine in the west, and from the shores of the Baltic Sea in the north, to the Adriatic and Mediterranean in the south. In the course of scores of military operations, accompanied by diligent diplomatic efforts, Henry and Otto recreated the empire of Charlemagne, and established themselves as the hegemonic rulers in Western Europe. This book shows how Henry I and Otto I achieved this remarkable feat, and provides a comprehensive analysis ofthe organization, training, morale, tactics, and strategy of Ottonian armies over a long half century. Drawing on a vast array of sources, including exceptionally important information developed through archaeological excavations, it demonstrates that the Ottonian kings commanded very large armies in military operations that focused primarily on the capture of fortifications, including many fortress cities of Roman origin. This long-term military success shows that Henry I and Otto I, building upon the inheritance of their Carolingian predecessors, and ultimately that of the late Roman empire, possessed an extensive and well-organized administration, and indeed, bureaucracy, whichmobilized the resources that were necessary for the successful conduct of war. David S. Bachrach is Associate Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire.