How King Alfred Destroyed the Great Heathen Army | Edington 878 AD
Forbidden Chronicle
70,381 views
In 878 AD, the Kingdom of Wessex was the very last Anglo-Saxon territory standing against the unstoppable Great Heathen Army. England was on the brink of total annihilation. This is the brutal, true story of King Alfred the Great and the legendary Battle of Edington—the desperate shield-wall clash that saved a nation.
Fleeing into the treacherous swamps of Athelney, a defeated King Alfred waged a desperate guerrilla war against the Viking warlord, Guthrum the Old. Against impossible odds, Alfred rallied the remaining militias (the fyrd) of Somerset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire for one final, apocalyptic showdown.
From the terrifying Viking siege tactics and claustrophobic shield-wall combat to the climactic turning point on the bloody fields of Edington, we explore the tactics, the armor, and the sheer human endurance of 9th-century warfare. Discover how a hunted exile broke the Viking occupation, secured the Treaty of Wedmore, and laid the foundations for a united England.
If King Alfred had fallen at Edington, the England we know today would not exist.
#BattleOfEdington #AlfredTheGreat #Vikings #AngloSaxon #MedievalHistory
20 Comments
Guthrum was a Dane. Most , but not all of the "viking" raiders were Danes in England. But England wasn't England in Alfred's time. It was several Saxon ruled kingdoms, , with the Danes controlling large parts of it. Wessex was the last to fall. That was until Alfred pushed them back. Guthrum, before and after this battle ruled what is now East Anglia.
The term "viking" was used as a verb describing a journey abroad. You could literally "go a-viking".
Vikings, predominantly from Norway, invaded Scotland and Ireland.
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How King Alfred Destroyed the Great Heathen Army | Edington 878 AD
Forbidden Chronicle
70,381 views
In 878 AD, the Kingdom of Wessex was the very last Anglo-Saxon territory standing against the unstoppable Great Heathen Army. England was on the brink of total annihilation. This is the brutal, true story of King Alfred the Great and the legendary Battle of Edington—the desperate shield-wall clash that saved a nation.
Fleeing into the treacherous swamps of Athelney, a defeated King Alfred waged a desperate guerrilla war against the Viking warlord, Guthrum the Old. Against impossible odds, Alfred rallied the remaining militias (the fyrd) of Somerset, Wiltshire, and Hampshire for one final, apocalyptic showdown.
From the terrifying Viking siege tactics and claustrophobic shield-wall combat to the climactic turning point on the bloody fields of Edington, we explore the tactics, the armor, and the sheer human endurance of 9th-century warfare. Discover how a hunted exile broke the Viking occupation, secured the Treaty of Wedmore, and laid the foundations for a united England.
If King Alfred had fallen at Edington, the England we know today would not exist.
#BattleOfEdington #AlfredTheGreat #Vikings #AngloSaxon #MedievalHistory