Today in Military History: October 18, 1016:Battle of Ashingdon: Danes Defeat Saxons

 by Siggurdsson

Vikings attacking Saxon line (foreground)
From the History Channel series, "Vikings"
Image courtesy of http://articles.latimes.com
(Unless otherwise indicated, all illustrations are courtesy of Wikipedia)

Today's side-trip through history is devoted to two areas of history which are favorites of mine: the Dark Ages and the Vikings. Today's conflict is centered on the Norse takeover of the England and its incorporation into a North Sea empire, though it was rather short-lived.

Background
By the beginning of the eleventh century (approximately AD 1000), Anglo-Saxon England had endured two hundred years of raids and attacks by Norsemen from Denmark and Norway. A large section of east-central England had been settled by the Vikings, transformed into the "Danelaw," meaning that Danish laws and customs prevailed in that area. King Alfred the Great of Wessex managed to overcome a number of Viking invasions and agreed to peace with the heathen Norse in the year 879 or 880.

Danelaw, circa AD 880

However, by the 980s Viking raids came again, and many times they received the tacit aid of inhabitants of the Danelaw. This was mainly because the Anglo-Saxon money system was highly developed with 60 mints around the country. Every five or six years the coinage in circulation would cease to be legal tender; all the money would be recalled, and new coins would be issued. This sophisticated arrangement brought Vikings from Denmark, Norway, Manx, and Ireland to plunder England. Rather than suffer plunder and raids by the Vikings, Anglo-Saxon monarchs began paying "protection money," or danegeld, to make the marauders just go away.
Between 991 and 1012, five separate payments of extortion money were made to the Vikings. In 991, 10,000 Roman pounds of gold was paid. The year 994 saw 16,000 pounds of silver paid out, with 24,000 pound of gold and silver given away in 1002, 36,000 pounds of gold and silver in 1007, and in 1012 48,000 pounds of gold and silver was paid. Rather than satisfying the Vikings, the "generosity" of the English only whetted their appetite for more "shiny metal."

Silver penny of King Æthelred II, circa 1003-9
(Note he is armored and wearing a helmet)

In 978 Æthelred – half-brother of reigning monarch Edward – was crowned king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom after Edward was assassinated by one of his half-sibling's retainers. Though he ruled for 38 years, his reign was an unmitigated disaster for England. He went down in English history as Æthelred Unraed (often mis-translated as "Æthelred the Unready" but a closer translation would be "Æthelred the Badly-Advised"). One English historian, truly contemptuous of Æthelred, stated that the monarch "…occupied the kingdom, rather than governed it."
To make matters worse, in the summer of 1013, Sven Forkbeard, King of Denmark, brought the Danish fleet to Sandwich, Kent. From there he went north to the Danelaw, where the locals immediately agreed to support him. He then struck south, forcing Æthelred into exile in Normandy. However, on February 3, 1014 Sven died suddenly. Capitalizing on his death, Æthelred returned to England and drove Sven's son, Cnut (also spelled Canute), back to Denmark, forcing him to abandon his allies in the process.
Prelude to the Battle
In 1015, Cnut launched a new campaign against England with a fleet of 160 ships. Æthelred, rather than meet the Norse threat head-on, shut himself up in London. Æthelred's son Edmund took the initiative and raised a succession of armies to oppose Cnut. He accomplished this without his father's blessing, essentially acting as an independent warlord. King Æthelred died on April 23, 1016, and the people of London selected Edmund as king of the English. [For his military exploits and willingness to personally engage the invading Danes, historians gave Edmund the nom de guerre of "Ironside."]

Edmund Ironside, from the "Genealogical roll of the Kings of England"
Author & artist unknown, early 14th century from the British Library, UK

King Edmund Ironside was likely a charismatic, iron-willed leader, raising one army after another from Wessex and East Anglia (the latter being the heart of the Danelaw.) Between April and October of 1016, Edmund Ironside fought at least four battles with Cnut's army, and raised two separate sieges of London. After losing the fight at Otford, the invaders fled eastward into the county of Kent (in the southeast corner of England), where they had beached their invasion fleet at the Isle of Sheppey. The Danes then marched northward toward the East Midlands, probably hoping to acquire reinforcements and supplies from the inhabitants of the Danelaw – and probably hoping to do a little looting and the like along the way. Near the modern-day town of Ashdon (most probably) in Essex –63 miles NNE of London – the pursing Anglo-Saxon army caught up to the fleeing Danes. Determined to win or die, Cnut and his men decided to give battle. [One chronicle claims Edmund challenged Cnut and his army to fight. Cnut replied that he would be happy to do so – once he had reached ground to his liking.]
Danish Army
The chronicles of this battle do not give any solid figures on the size of the Danish army. However, it can be inferred that the invasion force was smaller than the Anglo-Saxon army opposing them. Over the course of the previous 6-10 months, the Vikings had been ravaging wide portions of southern England, had fought at least four major battles, and probably did not receive more than token reinforcements from their relatives in the Danelaw or from Denmark. A fair guess for the Viking army would be 2500-3000 men, perhaps as many as 4000.
Also, in contrast to Viking raids in the past, the Danish Vikings were no longer "heathens;" Denmark had converted to Christianity in about 965, mainly to avoid being attacked by the Holy Roman Empire. So Cnut's invasion was not a pagan attack on a Christian nation, but an attempt by one Christian nation to add England to the Danish empire.
Anglo-Saxon Army
Edmund Ironside had raised at least three separate armies in previous five months. He had called up the fyrd – the Anglo-Saxon militia – in at least three different locations of his realm. By the literary evidence of the sources, Edmund's army at Ashingdon was mostly from East Anglia, the East Midlands, and Hampshire. Considering the various locations which responded to his call, King Edmund's army may have numbered about 5000 soldiers.
As he was pursuing the retreating Danes, King Edmund received a surprise. Eadric Streona, an earl from Shropshire who earlier in the year had declared his loyalty to Cnut, decided to rejoin his countrymen. His main motivation was likely the perception that the Danes' fortunes were on the wane, and he wanted to be on the winning side (in other words, he was an opportunist). Grateful for the additional fighting men added to his force, Ironside forgave the wayward noble's earlier indiscretion, and welcomed him – and his warriors -- back. [Foreshadowing: BIG MISTAKE!!!]
Battle of Ashingdon
[There is not a lot of solid information about this battle; historians are not even sure exactly were it occurred. It is mentioned in a couple versions of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle." In addition, a history known as "Encomium Emmae Reginae" (In Praise of Queen Emma), a history dedicated to Queen Emma of Normandy, the wife of Æthelred Unraed, step-mother of Edmund Ironside, and later queen consort of Cnut, gives some data. Another source used by modern historians is a chronicle by the monk John of Worcester, the "Chronicon ex chronicis," more simply known as the "Chronicle of John of Worcester." Another middling source is the "Knytlinga saga," an Icelandic saga of the descendant's of Cnut written in the 1250s. As a consequence, my description of the battle will be a bit scanty, compared to my usual posts.]
If the sources are believed, the two armies had encamped near Ashdon on October 17. The next morning, the feast day of St. Luke, both forces were up early. The two sides prepared their battle lines just outside their respective camps, which were about 2 miles apart (if John of Worcester is correct).

Gritty hand-to-hand fighting between Vikings and Saxons
Image courtesy of https://www.artstation.com/artwork/vikings-battle

Sometime between sunrise (about 7:30 am) and 9:00 am, the Anglo-Saxon army began approaching the Danish battle formation, which also began to move toward the English array. The Norsemen were likely aligned in the standard shield-wall common to most armies of Scandinavia, England, Scotland, and Ireland. [The invaders were probably moving much slower than Edmund's army, as the shield-wall is not designed for rapid movement. It is designed to allow the front lines of an army to interlock their shield to protect their comrades. Therefore, it was probably much looser than normal, but once the enemy came within range, the Danes would halt and assume a tighter arrangement.] Both sides likely prayed to God seeking His protection in the coming battle. Of course, there were probably a few holdouts in the Danish ranks, praying to the "Old Gods".
As he had done in the previous battles of 1016, King Edmund led his army from the front. He ordered his warriors forward to engage the Danish shield-wall. However, as the Anglo-Saxons charged the Danish force, Eadric Streona showed his true colors. He ordered his personal battle standard furled, and led his Mercian levies away from the conflict. Whether Eadric did this on his own, or as a maneuver pre-arranged with the connivance of Cnut, the chroniclers disagree. With the desertion of Streona and his men, the morale of Edmund's army took a step down.
Nonetheless, the English army still outnumbered the Danes, so the battle was joined. It was a long, drawn out struggle. According to the "Encomium Emmae":

[King Edmund] advanced into the midst of the enemy, cutting down Danes on all sides, and by this example, rendering his noble followers more inclined to fight. Therefore, a very severe infantry battle was joined, since the Danes, although the less numerous side, did not contemplate withdrawal, and chose death rather than the danger attending flight. And so they resisted manfully…Armed men fell on both sides, but more on the side which had superiority in numbers [the English]…

There is another reason the Danes fought so doggedly. The "Encomium" stated that Cnut had a magical banner, which usually appeared only as a plain, unadorned white silk. However, before a battle, a black raven would mystically appear on the banner. If the raven "opened its beak, flapped its wings, and was restive on its feet," the Danes were going to win the battle. Prior to the battle, the raven was very active.

Viking raven banner
Image courtesy of http://www.patriotic-flags.com

The battle was a long, ferocious scrum of bloodshed and gore. It lasted all day and into the evening. Again, the "Encomium" said, "But when evening was falling and night time was at hand, longing for victory overcame the inconveniences of darkness, for since a graver consideration was pressing, they did not shrink from the darkness…burning to overcome the foe. And if the shining moon had not shown which the enemy was, every man would have cut down his comrade…" Edmund troops, especially his personal retinue fought nearly to the last man.
Finally, after many hours of gory, hard-fought conflict, the Anglo-Saxons lost their nerve and retreated in disorder. [There is even an illustration in a contemporary chronicle – see below – showing Edmund and Cnut exchanging blows during the fighting.] King Edmund had been in the front of the battle the entire time, but the superior military stamina and morale of the Danes had prevailed. The Danes spent the night on the battleground among the corpses, as they did not know the land well enough to pursue the retreating Anglo-Saxons. The next morning the victorious Danes buried their dead, looted the bodies of their defeated foemen, and "left their bodies to birds and the beasts," probably standard operating procedure for the 11th century.

Manuscript illustration showing King Edmund Ironside (L) engaging Cnut in battle
Fourteenth century illustration by Matthew Paris in "Chronica Majora"
In collection of Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, UK

Aftermath
No casualty counts for either army exist. But, if we believe the various chronicles of the battle, they were very heavy, especially for Ironside's army. Edmund Ironside fled westward, into Gloucestershire, seeking to raise another army. However, the monarch probably realized that the war had caused enough bloodshed and grief for his nation.
Soon afterwards, on an island near Deerhurst in Gloucestershire, Edmund and Cnut met to make a fateful agreement, the division of England. Under the terms of the agreement, Cnut would be ruler of English territory north of the River Thames, while Edmund would retain the kingdom of Wessex, and the city of London. The peace accord also included an important article: when one of the two kings died, the surviving monarch would inherit the lands of the decedent.
Footnote #1: Edmund Ironside was probably severely wounded at Ashingdon. He died shortly after making the fateful agreement with Cnut on November 30, 1016. Various theories say Edmund died of wounds, or was assassinated. One such possibility is that Edmund was stabbed while in the privy.
Footnote #2: Cnut ruled England from 1016-1035. When his brother Harald II of Denmark died in 1018, Cnut inherited that realm. Then, in 1028 Cnut invaded Norway – which was seething with discontent at the rule of Olaf Haraldsson (later St. Olaf) – and the Anglo-Danish monarch drove Olaf overseas and added Norway to his empire. His North Sea empire did not last long, breaking up when he died on November 12, 1035.

Edward the Confessor (R) on his throne
Illustration from the Bayeaux Tapestry

Footnote #3: Cnut's son Harold Hairfoot assumed the English throne upon his father's death. When Harold died five months later, his half-brother Harthacnut was crowned king of the English. In June of 1042, Harthacnut died of a cardiac arrest at a wedding reception. Shortly after, Edward the Confessor, half-brother of Harthacnut (his mother was Emma of Normandy, his father was Æthelred the Ill-Advised) was raised to the English throne. His death in the first days of 1066 would bring about the Norman conquest of England.
Footnote #4: I must express a debt of gratitude to the book Battles of the Dark Ages: British Battlefields AD 410 to 1065 by Peter Marren (2006, Pen & Sword Books Ltd.).
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