Rushing into action, this Danish warrior rapidly approaches an Anglo-Saxon village on his first-ever raid.
Such raids would have been fast and violent, with the Vikings attacking in full-force, often quickly eliminating the defending forces, or causing the inhabitants to flee for safety. Anglo-Saxon Britain had seen some time of peace after Eric Bloodaxe was driven out in 954AD, however, starting again in 980, Danish raiders (or "Vikings") began their raids once again. The Anglo-Saxon leader, King Aethelred (often dubbed "Aethelred the Unready") had been combating rumours of his participation in his half-brother, Edward the Martyr's, death, thus creating a great deal of difficulty in rallying those under his command to stave off the Viking threat, creating prime real estate for plunder. The king would later be heavily criticized by other Anglo-Saxon leaders due to his tactic of appeasement to the invaders, often choosing to simply pay them off, rather than combat them and drive them back into the sea. These raids in 980 would start with relative ease, as many of the villages and towns attacked would have been poorly-defended and otherwise unsuspecting of such attacks, and as such, very slow to defensive action. Near Current-Day Hampshire, UK ; Latter half of the 10th Century. Comments are closed.
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