Image Credits: Shannyn Bald, Blog Writer and Editor
Danish Vikings play a major role in early English history. People often forget that for a time, England was under Danish rule. The Battle of Assandun on the 18th of October 1016 was the solidifying factor of Danish rule.
This significant chain of events began in the spring of 1016 with the Death of King Æthelred II the Unready. When he died, England was in a state of disarray. Because he was just a boy when he ruled, there were many greedy nobles whispering in his ear about what to do which led to England being heavily divided. When he died, his successor was Edmund Ironside. However, shortly thereafter, Cnut the Great arrived with 160 ships full of Danish soldiers.
Upon landing they took the town of Southwark and headed for London, all before Edmund could assemble an army. Once the Saxon army was assembled, they crossed the Thames River to face the Danes.
At this initial meeting of the Armies, the Saxons dealt a crushing blow to the Danes who retreated eastward. There were a couple of small skirmishes, but on 18th of October they met in Assandun. The location of Assandun is debated, sources believe in eastern Essex. With this battle, the Saxon army was crushed by the sheer number of Danes. With obvious superiority for the Danes, the armies eventually came to a standstill and organized something of a treaty.
Cnut and Edmund agreed to split the land, north of the Thames to Cnut and south to Edmund. However, whoever passed away first would give the lands to the other. This seemed like something of a trick. Edmund succumbed to the wounds he received on the battlefield on the 30th of November, which meant that the south of England passed to Cnut. It is easy to assume that this agreement of inheritance was quite a pleasant idea to Cnut who probably knew of Edmund’s wounds.
Following Edmund’s death, Cnut took control. In an attempt to join his rule with the last dynasty, he married Æthelred’s widow Emma. Together, they had many children that became monarchs. The family of Cnut lasted until the death of Edward the Confessor in 1066.
The Battle of Assandun was an important moment in English history because it was a major turning point for the persistent problems between the Danes and the Saxons. It led to a sixty-year long reign by a Viking family that ruled both England and parts of Denmark.
This goes to show there is a reason history remembers Cnut as Cnut the Great rather than Cnut the Pretty Good.