Tag Archives: 2014

DAS Chronicle

The Doom of Burhred, 874 A.D. (Flaunden, October 2014)

At which the Vikings and Englisc fought a terrible battle, King Burhred of Mercia fled, the Vikings declared Ceolwulf King of Mercia, and the Heathen Host fractured as King Ivar died and they were torn apart by arguments.

The red hand of war gripped Mercia. The Great Army seized and fortified Repton – a direct challenge to king Burhred, the place where his ancestors lay. All asked if the Mercians would offer tribute, or seek battle?

Burhred knew that he was under a heathen curse. His luck was gone. Reluctant to bring his doom upon himself, he was at first unwilling to face the Danes, but the demands of his ealdormen and thegns that he do something, and Ceolwulf’s proposal that the Mercians should buy peace, forced his hand. He summoned the fyrd, and marched on Repton.

The Mercians tried to bottle the Danes up inside the fortification, but the Vikings managed to force their way out. In the ensuing confusion both armies ended up loose and skirmishing, seeking to regroup and reform their battle lines. Then the shield walls finally clashed, and the Vikings managed to break the Saxon flank. Burhred, knowing that he is doomed, lost his nerve, broke and ran. The Vikings pursued him into the woods, and a long hunt ensued with Saxons and Vikings seeking to find the missing King. At one point the Vikings captured some of his court, the captors argued amongst themselves about what to do with their prisoners, to free them, ransome them or sacrifice them? In the end the King and Queen managed to get clear of the woods, although not all the members of their court survived the encounter with the heathens, and at least one was left dangling from Odin’s tree, sacrificed by the Oestvikingae…

Some days later, once Ceolwulf claimed Mercia and made peace with the Danes, the Cilternsaete hosted a feast. Tempers ran high, and blows were narrowly averted. Both sides were divided, with Somersaete and Beorcsciringas arguing, and condemnation raining down on the Oestvikingae‘s treatment of hostages from all directions, Saxon and Viking. Mercia had lost her King, and was unsure of her future; the Viking puppet King Ceolwulf of Mercia had precious little support; the Vikings had also lost their King, as news arrived at the banquet that King Ivar the Boneless was slain, killed by his own sword, the cursed blade Kingslayer. Any unity that once existed between the Vikings under Ivar has gone, with the Holmbyggjar seeking to settle and own land under Guthrum and the Westmen returning with their riches to their island homes off Scotland’s coast. And, in Wessex, King Alfred is the last surviving independent Englisc King…

The Chilternsaetae’s View
We received a message from Abbot Wulfnoth- King Burhred had summoned the fyrd. So, true to our duty to fulfil fyrd service for the abbey of St Alban, we rode north, joining the muster before advancing on Repton. Besides Mercians, there were some West Saxons present too, sent by King Alfred to support his sister’s husband.
The heathen army had seized the royal tun, and built a fortification there, defiling the church of St Wigstan, using it as the gate. The rampart curled around to meet the river Trent at either end. So we settled down to lay siege, as at Nottingham some years before.
When we heard the king address his fyrd, his heart did not seem to be in it. I spoke with Eowa, a member of the king’s hearth-troop, and he told me that the King had been in a fey, strange mood for some while, following something that happened at his favourite hunting lodge. He seemed to me to be a man who had seen his own wyrd. If that is what it does, then God save me from foreknowledge.
Eowa also told me that Ceolwulf, who claims descent from a older line of Mercian kings, had been making much of how, if he was King, he would seek peace with the Danes. So it seems that maybe Burhred felt he had to act, whether he wished to or not.
Poor Eowa- I will never speak with him again. He fell, there at Repton. I would have fallen too, but for Godwin.
We heard that there was sickness amongst the Danes. Maybe so, and that decided them perhaps. For whatever reason, they gathered their force and sought to break out through the church. We gathered a band at the gate to hold them within, but their numbers and desperation told, and we were forced back. The Vikings streamed out, and we fell back- both sides becoming scattered in the confusion of battle. Christian and heathen alike had to re-order their troops and form a shield-wall.
After a while, the linesformed and clashed, and we fought hard on the Mercian left, but were outflanked. I heard after that our centre broke- indeed, that King Burhred himself had fled, causing a rout.
Ealdormen Aethelred called for us to form a rearguard- a good man, Aethelred: I pray that he lived through the carnage.
The rest of that day is jumbled in my memory- many small fights in the woods as those of us that lived tried to break free, many dead lying open-eyed, awaiting the wolf and the raven. Eventually we made our way clear, and headed for home.
While we recovered, we hosted some of the West Saxons who had also fought clear in our hall at Redbourn, and drank the grave-ale for those who had fallen. They were still with us some days later, when a messenger came from Ceolwulf- he now claimed the kingship, and a band of Danes were travelling around Mercia not as raiders, but as emissaries seeking peace. So we hosted them too.
So soon after we had been in battle against each other, it is not surprising that harsh words were spoken, from both sides of the hall. But the peace of the hall held- not least because others, on both sides, spoke for calm to prevail.
It seems that Burhred has fled his kingdom- no one knows where, although some say that he has gone to seek sanctuary in Rome. I do not know if that is true.
So now we Cilternsaete must choose- do we stay true to Burhred, wherever he is? Do we accept Ceolwulf as king, and peace with the Danes? Or maybe there will be some other choice. I must seek Abbot Wulfnoth’s wisdom.
We live in troubled times.
Herewulf thegn

An excerpt from Hauk Ragnarsson’s Saga
Under King Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson’s leadership, the Great Heathen Host erected a mighty fortified bank around their camp at Repton. When Burhred’s army arrived, they tried to pen the Vikings inside this camp. As disease began to spread in the camp, King Ivar saw the need for us to break out and fight in open group – the Oestvikingae were among the leaders of the breaching force. It was a hard fight, with the Englisc intent on not giving the Host the space to use their superior numbers, but eventually the Mercians were driven back. Hauk was greatly impressed by the courage of the fallen Mercian thegn who led the battleline, and died with his sword in his hand. Hauk took his penis as a talisman, and later Guðrún buried the body with a boar’s tusk between its legs and a Thor’s Hammer around his neck, to ensure that he went to Valhalla, and was whole there.

The Oestvikingae then fought through the streets and woods surrounding Repton, as the Host fought to get to open ground where they could reform the battleline. The vǫlva Guðrún instructed Hauk that in order to ensure the battle ahead would go well, he must sacrifice an infant, quartering them into a bloody mess, and this was done, using a young Viking boy that they encountered and brawled with. This earnt Hauk his sister Ingibjorg’s grave disapproval.

The Great Heathen Host succeeded in getting through to clear ground, fighting past many Englisc and suffering some terrible losses in the process. They then reformed the shieldwall, and charged Burhred’s forces, seeking to capture and kill the King. As his battleline broke, Burhred fled, and hid in the nearby woods. The Vikings split up to search for him, clashing with Mercians seeking to find and protect their lord.

The Oestvikingae succeeded in capturing several ladies of Burhred’s court, and Hauk sought to threaten them to draw out Burhred and talk to him. In order to do this, Hauk sent one of their hostages to get Burhred and told her to return within a certain count or else the others would die. This strategy drew the ire of other Vikings, with Guðrún and Thorhelm the Cruel not wanting to set a captive free, the Holmbyggjar saying that slaying unarmed women was cowardly and wrong, whilst the Westmen wanted to continue the pursuit not engage in politics. As the count was completed, Burhred had not emerged – either because he was too cowardly to come forward to save his people, or because he was too far away to hear the demands – and so the Oestvikingae killed their captive, impaling her on Odin’s Tree.

The search for Burhred continued, and the Oestvikingae clashed with Englisc and Viking alike as they continued to carve a bloody path through any hostages they caught. However the search proved inconclusive, and the Oestvikingae returned to Repton to bury the dead.

A while later, they feasted at a hall of the Cilternsaete. There much news was shared: King Burhred was missing, presumed fled; Ceolwulf had declared himself King of Mercia; and King Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson, the man who held the Great Summer Army and the Great Heathen Host together, was dead. Tempers were high, and Englisc and Viking alike turned their ire on the Oestvikingae for the sacrifices they had performed, especially the killing of the unarmed hostages. Hauk remained defiant: the sacrifices were neccessary in order to gain the victory, and the threat to the hostages could have been averted by Burhred if he was a true king and cared about his people, if he had just stepped forwards. With King Ivar dead, there was no leader to bind the Vikings together, and deep fractures appeared between the groups… The peace held, but only just.

The Death of Ivar
After the Battle of Repton, Hauk wrote this song about King Ivar’s death:

The saddest song, I shall now sing;
Of how the Kingslayer, killed a king.
Ivar the Boneless, big and brave;
Reaved British lands, for Ragnar’s revenge.

His Heathen Host, harried the Englisc,
Kings were killed, and kingdoms vanquished.
When fighting Wessex, we suffered woe,
King Bagsecg killed, by Kingslayer’s blow.

The sword was saved, stored in Christ’s house,
Symbol of our slain, giving Saxons strength.
So we were sent, to steal sword for seiðr,
As witches wove words, wyrd’s web drew near:

Kingslaying blade will betray its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace will be drowned in blood.

Monks were mauled, monastery attacked,
To get the king-slayer, seiðr for spá-wives.
A nithing-pole erected, a night for norns,
King Burhred cursed, with deep-cut runes.

The blade was brought, to Ivar the Boneless,
King Ivar cursed Burhred, Kingslayer would kill.
At Repton’s battle, Burhred was beaten,
Shield-wall smashed, and fyrdsmen slain.

As Burhred’s battleline, began to flee,
Ivar sprang forward, shouting his glee.
The Viking king, drew Kingslaying blade,
Predicted by witches, who prophecies made:

Kingslaying blade will betray its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace will be drowned in blood.

From Englisc flight a thegn stepped forth,
Boldly blocked Boneless, to save Burhred his lord.
Both rained blows, blood flowed bright,
Ivar’s blade bounced; bit him, took life.

The battle was won, Burhred’s battleline fled,
But the Viking king, was cut, killed, dead.
Where to now, will the wanderers Vike?
The heathen host, has lost it’s head.

The witches’ words, were twisted and wicked,
The bearer betrayed, was Boneless not Burhred.
Mercia retreats, but Ragnarsson is rift,
Saxons gain strength, as Ivar is slain.

Kingslaying blade betrayed its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace was drowned in blood.

Historical Note – Human Sacrifice & Odd Burials from Repton

Did the Vikings really do human sacrifice? Probably…

The Arab travellers, Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rustah, both describe women being buried with the dead in Rus funerals. Sacrifice to the gods is also attested by Adam of Bremen, writing about Old Uppsala in Sweden:

There is a festival at Uppsala every nine years […] The sacrifice is as follows; of every kind of male creature, nine victims are offered. By the blood of these creatures it is the custom to appease the gods. Their bodies, moreover, are hanged in a grove which is adjacent to the temple. This grove is so sacred to the people that the separate trees in it are believed to be holy because of the death or putrefaction of the sacrificial victims. There even dogs and horses hang beside human beings.

Which is also echoed in the Gutsaga:

Men believed in holt and howe (grove and grave-mound), sanctuaries and sacred sites, and in the heathen gods. They made offerings of their sons and daughters and cattle, with food and ale. They did that in their error. The chief sacrifice was the one for the whole land, with people; otherwise each Third had its own sacrifice. The smaller assemblies had lesser sacrifices with cattle, food and ale. They were called suth-nautar (Brethren of the Boiling, Cooking Companions), because they cooked [the sacrificial feast] together.
Gutasaga

And then there’s the Saga of Ragnar’s Sons, where Ivar the Boneless kills Aelle of York using the Blood Eagle (hacking open his back, pulling his ribs open, and waving the lungs about). Although that’s possibly not so much a sacrifice as just a brutal murder…

Of course, those accounts are Muslims & Christians writing about their pagan neighbours/ancestors, and the human sacrifice could have been added to make it more obvious that Islam/Christianity was a better religion. So archeological evidence is better, if less clear.

Several of the Danish peat bog bodies were hung, which is suggestive of sacrifice mirroring Odin hanging on Yggdrasil? But it could have been capital punishment instead.

In Repton, we find several possible sacrifices. There is a burial mound containing 264 skeletons (with no obvious wounds) arrayed around a stone crypt/coffin that originally contained a giant skeleton. Possibly Ivar the Boneless is the central skeleton, whilst the chaps around the outside could be bodies dug up from the graveyard and then reburied; or Vikings who’d died of disease whilst overwintering at Repton; or sacrifices along the lines of those described by Ibn Fadlan and Ibn Rustah?

There are also quartered corpses of children from Repton. These are hard to read as capital punishment, and so human sacrifice does seem a likely interpretation. Children seem to be popular sacrificial victims, as 4 children found in wells at Trelleborg that have also been interpreted as sacrifices.

Finally there are several bodies, in their own personal graves, who had battle-wounds. One, Grave 511, was clearly quite a hero. He suffered a head-wound, was killed by a blow to his left femur (cutting his penis off?), and was buried with a silver Thor’s hammer & two glass beads, a leather belt with a decorated copper-alloy buckle, and an iron sword in a fleece-lined wooden scabbard covered with leather. He also had two knives, an iron key, the tusk of a wild boar between his thighs, and lower down, perhaps originally in a bag or box, the humerus of a jackdaw. He might not have been a sacrifice, but he was certainly killed and buried in a very ritualised way – in our story he became the Mercian battle leader, killed by Hauk cutting off his penis and then buried by the vǫlva Guðrún.

Repton demonstates to us one other key point: Viking culture was not neccessarily uniform. The sheer diversity of Viking funerary customs displayed is amazing – the mass grave around the giant, the individual warriors in graves, and also nearby a collection of barrows containing cremations (the Heath Wood barrow cemetary). These cultural differences were expressed in our story by the differing reactions to human sacrifice by the Oestvikingae and the Holmbyggjar…

DAS Chronicle

Before the Battle, 874 A.D. (Murton Park, August 2014)

At which the Vikings and Englisc both prepared for the battle to seal the fate of Mercia, and an introspective Viking leader, Ivar the Boneless, asked the assembled forces exactly what they wanted.

Before the battle

The war season, 874. The Viking Great Army gathered at Repton in Mercia, home to the burial crypt of the Mercian kings. Meanwhile King Burhred of Mercia, having listened to Alfred’s advice, assembled his forces, called the fyrd, prepared for a counter-attack to seal his fate and the fate of his kingdom. And Ceolwulf, claiming to be the rightful king of Mercia, descendant of the King Ceolwulf who fled Mercia 50 years ago, said that if he were King he would bring peace with the Vikings by paying them to leave.

In a hall near Repton some of the Vikings gathered to prepare for the coming battle – working on their equipment in the forge, fletching arrows, repairing their tunics for possibly the last time. They were visited by envoys and friends from among the Mercians. At the start of the feast, Hersir Hauk of the Oestvikingae spoke. He said that with King Burhred of Mercia gathering his forces, there would soon be war – but for now there was peace, and we should dine well as it may be one of our last meals.

As the guests were tucking into their rich beef stew, the hall was visited by an exceptionally tall and gaunt figure: Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson, eldest of the sons of Ragnar, pre-eminent leader of the Great Army. He was unstable on his feet, leaning on his daneaxe and the hall’s pillars to stand. He said that he was ill, and old. He had been harrying the Englisc for 10 years, ever since his father Ragnar Loðbrók had been killed in Jorvic, leading the Great Army to seek revenge and wealth. He had killed his father’s killer, brought the Northumbrian kingdom centered on Jorvic to its knees, and also crushed the East Anglians. But now, seeing his death approaching, he wanted to make sure that he had done right according to his followers, so asked them what they wanted.

Ingibjorg of the Holmbyggjar spoke of her desire to find a land to live in. She had come to the Englisc lands in the Great Summer Army led by Guthrum, 3 years ago, seeking a quick victory of Wessex and Mercia in order to win herself a place to live. She saw the need to crush Mercia, to take and secure her land with blood, to fulfill the curse placed by the volvas on King Burhred, but ultimately wanted to settle – ideally in East Anglia, with trade-routes to Denmark.

She asked too for clarity on the succession – who would lead the Vikings if Ivar died? Ivar said that the strongest leader would rule, and whoever he nominated did not matter.

Wulf of the Westmen said that he was a mercenary, and spoke of his desire for money. He saw the best route as a bloody path, conquering the Englisc lands and forcing the Englisc to pay rent. However he agreed with Ingibjorg: the land must be won with blood.

Hallgerd of the Westmen agreed – like Wulf, she simply wanted money, won with blood. She has land on the isle of Canna off the land of the Scots, and has no interest in settling on the mainland or who rules here.

Young Cnut of the Oestvikingae, cousin of Hauk, also wanted money – and wanted to grow up a warrior, earning his money with a sword; not a farmer, living in peace.

Wulfruna of the Cilternsaete said that she, possibly unlike her lord Herewulf, ultimately desired peace. But a peace of equals, not the peace of the servant.

Wulfgar of the Cilternsaete, her son, was more direct and violent. He saw that only blood, and the sword, would decide the matter – and threatened to stab King Ivar himself!

Ivar coughed, a terrible fit. He acknowledged that since all wished it so and none could see a peaceful route, there could be no peace without war first, and that the blood must flow. He then withdrew, to visit the other halls where his followers gathered, and talk to them too before battle came. Because it was now certain that battle would come, and the fate of Mercia would be decided with blood…

Feast before we die

Ingibjorg’s lament
Ivar Ragnarsson (‘the Boneless’) asked the Viking war-leaders for their counsel – should they treat with the Englisc or fight? In reply, had she thought of them at the time, Ingibjorg Ragnarsdottir (no relation) would certainly have spoken these lines.

I do not crave the blood-speech of the battle tongues;
I would weave weapons’ woe.
I rode across Njord’s pasture,
My steed thundering over the world worm’s burrow,
In search of green pastures of my own.

My parents live in the hall of the daughter
Of the thunder-god’s companion.
My husband and my son are Freyja’s guests.
Our lands feed the milk-givers of our foes
And I have no weaving-frame to offer
To my dear daughter Dagrun.

The father-god of the shield trees
Vowed that those trees and their saplings
Would thrust their roots into the west-land valleys.

How then shall I cry craven?
No sword-swinger I – barely can I thrust a spear,
Yet if any home I have, it lies here.

Historical Note – Ivar ‘the Boneless’
Ivar the Boneless is, like many of the Viking leaders, a shadowy figure, straddling legend and history. It is possible that he might be the same figure as the King Ímar of Irish sources, founder of the Uí Ímair dynasty who ruled Dublin, parts of Scotland, and the Hebrides. It is recorded that Ímar died in 873 in Britain. Some accounts don’t say how he die, others say that it is due to an illness. In the Saga of Ragnar’s Sons, he is reported to die childless, of old age – although the Irish King Ímar, in contrast, had several children when he founded his dynasty.
It is not known what Ivar’s ‘the Boneless’ nickname refers to. Some have suggested that it might be a muscular condition meaning he couldn’t use his limbs (although that is contradicted by saga descriptions of him as tall and powerful); others that it could refer to erectile issues (hence the childlessness).
One possible solution to the riddle was uncovered by a farm labourer, Thomas Walker, in Repton in 1686. He dug up a burial mound, uncovering a stone coffin containing ‘a Skeleton of a Humane Body Nine Foot long’, buried with over 100 skeletons arrayed around him. This was clearly an important person, buried with great ritual. Could the (now lost) skeletal giant be that of Ivar ‘the Boneless’, the nick-name an ironic one much like ‘Little’ John? If so, this would tally with the Irish sources giving 873 as his year of death (as it was in 873 & 874 that the Vikings were in Repton). So that’s the theory we’ve gone with!

DAS Chronicle

The Kingslayer, early 874 a.d. (Earleywood, March 2014)

At which a small group of Vikings raided a monastery on the edge of Wessex, and stole the Kingslayer (the sword that killed the Viking King Bagsecg in one of the few battles where Englisc beat the Vikings), to weaken Mercian resolve and enable a prophecy.

Early 874. Over the previous decade, the Vikings had relentlessly pillaged the Englisc kingdoms, sacking cities (such as the sack of London in Autumn 872), burning monasteries and killing kings – King Edmund of East Anglia, and Osbriht and Aelle of Northumbria. Then reports suggested that the heathens were looking towards Mercia, the land of King Burhred.

Mercia was divided, torn. King Burhred dithered, unsure what to do, with his forces weakened by the years of fighting. A king’s thane called Ceolwulf, who claimed to be of the ancient royal line of the Iclingas, a descendant of the King Ceolwulf of Mercia who was deposed 50 years ago, said that Mercia’s best hope was to accept the Vikings, to pay them not to attack and to try and integrate with them rather than remaining in opposition. The heathens were merchants as well as fighters; why not trade with them rather than be raided by them?

But Alfred of Wessex, Burhred’s brother-in-law, believed that the Englisc should oppose the Vikings if they invade. When the Vikings invaded Wessex in 870, Alfred’s forces fought them and won several great victories (as well as some defeats, but it’s the victories that matter). Those victories became symbols of hope for many Englisc, particularly those of now-threatened Mercia.

Earleywood Monastery was founded at the site of one of those victories, and one of its greatest possessions was the Kingslayer, the sword that slew the Viking King Bagsecg at the nearby Battle of Ashdown. Once a year, on the anniversary of the battle, the sword was proudly displayed and processed around the battlefield, a great symbol of hope that stiffened the resolve of those who have to fight the heathens. If it fell into heathen hands it would be an ill omen, both because it would sow doubt amongst the Englisc by removing a powerful symbol and because the vǫlvas of the Viking had predicted that:

The Kingslaying blade will betray its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace will be drowned in blood.

Thus, representatives of Wessex and Mercia (the Cilternsaete, Beorcsciringas and Sumorsaete) gathered to protect the procession of the Kingslayer, and managed to repulse attacks by the heathens (the Oestvikingae, Holmbyggjar and Westmen) who tried to seize control of the weapon; aided by divisions that sprung up between the Vikings as to who should own the sword, and what their eventual aim should be.

Vikings clash

However, once the Kingslayer was returned to its rightful place in the monastery, the Vikings fell upon the monastery with great force. The Englisc defenders were outnumbered, and did not manage to save the sword or the famed Scrolls of St. Swithun – although they did managed to protect some of the monastery’s relics and altar decorations.

Later, the Vikings and Englisc met at a great banquet, presided over by Glora of the Holmbyggjar.
There the Mercian Thegn Herewulf of the Cilternsaete asked the gathered folk their opinion of the future of Mercia, and Ceolwulf’s idea of peace (or, as some would say, surrender).

  • Glora of the Holmbyggjar talked of the friendship she had for some of the Englisc, the bonds that united the two peoples, and peaceful co-existence. As a sign of friendship she returned to Thegns Ceolred and Herewulf the Scrolls of St. Swithun.
  • Ceolred Monger, Thegn of the Beorcsciringas, talked of his experience as a refugee from war-torn Mercia, who had found a home in Wessex. He said he wanted to see an actual end to the fighting, a victory for the Englisc. He wanted to return home to Mercia, but a free Mercia, not one threatened by war and by land-stealing heathens. Ceolwulf would not truely get rid of the Vikings, only appease them at great cost, and so Ceolred would not support him.
  • Ingibjorg of the Holmbyggjar talked not of land-stealing but of peaceful settlement, of intermarriage and intermingling, and said that though she would not convert to following the White Christ, she believed that her future children, born in Britain, would be Christians.
  • Hersir Hauk of the Oestvikingae‘s view was more bloodthirsty. He emphasised the historical similarities between the Englisc and the Vikings, how the Angles and Saxons were once pagan invaders fighting settled Christians. But he also gave a stark warning – if the Englisc did not follow Ceolwulf and seek peace with the Vikings, they would be wiped out, with Burhred and Alfred going the way of Arthur, and the Englisc being confined to the wilds, just as the Welsh were by the Englisc. He talked of blood, and fire, and war; the death of kings and the elimination of peoples if they did not follow Ceolwulf.

Hauk’s words stirred Herewulf to great anger, and bloodshed was only avoided by the intervention of Glora. It is clear that the people of Mercia will not have an easy decision to make, and that dark times lie ahead – they have lost the Kingslayer, so their morale has taken a blow (although not as bad as if it had been taken from the procession itself), and Ceolwulf continues to speak out against King Burhred & in favour of peace.

An excerpt from Hauk Ragnarsson’s Saga
In 874, the Oestvikingae fell again upon Mercia. Mercia had been weakened by the many raids, and their leaders were divided between those seeking peace and those who would still fight. The vǫlva Guðrún told Hauk that the Kingslayer, the sword that slew King Bagsecg at Æscesdūn, was held at a monastery named Earleywood, and foresaw that:

The Kingslaying blade will betray its bearer,
Defeat’s disgrace will be drowned in blood.

Hauk swore that he would get the Kingslayer for Guðrún, and traveled south to find it. However it was well-defended, and so Hauk made an agreement with his father’s daughter Ingibjorg of the Holmbyggjar – she would give him the Kingslayer if it fell into her hands, and he would give her land to settle upon if any fell into his hands. Hauk cared not for the settled life, he was a raider and nothing else, and unlike the Holmbyggjar he had no wish to possess land for he sought only war. Seeing this, Kappi Bosison, younger son of Styrsman Bosi who led the Holmbyggjar, left the Holmbyggjar and joined the Oestvikingae to seek his fame and fortune.
Later that day, the Holmbyggjar managed to seize the Kingslayer. When the Oestvikingae re-joined them, however, they refused to hand it over and treacherously turned on Hauk’s forces. They struck Hauk, Fritha and Kappi down, and forced Thorhelm to surrender. But Thorhelm was cunning, and as soon as they were distracted he seized the Kingslayer, and fled back to the Oestvikingae. Sadly at this moment the Englisc arrived, attacked the divided Vikings, and took the Kingslayer. The Oestvikingae fell into berserking, and Kappi earned himself the name Spear-Splitter, but they did not recover the Kingslayer.
The Englisc took Kingslayer back the Earleywood Monastery, and so Hauk led the Oestvikingae there. The Englisc were few, and could not stand against the greater numbers of the Vikings, and thus the Vikings forced entry into the monastery and took the Kingslayer and other relics. Thorhelm, using his customary speed, escaped with the Kingslayer. However when he returned to the monastery he was ambushed by some nuns, who tormented him and placed a strange Christian curse upon his shield.
Later, at banquet, there were great discussions about whether Mercia should seek peace or war from the Vikings. Ingibjorg spoke in favour of co-operation and settlement, showing the Englisc what could happen if they chose peace; Hauk spoke of killing all who stood against him, showing the Englisc what could happen if they chose war – which led to Hauk almost coming to blows with Herewulf of Mercia. Hauk returned to Guðrún bearing Kingslayer.

Historical Note – The Battles of 870/871
871 is one of the larger entries in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and as it was such a key year we wanted to include it in our plot. Even though we are starting after it, running plots based from 872 onwards, it still loomed large. Here’s the full quote:

This year came the army to Reading in Wessex; and in the course of three nights after rode two earls up, who were met by Alderman Ethelwulf at Englefield; where he fought with them, and obtained the victory. There one of them was slain, whose name was Sidrac. About four nights after this, King Ethered and Alfred his brother led their main army to Reading, where they fought with the enemy; and there was much slaughter on either hand, Alderman Ethelwulf being among the skain; but the Danes kept possession of the field. And about four nights after this, King Ethered and Alfred his brother fought with all the army on Ashdown, and the Danes were overcome. They had two heathen kings, Bagsac and Healfden, and many earls; and they were in two divisions; in one of which were Bagsac and Healfden, the heathen kings, and in the other were the earls. King Ethered therefore fought with the troops of the kings, and there was King Bagsac slain; and Alfred his brother fought with the troops of the earls, and there were slain Earl Sidrac the elder, Earl Sidrac the younger, Earl Osbern, Earl Frene, and Earl Harold. They put both the troops to flight; there were many thousands of the slain, and they continued fighting till night. Within a fortnight of this, King Ethered and Alfred his brother fought with the army at Basing; and there the Danes had the victory. About two months after this, King Ethered and Alfred his brother fought with the army at Marden. They were in two divisions; and they put them both to flight, enjoying the victory for some time during the day; and there was much slaughter on either hand; but the Danes became masters of the field; and there was slain Bishop Heahmund, with many other good men. After this fight came a vast army in the summer to Reading. And after the Easter of this year died King Ethered. He reigned five years, and his body lies at Winburn-minster. Then Alfred, his brother, the son of Ethelwulf, took to the kingdom of Wessex. And within a month of this, King Alfred fought against all the Army with a small force at Wilton, and long pursued them during the day; but the Danes got possession of the field. This year were nine general battles fought with the army in the kingdom south of the Thames; besides those skirmishes, in which Alfred the king’s brother, and every single alderman, and the thanes of the king, oft rode against them; which were accounted nothing. This year also were slain nine earls, and one king; and the same year the West-Saxons made peace with the army.

‘Make peace with the army’ probably means paying danegeld to get rid of the Vikings, so ultimately the year was probably a Viking victory. But it’s still a key time, as these are the first victories against the Vikings recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Kingslayer is our invention, as is Earleywood Monastery.

9th Century History, DAS Chronicle

DAS in 2014/874

The last DAS event of 2013, Flaunden, was set in 872, when the Vikings fell on London and forced the Mercians to make peace. Forces of King Burhred of Mercia and King Alfred of Wessex (the Cilternsaete and the Sumorsaete) were helping rescue refugees streaming out of London, saving them from marauding bands of Vikings and then escorting them towards St Albans in an armed convoy. But the Vikings attacked the convoy from all directions, breaking the Englisc guards, and the refugees scattered. The Oestvikingae managed to capture some of the civilians, but fell to the re-grouped Englisc, who then swept aside a combined Viking road blockade and successfully reached St Albans with the refugees. Flaunden’s evening banquet was set after peace was declared, and Abbot Wulfnoth of St Albans declared Guthwald a Thegn, granting him five hides of land at Sandridge. You can read more about this event here.

Here’s what the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has to say about the run-up to 874:

“A.D. 874. This year went the army from Lindsey to Repton, and there took up their winter-quarters, drove the king, Burhred, over sea, when he had reigned about two and twenty winters, and subdued all that land. He then went to Rome, and there remained to the end of his life. And his body lies in the church of Sancta Maria, in the school of the English nation. And the same year they gave Ceolwulf, an unwise king’s thane, the Mercian kingdom to hold; and he swore oaths to them, and gave hostages, that it should be ready for them on whatever day they would have it; and he would be ready with himself, and with all those that would remain with him, at the service of the army.”

So we know what the Chronicle said happened in 873/4. And we’d like to stick to that broad history – the Vikings will break the peace, drive the Mercian King abroad, and set up a puppet king in Mercia. But we want to see the smaller stories around that, and see how our units react to those events. The story has begun – let’s see where it leads us…

We can also add as a known DAS fact, that:

“873 In this year the Great Society Chest over-wintered among the Cilternsaete. And then early in the year soon after Yule it fared forth amongst the Holmbyggja.”

Our first event of 874/2014 was The Kingslayer, at which a small group of Vikings raided a monastery on the edge of Wessex, and stole the Kingslayer (the sword that killed the Viking King Bagsecg in one of the few battles where Englisc beat the Vikings), weakening Mercian resolve – you can read about it here.

Our second event of 874/2014 was To Curse a King, at which the Vikings used the magic of the Kingslayer to erect a potent nithing-pole inside Burhred’s favourite hunting ground, giving him another blow to his morale and unleashing powerful spirits against him – you can read about it here.

Our third event of 874/2014 was Before the Battle, at which the Vikings and Englisc both prepared for the battle to seal the fate of Mercia, and an introspective Viking leader, Ivar the Boneless, asked the assembled forces exactly what they wanted. You can read about it here.

Our fourth event of 874/2014 was The Doom of Burhred, at which the Vikings and Englisc fought a terrible battle, King Burhred of Mercia fled, the Vikings declared Ceolwulf King of Mercia, and the Heathen Host fractured as King Ivar died and they were torn apart by arguments.

Our final event was set shortly after, as the world was still reeling from the death of Ivar and flight of Burhred. Our warbands turned against each other, in a vicious skirmish through the woods of Mercia.

What will happen in 875/2015?