Tag Archives: Ragnvald

9th Century History, DAS Chronicle

DAS in 2016 / Britain in 876

In 2014 we followed the events of 874, building up to King Burhred being driven out of Mercia by a coalition of Viking leaders and Ceolwulf ascending to the throne of Mercia as a Viking puppet king. However, in exchange the Vikings lost their unifying leader, Ivar ‘the Boneless’ Ragnarsson.
In 2015 we looked at 875, with the Viking leaders setting out in different directions after the feast at Earleywood: Halfdan Ragnarsson marching north to try to pacify the rebellious Northumbrians and drive off the invading Norwegian King Harald Finehair, whilst Guthrum went to Cambridge to keep the East Anglians under tight control. Meanwhile, the Vikings of DAS found their longships attacked by King Alfred of Wessex’s navy, were driven ashore, and hiked cross-country from Cadbury to the borders of East Anglia. The Englisc spent the year ambushing and chasing them, forcing them to fight for every step they took across the country.

In 876, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that:
This year Rolla penetrated Normandy with his army; and he reigned fifty winters. And this year the army stole into Wareham, a fort of the West-Saxons. The king afterwards made peace with them; and they gave him as hostages those who were worthiest in the army; and swore with oaths on the holy bracelet, which they would not before to any nation, that they would readily go out of his kingdom. Then, under colour of this, their cavalry stole by night into Exeter. The same year Healfden divided the land of the Northumbrians; so that they became afterwards their harrowers and plowers.

This gives us some good clear plotlines to follow. We have the resolution of Halfdan’s fight against the Northumbrians and Harald Finehair’s Norwegians, followed by the division of Northumbria. This will take place at Earleywood, acting as a bridge between 875 and 876 and a resolution of the plot from last Earleywood‘s banquet. Further small clashes in Northumbria as the boundaries are drawn up could easily also occur, if people are looking for plots to run later in the year.

Then we have the shenanigans as Guthrum’s Viking forces seize Wareham, give hostages to Alfred, and then sneakily break their oaths to seize Exeter. This could easily provide plot for several events: there’s the march across Wessex to get to Wareham, the attack on the town, the siege of the Vikings (perhaps with foraging parties creeping out to try to fetch more food), making the peace, and then the breaking of the peace and the mad dash to Exeter. This action also spills over into 877, when Alfred tries to retake Exeter.
The oath-taking and hostage swapping should provide good banquet entertainment: who will be chosen as hostages?
For those that watched the (terribly costumed and only very loosely historical) Last Kingdom series, the attack on Wareham is Episode 4: it’s the city where Uhtred is given as a hostage to Guthrum and only survives Guthrum murdering the hostages thanks to Young Ragnar.

And, of course, we have a raid on Normandy, led by Ganger-Hrólf / Rolla / Rollo. This first attack on Rouen proved successful for Hrolf, who stayed around in northern France and eventually ended up founding his own semi-separate state of Normandy there by 918. His great-great-great grandson was William the Conqueror. The early life of Hrolf is somewhat obscure, but some sources say that he was the son of Rognvald, Harald Finehair’s general who was in charge of the attack on the Scottish Isles. So we can perhaps tie this Normandy raid into the events of our continuous calendar?

9th Century History, DAS Chronicle

DAS in 2015 / Britain in 875

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 875 records that:

This year went the Great Army from Repton; and Halfdan advanced with some of the army against the Northumbrians, and fixed his winter-quarters by the river Tine. The army then subdued that land, and oft invaded the Picts and the Strathclydwallians. Meanwhile the three kings, Guthrum, Oskytel, and Anwind, went from Repton to Cambridge with a vast army, and sat there one year. This summer King Alfred went out to sea with an armed fleet, and fought with seven ship-rovers, one of whom he took, and dispersed the others.

Meanwhile at around this time the Heimskringla says that:

King Harald of Norway heard that the vikings, who were in the West sea in winter, plundered far and wide in the middle part of Norway; and therefore every summer he made an expedition to search the isles and out-skerries on the coast. Wheresoever the vikings heard of him they all took to flight, and most of them out into the open ocean. At last the king grew weary of this work, and therefore one summer he sailed with his fleet right out into the West sea. First he came to Hjaltland (Shetland), and he slew all the vikings who could not save themselves by flight. Then King Harald sailed southwards, to the Orkney Islands, and cleared them all of vikings. Thereafter he proceeded to the Sudreys (Hebrides), plundered there, and slew many vikings who formerly had had men-at-arms under them. Many a battle was fought, and King Harald was always victorious. He then plundered far and wide in Scotland itself, and had a battle there. When he was come westward as far as the Isle of Man, the report of his exploits on the land had gone before him; for all the inhabitants had fled over to Scotland, and the island was left entirely bare both of people and goods, so that King Harald and his men made no booty when they landed. …
King Harald gave Ragnvald, Earl of More, the Orkney and Shetland isles, when he sailed from the West; but Ragnvald immediately gave both these countries to his brother Sigurd, who remained behind them; and King Harald, before sailing eastward, gave Sigurd the earldom of them.

In 874/2014 Mercia lost her last independent king and the Vikings lost their unifying leader. The overarching themes of 875/2015 will be dealing with these losses:

  • The Viking Great Army has lost Ivar and so splits into two parts, with Ivar’s brother Halfdan Ragnarsson marching north to fight Northumbrians, Picts, and Strathclydwallians; and the other army under Guthrum and pals marching South-East to East Anglia. How will all our Viking units react to this? Which part of the army will they follow? Will they strike out on their own? Presumably the Holmbyggjar will head towards East Anglia, hoping to find homes there? How about the Westmen, will they accept Halfdan as King of Northumbria, ruling so near to their homes? Who will the Oestvikingae follow (and will anyone accept their blood-soaked ways)?
  • How will the Westmen react to the King Harald of Norway trying to claim their homes in the islands off Scotland for himself? Will Halfdan send them aid?
  • What will happen to the Mercians without Burhred? The Beorcsciringas have already found a temporary home in Wessex, but the Cilternsaete are now faced with the choice between joining Wessex, living in Mercia under a Viking puppet-king, or trying to gather allies to forge a revolt against Viking rule.
  • Alfred is now the last free Englisc king. Maybe this is the time that he begins to think himself as the King of the Englisc, not just of Wessex? The people who live in Wessex, the Sumorsaete and the Beorcsciringas, may well become his diplomats as well as his warriors.

Some possible plots that spring to mind include:

  • Fights in the far north, between the Vikings who live there (e.g. the Westmen), Halfdan’s half of the Great Army, Harald’s Norwegians, the downtrodden Northumbrian Englisc, and the local Strathclyde Welsh and Picts (break out the woad!)
  • The Battle for Cambridge, as Guthrum’s host marches out of Mercia and into East Anglia. They could well be skirting past Cilternsaete lands to get there?
  • Alfred’s Sea Battle. Maybe a crashed Viking ship is driven ashore, and the survivors try to fight their way free and across Wessex? Unless anyone can find us a fleet of longships…
  • Other smaller local skirmishes: with Ivar dead the Great Army has broken apart, and whilst the bulk of the Vikings are in the two big hosts, maybe there are also smaller groups raiding across Britain? You could fit pretty much any plot into this broad heading!

Whilst 874 was fairly focussed on Mercia, so it made sense for all our characters to be at all of the battles, this year is more spread out. All of our units do have reasons why they might be travelling further afield from their home territories and get caught up in the fighting- they might be being diplomats, or traders, or raiders. But equally it is possible that for an event set in the north some of the Englisc or the Holmbyggjar might want to make one-off characters to represent the Picts, or Strathclyde Welsh, or even the Norwegians (Herewulf of the Cilternsaete may play Herjolf instead, perhaps?) And for an event set in the south some of the Westmen or Oestvikingae might want to be make one-off characters as East Anglian Englisc, or monks, or similar.
However, the whole point of the Continuous Calendar is to allow us to develop our characters, so people should definitely have a chance to play their own characters as well as playing other roles! Luckily, with story happening all over the British Isles, everyone should be able to find plot that is local and relevant to them…

Our first event of 875/2015 is The Hunt For Ivar’s Treasure, at which the leaderless Vikings are attempting to recover gold that Ivar hid after looting Medhampstead Abbey 5 years ago (and the Englisc are trying to stop them!)
Our second fighting event of 875/2015 was Shipwrecked! To quote the A-S Chronicle: “This summer King Alfred went out to sea with an armed fleet, and fought with seven ship-rovers, one of whom he took, and dispersed the others.”