Who Were the Vikings

The Vikings were a group of peoples originating in Scandinavia who raided then invaded and conquered large parts of Anglo-Saxon Britain from the 9th to the 11th centuries. The term Viking actually means “raider” and was applied to the sea borne raiders from all parts of Scandinavia . In general the Anglo-Saxons referred to the raiders as Danes regardless of their origin.

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Much of Chester's history in the two centuries between the reign of Alfred the Great and the Norman Conquest was significantly influenced by the Vikings. The Vikings did not have the same local political influence in Chester that they did in Scandinavian York, and it is only in recent years that the impact of the Vikings on Chester has been appreciated.
 

The Coming of the Vikings to Britain

After an initial period of raiding, including the sacking of Lindisfarne in 793 AD, there followed invasion and settlement. The arrival of the Great Heathen Army of 865 AD led to the conquest of most of Anglo Saxon Britain with only the southern kingdom of Wessex surviving mostly intact.

 

King Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, led the fight against the Danish invasion, which saw him at one point reduced to ruling a few square miles of swamp in the Somerset Levels. His eventual victory at Eddington in 878 AD resulted in him regaining control of Wessex and established a stalemate where the Danes ruled the eastern half of the country. The dividing line between the Saxon lands and those ruled by the Danes was roughly that of the Roman Watling Street which runs more or less directly from London to Chester, with the Saxons also controlling some land to the North and East of London.

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Viking Settlement on the Wirral
Alfred's son Edward regained much of the lost territory with the aid of his warlike sister, Lady Aethelflaed, wife of Aethered Lord of Mercia, who rebuilt Chesters walls. In 902 AD Edward was beset by a succession dispute with his cousin Aethelwold. To deal with the ever present need to defend Mercia from Vikings from Ireland Aethelflaed made deal with a Hiberno Norseman, Ingimund, a viking who had been expelled from Ireland and had attempted to settle in north Wales. There he had come into immediate conflict with the Welsh, and so subsequently sought to settle in the Chester area. As a member of the wealthy slave trading rulers of Dublin Ingimund was able to offer substantial tribute to Aethelflaed, which in addition to sealing the deal, appears to have been sufficient to kick start the creation of the first mint in Chester and the beginning of Chesters involvement in the silver trade. Regardless, the settlement of Ingimunds people in the Wirral securred the area from further viking raids from Ireland and allowed Edward to focus his attentions on a campaign in East Anglia resulting in Aethewolds death and securing Edwards rule.
 

The Norse initially settled somewhere between "Vestri-Kirkubyr" (West Kirby) and "Melr" (Meols). At Meols over 4000 artefacts and nearly 1000 coins and tokens have been recovered from the eroding shore. The exiles, led by Ingimund, were granted land in Wirral by Aethelflead and soon established a community with a clearly defined border, its own leader, its own language (Norse), a trading port, and at its centre a place of assembly or government (þing vollr) - the "Thing" at Thingwall. They also brought their religion with them to "Thor's Stone" at "Thorsteinn's farmstead", now Thurstaston Hill. It is also possible that the Norwegian stew "Labskause" may have come to this part of the country at that time and survived as "scouse".
 

Archaeology also confirms a Hiberno-Norse presence in Chester itself: a brooch in the  Borre-Jellinge style found at Princess Street/Hunter Street is identical with a brooch found in Dublin, and must have derived from the same mould. Trade had been established with Mercian Chester but the Vikings cast covetous eyes on the wealth of the city. In 907 AD, the Norsemen revolted and attempted to take the city of Chester. The story of this seige involves a certain amount of Anglo Saxon treachery and the eventual repulse of the Norsemen when the townsfolk hurled beehives into the midst of their attackers.

Numerous hoards of Viking coin and jewelry have been found in and around Chester over the years demonstrating their continuied presence in this area throughout this time period.
 

The End of the Vikings in Britain

In the latter years the distinction between Anglo Saxons and the Viking settlers becomes increasingly less important, but the Hiberno Norse who occupied the Wirral continued to be involved in the key events within England as that country was born and developed.

King Edward died at Farndon in 924 AD after dealing with a Mercian and Welsh revolt at Chester, he was succeed by his son Aethelstan, who was the first to proclain himself as king of England. Aethelstan abandoned the treaties established by his father and fought in the Battle of Brunanburh (Bromborough) against the Vikings.

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Upon his death England fell apart and Chester became an important base in 942 for King Edmund, when collusion between the Welsh and the Scandinavian kingdom of York erupted into war. England was once again united under Edward the Elder's grandson Edgar the Peaceful, who famously cruised on the River Dee being rowed by client Welsh and Northern Kings, possibly from 'Edgars Field', to proclaim his ''wide rule'' over the British Isles. By 979 AD, England was decending into chaos again under the reign of Ethelred ''the Unready''. Ethelred fought rather unsuccessfully against fresh waves of Scandinavian raiders and finally a full on invasion that resulted in Cnut taking the crown.

 

Cnut was a very successful King and was followed by two of his sons, Harold I and Hardicnut. Both sons only ruled for a short period and were followed by their half-brother, Edward ''the Confessor''. After the death of Edward, Harold Godwinson made a grab for the throne. His reign was, however, shortlived. He defeated the last serious Viking attempt on the throne. The Vikings, led by Harald Hardrada were soundly defeated at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, the Normans, led by Duke William, had landed on the south coast. Harold raced south to met the Norman invasion and just 19 days after Stamford Bridge the Saxon and Norman armies clashed near Hastings. The Saxons were defeated and Harold was killed ending Saxon rule over England. The arrival of the Normans shifted the focus of power completely and under their rule, all non-Normans were simply called Saxons.