The Museum of Anglish History, Laudenwic
Visitors guide
Part 3: the Early Kingdoms
On your right you can see several artefacts dating from 865. The first is various viking artefacts found in excavations not far from the museum in the North Bank area of Laudenwic. These are all viking in origin and given the area and depth at which they were found date them to two possible dates. The first is when Sveyn the Pale and the first Viking Army attacked Laudenwic and may come from vikings killed in the attack on the town. It is unknown if Sveyn crossed the Thames and so the location of the burials suggest they come from two years later when Harkon Blackheart crossed the Thames and captured Laudenwic. Landing earlier that year, Harkon attacked Laudenwic on his way to Essex and later East Anglia
The second is a preserved piece of vellum (prepared animal skin used for writing) found in the records of Colchester Monastary. Dating has placed it to the ninth century so it is quite incredible the vellum has survived at all. It is believe monks at Colchester were forced by Harkon to write this, most likely to be read by monks and other learned peoples to the people of the territories that Harkon had conquered
It is written in old Anglish and reads as follows
“I, Harkon of the Danes, do by right of conquest, claim the thrones of the East Saxons and East Angles as well as the Kingdoms of Kent and Sussex and unify them under my rule. Hence forth these territories shall be called the Daneland. All who live within those borders, if you obey our laws, we shall leave you alone,”
This declaration put Harkon at odds with Sveyn as before this point, Sveyn had been happy to put puppet kings on the thrones of those nations he had attacked. In declaring himself king Harkon claimed superiority to Sveyn. Next on your left you will see the evidence of the consequences of this declaration.
Excerpts from
The Journals of Somerild Rite.
Translated from the old English by Edwin Sulis
As available from the Global Free Media Foundation
Third Wednesday of Lent, 865
We find ourselves much as we did a year before. Once again the Norse army wintered in Chichester and once again they have headed north, soon passing where the West Saxons were defeated near Corancaester. We have been carrying out one or two raiding attacks on any food coming from Sussex and Kent but they are also taking food from local saxon villages as they travel and we have not done so for a fortnight. So we continue north, shadowing them. I feel somewhat helpless.
Third Thursday of Lent:
Let no man call me a hero, let no man call me a strategist but perhaps you may call us blessed by God and yet damned by the devil. Our travel north in pursuit of the Heathen army lead us ambushing the vikings. Our lack of action seems to have lead the Norsemen to believe we had given up our attacks or perhaps we stopped at the borders of Wessex. So today as we traveled the same road they had hours before, as we scaled yet another hill in the old land of the Gewisse we saw before us a battle and I thanked god for our luck.
I would later work out from those that survived that Thegn Eeomer, the King representative in Glecaster blocked the army’s approach towards the city using what time they had to build simple walls and barricades against the vikings and in particular the horses they had taken from Kent and Sussex. When we arrived we could see that the vikings greatly outnumbered the Anglish army and it was disheartening that this was my first view of my home nation in two year. Indeed I was, in part, hesitant to head down the hill and cross the borders back into Angland but seeing my countrymen dying I silently said a prayer and made my way down. Quietly as possible. As before we began picking off the vikings with our bows and for the first time I joined them, putting my training over the winter into use. We targetted the easier and the most important targets and soon the Norse army began to seem confused as men at their rear began to fall and a significant portion of their number turned to face us at which point we began retreating further up the hill, rear elements of our force (which numbered around a hundred) covered us while we set up to defend against the Norse counter attack while my countrymen cheered as the Norse army panicked and went on the defensive in both directions
From our vantage point our hearts broken as we saw a second army, not much smaller than that of the Anglish defenders move around the city of Glecaster and attack the vulnerable rear of the Anglanders much as we had done to the Norsemen. It wasn’t until later when we saw one of the (few) members of this new army to fall that we realised what had happened. Athrys Ap Tewdrig, King of Gwent had apparently allied with Sveyn the Norseman and crossed the Severn and attacked Eomer’s forces. It was a slaughter and I pray souls killed in such a way will find rest.
Locals say the British forces have captured the city and the crossing of the Severn that comes with it. One of the men has mused that Glecaster and all lands between here and the Wye, but these are words I don’t understand. Meanwhile I am writing this from a friendly farm in the village of Brocwurthin (2) near the battlefield. I can hear crows settling on the field and bonepickers plying their gruesome trade. Some survivors say horsemen were sent to inform other Anglish Thegns and eventually the King in Dunholm. I pray he marches south with all the force of my mother country behind him and drives these two foes into the Severn.
- Hastings
- Brockworth, Gloucestershire.