The origins of the "Great Heathen Army"…
869 CE
The origins of the "Great Heathen Army" can be seen in the band of Viking warriors who attacked Paris in 845, perhaps led by the legendary Viking, Ragnar Lothbrok.
They had raided the region from 850, repeatedly sacking Rouen and various smaller towns, perhaps striking from easily defended bases in the area of their depredations.
Much of the evidence for the Army comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Having gained experience across Europe, the army had arrived in Britain in late 865, landing in East Anglia.
Under the command of Halfdan Ragnarsson and Ivar the Boneless, with the support of Ubbe Ragnarsson, it aims to conquer and settle in England.
Norse sagas consider the invasion a response to the death of their father, Ragnar Lodbrok, at the hands of Ælla of Northumbria in 865, but the historicity of this claim is uncertain.
The army in late 866 had conquered the Kingdom of Northumbria.
The Danish forces in East Anglia in 869 battle defenders led by King Edmund at Hoxne (Suffolk).
Edmund dies a martyr here when (according to tradition), upon his refusal to abjure Christianity and divide his kingdom with the pagan Danish leader who had defeated him in battle, his victorious foe shoots him to death with arrows and also beheads him.
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