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Battle of Maldon
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==Date: three weeks before Whitsun, in the year 991== - during the reign of Aethelred the Unready
Location: Malden, Essex, beside the River Blackwater
Belligerents
Anglo-Saxons
- Strength Unknown
- Commanders and leaders
- Casualties and losses
The death of Byrhtnoth was recorded in four versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Cotton Tiberius manuscript says for the year 991:-
"Here Ipswich was raided. Very soon after that, ealdorman Byrhtnoth was killed at Maldon. And on that year it was decided to pay tax to Danes for the great terror which they made by the sea coast; that first [payment] was 10,000 pounds. Archbishop Sigerīc decided first on the matter". Translation from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maldon''
- Unknown
- Captives
Vikings
- Strength 2 000- 4 000
- Commanders and leaders
- Olaf Tryggvason Possibly?
- Casualties and losses
- Unknown
- Captives
Result
Viking Victory
Causes
Overview
In the manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle it states that a Norwegian, Olaf Tryggvason, led the Viking forces, which were estimated as between 2,000 and 4,000 fighting men. A source from the 12th century, Liber Eliensis or Book of Ely, written by the monks at Ely, suggests that Byrhtnoth commanded only a few men: "he was neither shaken by the small number of his men, nor fearful of the multitude of the enemy".
Aftermath
After the battle Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury and the aldermen of the south-western provinces advised King Aethelred to stop the armed struggle by buying off the Vikings. A payment of 10,000 Roman pounds (3,300 kg) of silver was made, the first example of Danegeld, or Danish Tax, paid in England.
Notable connections
Anglo-Saxons
- Godric the son of Odda apparently fled the battle with his brothers and, most improperly, does so on Byrhtnoth's horse.
- Godric, the son of Æthelgar
[From the poem "Baltte of Maldon"
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