Editing History of England (section)

===Viking challenge and the rise of Wessex===
{{main|Danelaw|Viking Age|Alfred the Great}}

[[File:England 878.svg|thumb|England in 878]]

The first recorded landing of [[Viking]]s took place in 787 in [[Dorset]]shire, on the south-west coast.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rees|first=Rosemary|title=The Vikings|url=https://archive.org/details/vikings0000rees|url-access=registration|year=2002|publisher=Heinemann|isbn=9781403401007|page=[https://archive.org/details/vikings0000rees/page/45 45]}}</ref> The first major attack in Britain was in 793 at [[Lindisfarne]] monastery as given by the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]''. However, by then the Vikings were almost certainly well-established in [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]], and many other non-recorded raids probably occurred before this. Records do show the first Viking attack on [[Iona]] taking place in 794. The arrival of the Vikings (in particular the Danish [[Great Heathen Army]]) upset the political and social geography of Britain and Ireland. In 867 [[Kingdom of Northumbria|Northumbria]] fell to the Danes; [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglia]] fell in 869. Though [[Wessex]] managed to contain the Vikings by defeating them at [[Battle of Ashdown|Ashdown]] in 871, a second invading army landed, leaving the Saxons on a defensive footing. At much the same time, [[Æthelred I, King of Wessex|Æthelred]], king of Wessex died and was succeeded by his younger brother [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]]. Alfred was immediately confronted with the task of defending Wessex against the Danes. He spent the first five years of his reign paying the invaders off. In 878, Alfred's forces were overwhelmed at Chippenham in a surprise attack.<ref>Albany F. Major, ''Early wars of Wessex'' (Hildreth Press, 2008).</ref>

[[File:The Alfred Jewel.jpg|thumb|The [[Alfred Jewel]], late 9th century|234x234px]]

It was only now, with the independence of Wessex hanging by a thread, that Alfred emerged as a great king. In May 878 he led a force that defeated the Danes at [[Battle of Edington|Edington]]. The victory was so complete that the Danish leader, [[Guthrum]], was forced to accept Christian baptism and withdraw from [[Mercia]]. Alfred then set about strengthening the defences of Wessex, building a new navy—60 vessels strong. Alfred's success bought Wessex and Mercia years of peace and sparked economic recovery in previously ravaged areas.<ref>Richard P. Ables, ''Alfred the great: war, kingship and culture I'm Anglo-Saxon England'' (1998).</ref>

Alfred's success was sustained by his son [[Edward the Elder|Edward]], whose decisive victories over the Danes in East Anglia in 910 and 911 were followed by a crushing victory at Tempsford in 917. These military gains allowed Edward to fully incorporate Mercia into his kingdom and add East Anglia to his conquests. Edward then set about reinforcing his northern borders against the Danish [[kingdom of Northumbria]]. Edward's rapid conquest of the English kingdoms meant Wessex received homage from those that remained, including [[Gwynedd]] in Wales and Scotland. His dominance was reinforced by his son [[Æthelstan]], who extended the borders of Wessex northward, in 927 conquering the [[Kingdom of York]] and leading a land and naval invasion of [[Scotland]]. These conquests led to his adopting the title 'King of the English' for the first time.

The dominance and independence of England was maintained by the kings that followed. It was not until 978 and the accession of [[Æthelred the Unready]] that the Danish threat resurfaced. Two powerful Danish kings ([[Harold Bluetooth]] and later his son [[Sweyn Forkbeard|Sweyn]]) both launched devastating invasions of England. Anglo-Saxon forces were resoundingly defeated at [[Battle of Maldon|Maldon]] in 991. More Danish attacks followed, and their victories were frequent. Æthelred's control over his nobles began to falter, and he grew increasingly desperate. His solution was to pay off the Danes: for almost 20 years he paid increasingly large sums to the Danish nobles to keep them from English coasts. These payments, known as [[Danegeld]]s, crippled the English economy.<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 569175|title = The Collection of Danegeld and Heregeld in the Reigns of Aethelred II and Cnut|journal = The English Historical Review|volume = 99|issue = 393|pages = 721–738|last1 = Lawson|first1 = M. K.|year = 1984|doi = 10.1093/ehr/XCIX.CCCXCIII.721}}</ref>

[[Æthelred the Unready|Æthelred]] then made an alliance with [[Normandy]] in 1001 through marriage to the Duke's daughter [[Emma of Normandy|Emma]], in the hope of strengthening England. Then he made a great error: in 1002 he ordered the massacre of all the Danes in England. In response, Sweyn began a decade of devastating attacks on England. Northern England, with its sizable Danish population, sided with Sweyn. By 1013, London, Oxford, and Winchester had fallen to the Danes. Æthelred fled to [[Normandy]] and Sweyn seized the throne. Sweyn suddenly died in 1014, and Æthelred returned to England, confronted by Sweyn's successor, [[Cnut the Great|Cnut]]. However, in 1016, Æthelred also suddenly died. Cnut swiftly defeated the remaining Saxons, killing Æthelred's son [[Edmund Ironside|Edmund]] in the process. Cnut seized the throne, crowning himself King of England.<ref>Thames Cussans, ''Kings and Queens of the British Isles'' (The Times Books, 2002), pp.32–35.</ref>