Editing South West England (section)

===9th century and the arrival of the Danes===
The English defeated a combined Cornish and Danish force at [[Hingston Down]] (near Gunnislake) in 838.<ref>The Cornish hill is usually accepted as the location mentioned in an entry in the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' for 835 (corrected by scholars to 838) which says that [[Egbert of Wessex|Egbert]] king of the [[Kingdom of the West Saxons|West Saxon]]s defeated an army of [[Viking]]s and [[Cornish people|Cornish]] at ''Hengestdun'' = "Stallion Hill". See, for example: {{cite book| last=Higham| first=Robert | title=Making Anglo-Saxon Devon | publisher=The Mint Press| location=Exeter| year=2008 | page=64 | isbn=978-1-903356-57-9}}. However, Hingston Down in Devon has also been proposed as the site.</ref> [[Edward the Elder]] built similarly at [[Barnstaple]] and [[Totnes]]. But sporadic Viking incursions continued until the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Conquest]], including the disastrous defeat of the Devonians at the [[Battle of Pinhoe]]. In 876 King Alfred the Great trapped a Danish fleet at [[Arne, Dorset|Arne]] and then drove it out; 120 ships were wrecked at [[Studland]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Shipley Duckett | first = Eleanor | title = Alfred the Great: The King and His England | publisher = [[University of Chicago Press]] | year = 1956 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/alfredgreatkingh00duck/page/73 73–74] | isbn = 0-226-16779-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/alfredgreatkingh00duck/page/73 }}</ref> Although King Alfred had lands in Cornwall, it continued to have a British king. It is generally considered that Cornwall came fully under the dominion of the English Crown in the time of [[Athelstan of England|Athelstan]]'s rule, i.e. 924–939.<ref name="Payton 1996">[[Philip Payton|Payton, Philip]] (1996). ''Cornwall''. Fowey: Alexander Associates</ref> In the absence of any specific documentation to record this event, supporters of Cornwall's English status presume that it then became part of England. However, in 944, within a mere five years of Athelstan's death, [[Edmund I of England|King Edmund]] issued a charter styling himself "King of the English ''and ruler of this province of the Britons''". Thus we can see that then the "province" was a territorial possession, which has long claimed a special relationship to the English Crown.<ref>[[Malcolm Todd|Todd, Malcolm]] ''The South West to AD 1000''. London, 1987; p. 289</ref>

[[File:Corfe Castle2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|[[Corfe Castle]]]]
[[Corfe Castle]] in 978 saw the murder of King [[Edward the Martyr]], whose body was taken first to [[Wareham, Dorset|Wareham]] and then to [[Shaftesbury]]. Somerset played an important part in stopping the spread of the Danes in the 9th century. [[Viking]] raids took place for instance in 987 and 997 at [[Watchet]]<ref name="somharbours">{{cite book |title=Somerset Harbours |last=Farr |first=Grahame |year=1954 |publisher=Christopher Johnson |location=London |pages=125–137 }}</ref> and the [[Battle of Cynwit]].

King Alfred was driven to seek refuge from the Danes at [[Athelney]] before defeating them in 878 at the [[Battle of Ethandun]], usually considered to be near [[Edington, Wiltshire]], but possibly the village of [[Edington, Somerset|Edington]] in Somerset. Alfred established a series of forts and lookout posts linked by a military road, or [[Herepath]], to allow his army to cover Viking movements at sea. The Herepath has a characteristic form which is familiar on the Quantocks: a regulation 20&nbsp;m wide track between avenues of trees growing from [[hedge laying]] embankments. A peace treaty with the Danes was signed at [[Treaty of Wedmore|Wedmore]] and the Danish king [[Guthrum the Old]] was baptised at [[Aller, Somerset|Aller]]. ''[[Burh]]s'' (fortified places) had been set up by 919, such as [[Lyng, Somerset|Lyng]]. The [[Alfred Jewel]], an object about {{convert|2.5|in|mm|adj=on}} long, made of filigree gold, [[cloisonné]]-enamelled and with a rock crystal covering, was found in 1693 at [[Petherton Park]], [[North Petherton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/AlfJewel.html |work=The Anglo Saxon Index, Trinity College, Cambridge |title=Replicas of the Alfred Jewel |access-date=18 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102043417/http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/sdk13/AlfJewel.html |archive-date= 2 November 2007 }}</ref> This is believed to have been owned by King Alfred.<ref name="localhist">{{cite web |url=http://www.nthpetherton.co.uk/history.htm |title=Local History |access-date=19 November 2007 |work=North Petherton |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630113826/http://www.nthpetherton.co.uk/history.htm |archive-date=30 June 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Monasteries]] and [[Minster (cathedral)|minster]] churches were set up all over Somerset, with daughter churches of the minsters in manors. There was a royal palace at [[Cheddar, Somerset|Cheddar]], which was used at times in the 10th century to host the [[Witenagemot]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-769-1/ahds/dissemination/pdf/vol06-07/6_053_066.pdf | last= Rahtz | first= Philip | publisher= Archaeology Data Service | title= The Saxon and Medieval Palaces at Cheddar, Somerset-an Interim Report of Excavations in I 960-62 | access-date= 31 March 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080410225720/http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/arch-769-1/ahds/dissemination/pdf/vol06-07/6_053_066.pdf | archive-date= 10 April 2008 | url-status= live }}</ref>
[[File:Sweyn Forkbeard.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Sweyn Forkbeard]]]]