Editing Old Sarum (section)

=== Saxon period ===
[[Cynric]], [[list of kings of Wessex|king]] of [[Wessex]], captured the hill in 552.<ref name=Leeds>{{cite journal |last=Leeds |first=E.T. |year=1954 |title=The Growth of Wessex |journal=[[Oxoniensia]] |volume=LIX |pages=55–56 |publisher=[[Oxford Architectural and Historical Society]] |url=http://oxoniensia.org/oxo_volume.php?vol=59 |access-date=6 October 2011}}</ref> It remained part of Wessex thereafter<ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=1}} but, preferring settlements in bottomland like nearby [[Wilton, Wiltshire|Wilton]],<ref name=wilt193 /> the Saxons largely ignored Old Sarum<ref name=ush/> until the [[Viking invasions of England|Viking invasions]] led {{nowrap|[[list of English kings|King]] [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]]}} to restore its fortifications.<ref name=wilt193 /> In the early part of the 9th century, it was a frequent residence of [[Egbert of Wessex]] and, in 960, {{nowrap|King [[Edgar of England|Edgar]]}} assembled a national council there to plan a defence against the [[Danelaw|Danes in the north]].<ref name="brompton">Brompton, ''Twysd'', 866.{{clarify|date=January 2015}}</ref><ref name=Baldwin-1774/>{{rp|page=1}} Along with [[Wilton, Wiltshire|Wilton]], it was abandoned by its residents to be sacked and burned by the [[list of Danish kings|Dano]]-[[list of Norwegian kings|Norwegian king]] [[Sweyn Forkbeard]] in 1003.<ref>Hunt, William. [[:s:Sweyn (d.1014) (DNB00)|"Sweyn (d.&nbsp;1014)"]] in the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Vol.&nbsp;LV. Smith, Elder, &&nbsp;Co. (London), 1898. Hosted at [[:s:Main Page|Wikisource]]. Accessed 3 Jan 2014.</ref> It subsequently became the site of [[Wilton, Wiltshire|Wilton]]'s [[royal mint|mint]].<ref name=wilt193 />