‘The heathens now for the first time remained over winter in the Isle of Thanet. The same year came three hundred and fifty shits into the mouth of the Thames; the crew of which went upon land, and stormed Canterbury and London; putting to flight Bertulf, King of the Mercians, with his army; and then marched southwards over the Thames into Surrey’*
-This was the year 851 AD-
Although the events of 851 are overshadowed in popular culture by the infamous raid on Lindisfarne (793 AD), the wintering of the heathen army on the Isle of Thanet as well as the subsequent military forays are arguable of a far greater importance. This signified the beginning of a period which would change the political, social and military shape of these lands forever, ultimately leading to the creation of what we now know as England. Thus began the phase of Viking settlement in Britain.
In my next few posts I shall attempt to investigate the profound effect that these events had on the shaping of England as a nation, the changes to the Anglo-Saxon military system they caused, and the social changes these new conquerors heralded.
*The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 851 AD
A History of England 
insightful information. High respect for bringing to light the old histories, and oft forgotten events that have shaped the way we live our lives. We don’t just owe the Romans for our conveniences, but the Vikings and Danes for our protection
Many thanks for your interest.
Almost every nation and culture present in Europe at this time has had a massive role in our current history. Instead of becoming more and more fragmented by letting internal conflicts tear our ancient European heritage apart we should band together and work to promote our fellow European’s culture and history, since it is essentially the same as our own.
I’m currently working on the next part of this blog which should hopefully be uploaded in a few weeks.