Scandinavian settlements in England

From the end of the 8th century, Scandinavian Vikings, who had previously raided and conquered, began to settle in England among the local Anglo-Saxon population. The extent of the settlements is debated, but by virtue of their numbers, the Scandinavian settlers became very important for the development of society and culture in northern and eastern England.

The Vikings take land

According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the first Scandinavian settlements took place when the great army, which had ravaged, plundered and conquered three of England's four kingdoms, split in 874. Part of the tattoo skull viking army went north to Northumbria under the leadership of Halfdan, and in 876 the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that they divided the land among themselves and began to plow and provide for themselves. The following year another part of the Great Army settled in East Mercia, and finally in 880 a final part of the Great Army settled in East Anglia under the leadership of Guthrum. A small group, however, chose to go to the Kingdom of France and continue plundering there. Around the same time as the settlement in East Anglia, Guthrum made a peace with King Alfred of Wessex that established a border between the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

Sundial from St Gregory's Minster, Kirkdale, Yorkshire. The inscription reads: “Orm Gamalson bought St. Gregory's Minster when it was completely ruined and fallen down, and he had it built from the ground for Christ and St. Gregory in the days of King Edward and in the days of Earl Tosti”. Both Orm and Gamal are Scandinavian personal names. The inscription is in Old English.

Scandinavian settlements in the countryside

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports partly that the Scandinavians divided the land between them and partly that they began to plow and provide for themselves – that is, that they settled in the rural areas. This is supported by the place name material, which also points to larger Anglo-Saxon properties being split up into smaller units when they were taken over by the Scandinavians. The extent of the Scandinavian settlements is unknown. The large number of place names of Scandinavian origin points to a massive immigration, but on the skull ugly sweater other hand, only a few archaeological traces of clearly Scandinavian settlements in the countryside have been found. At the same time, there is much evidence that the Scandinavian settlers did not form a particularly ethnically defined group, but instead lived side by side with the Anglo-Saxons. This led to the formation of an Anglo-Scandinavian mixed culture.

The cities of the Danelag

The Scandinavian presence in England also gained importance in the Anglo-Saxon cities, although at this time there were no urban settlements of a similar scale and organization in Scandinavia. Particularly central was York, the capital of northern England, and the Five Boroughs ; Derby, Stamford, Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln. Here, the Scandinavian settlers entered into craft and trade networks with far-reaching contacts both to the Scandinavian homelands, but also to mainland Europe and further to the Middle East and Byzantium.