[MR] BBC: The Great Heathen Army and Repton

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends, Especially Vikings,

Today the BBC is offering an interesting report on recent excavations
around Repton, the winter encampment site of Ivar the Boneless and
his "Great Heathen Army".

Ivar and his hord landed in East Anglia in 865 CE to begin several years of
campaigning. After wiping out the Saxon kingdoms of East Anglia,
Northumbria and Mercia, the Vikings went into winter quarters in 873 at
Repton in what is now Darbyshire. The excavations around Repton provide
many intriguing clues to what happened during his occupation. Abbeys were
looted, both Vikings and Saxons died, possible human sacrifices were made,
and St. Wystan's Church in the middle of the Viking camp was trashed.

The evidence is all there in the ground, uncovered by two major
archaeological campaigns. Now it all needs to be interpreted. The article
itself raises more questions than it answers, and the whole story may never
be sorted out completely.

Ivar is believed to have died in 873, and his army fragmented. Part of the
army left for Northumbria where they settled permanently. The remainder
turned their attention conquering Wessex, the last remaining Saxon kingdom.
Alfred the Great eventually defeated the Vikings at Eddington in 878.
Following the battle, the Vikings agreed to a treaty by which the conquered
areas were recognized as the "Danelaw" and Wessex was allowed to remain in
Saxon hands.

The BBC story is found at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crg5zn781neo .

More on the Great Heathen Army is at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Heathen_Army .

Ivar the Boneless even has a Wikipedia page of his own at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar_the_Boneless .

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.