THE BATTLES THAT CREATED ENGLAND 793-1100: How Alfred and His Successors Defeated the Vikings to Unite the Kingdoms

Examines how the Saxon kingdoms, which had maintained their independence for generations, were compelled to unite their forces to resist the external threat of the Viking incursions. The kingdoms of East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex, and Wessex were gradually welded into one as Wessex grew in strength to become the dominant Saxon kingdom.

From the weak Aethelred to the strong Alfred (rightly deserving the epithet 'Great') to the strong, but equally unfortunate, Harold, this era witnessed brutal hand-to-hand battles in congested melees, which are normally portrayed as unsophisticated but deadly brawls. In reality, the warriors of the era were experienced fighters often displaying sophisticated strategies and deploying complex tactics.

Our principal source, replete with reasonably reliable reportage, is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which are comprehensive in collation though subject to oral distortion and mythological excursions. This narrative does not appear to flow continuously, leaving too much to imagination. However, by creating a complementary matrix of landscapes, topography, and communications, it is possible to provide convincing scenery into which we can fit other archaeological and philological evidence to show how the English nation was formed from the bloody slaughter of battle.