King Alfred: The Fall of a Kingdom

King Alfred ascended to the throne of Wessex on 23 April 871 (1,153 years ago at the date of publishing this article). Within this first year, the Great Heathen Army attacked Salisbury. Alfred was unprepared and knew his fighting men were tired. He could not muster more troops to join in such a short time, so he paid the Vikings to leave.

This was a common response when dealing with them. Most had come to England for gold and glory. So to be paid to leave, without having to risk death was a huge win for them.

They gladly accepted Alfred’s payment and left Wessex, moving to Mercian London, where they over-wintered. Mercia were already paying the Vikings in London to stop them from pillaging their towns and villages. So the city was a good place to rest the Viking army.

By the next year, the Viking’s puppet king in Northumbria has been removed by local rebels. So the Heathen Army moved North to quell this rebellion and reinstall another controllable monarch.

The following year, AD 873, the Army returned to Mercia. The Mercian king tried to muster his nobles to fight, but instead they simply paid the Danegeld (money used to pay off invading Vikings). They had no confidence in their king. The Vikings returned to London, knowing they had complete control over three of the four kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons. Only Wessex remained.

During this period, King Alfred made no attempts to militarise Wessex. He appears to sincerely believed the Vikings would keep their word and leave Wessex alone. This was an error, as by AD 876, the Vikings were back.

Guthram had taken charge of the Viking army. He was a great tactician and military leader. Rather than attack Wessex from the River Thames, he sailed along the coast to Poole, on the south coast of Wessex. He built a fortified base and planned to use it to subdue the last Saxon kingdom.

Again Alfred was unprepared for such an attack and sought to negotiate. They met face to face. Guthram was aware he had the upper hand, but was not ready for a full out assault. Alfred did not trust the Vikings, and needed some more time. It was agreed they would both give some of their own people as hostages and swear upon a scared object. For Alfred, it was an oath taken over Christian relics, while Guthram’s oath was over a ring, some suggest it was the Ring of Thor.

As the final negotiations continued to drag, Guthram secretly slipped an army past Alfred’s troops. They went to Wareham and slaughtered the inhabitants. As the deal was broken, all the hostages were killed.

Guthram then took his army by sea onto Exeter to sack the town, but the sea was unusually rough and the Vikings lost 120 ships.

The two master strategists returned to negotiations between AD 876 and 877. They agreed similar terms and the Vikings left for Mercia, north of Wessex. During this time, Guthram raised his army from as far away as Ireland.

Guthram’s spies had been recording Alfred’s movements and just after Christmas AD 877, he made a surprise attack the royal estate at Chippenham, where Alfred was staying. Without time to organise an army, Alfred fled.

Alfred had acted in a way which assumed Guthram and the Vikings were trustworthy men. Men whose word was their bond. He had hoped that all these agreements would stop the marauding army. But on every occasion, they lied, breaking their oaths. And now Alfred was heading to the Somerset Levels to hide.

Was the kingdom gone? Was Wessex finished? Was his kingship now over?

It might seem he should have stayed to fight. Facing death without fear. But instead he retreated. It could have been seen as cowardice, but if he had died, a puppet king would have been installed and the Anglo-Saxons would never be free from Viking tyranny.

Instead, leaving to fight another day, and devising a well thought out plan, would turn out to be the wisest action. What appeared as a cowardly act, eventually lead to the establishment of England.

In our own personally lives, it can sometimes be better to lose than win. Wisdom is knowing when to do this. Wisdom is knowing then which step should be taken next.