London, 232, 270
Mercia, 190
proliferation, 282, 355, 433
Tamworth, 344
Thetford, 192
West Mercia, 282
Winchester, 270, 282
York, 234, 266
See also coinage
monasteries
effect of raids, 57, 162–72
royal patronage, 20–21
vulnerability, 6
wealth, 38
See also church, the; Iona; Lindisfarne; minsters
monasticism, 26
Pictish, 29
Morgannwg (formerly Glywysing), 417, 451
mycel here (Great Heathen Host), 95, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 110, 113, 116, 118, 119, 122, 123, 126, 127, 129, 134, 135, 138, 140, 158, 172–73, 189, 190, 191, 192, 198, 208, 211, 344, 372, 378, 404, 410
See also Great Host
N
Nantes, Viking raids on, 56
Nechtan mac Dargarto, Pictish king, 30
Newburn, 52, 132, 168, 169n, 234
Niall Glúndub mac Áedo, high king of Ireland, 305
Nigg, 28
Noirmoutier, monastery of, 54, 56
Norðmannia (Denmark), 10
Norðmannum, 96
Norse, 8, 54, 55, 80, 141, 142, 158, 194, 224, 241, 244, 249, 265, 333, 395
attack on Anglesey, 331
fleet, 391, 392
besiege Northampton, 403
burial site at Ballateare, 251
in Ireland, 8, 47, 96–97, 117, 235, 238, 240, 245, 247, 263, 303, 305, 314, 315, 329, 348, 382, 390, 393, 409, 440, 441, 443
gods, 116
influence of Norse rule, 437
in Hebrides, 79
literature, 23, 114
longhouses, 90, 160
in Orkney and Shetland, 73, 253, 258, 259, 455, 457
earls of Orkney, 259–60, 454
place-names, 133, 134, 136, 191, 242, 245, 251, 385, 415
runes, 78, 237, 324
sagas, 83, 377, 383, 396
in Scotland, 87, 88, 89, 159, 262, 304
ship burial, 256
See also Old Norse
North Grimston, 383
Northampton, 452–53
Northumbria
Æðelstan as overlord of, 379, 381, 396
allied to Charlemagne, 24
attacks Danish Host (867), 101
church in, 164, 165–66, 365, 366, 426
conquest of southern Northumbria in 860s and 870s, 162
Danish puppet appointed, 124
Earls of Northumbria, 102
falls to Host, 100, 122, 129, 135
Hálfdan’s arrival in, 129, 172
instability, 94, 99, 177
monasteries in, 63
Mael Coluim mac Domnall, 443
rule of Guðrøðr in southern Northumbria, 167, 169, 170, 177, 240
settlement of mycel here, 135
splits into ancient parts, 101, 265–66
subjected by Eadred, 439, 440, 441, 447
supremacy of, 35
trading ports in, 51
Viking attacks on, 24
war with Mercia, 12
See also Bamburgh, house of; Bernicia; Cuthbert, St; Deira; Lindisfarne
Norway, 6, 20, 66, 135, 136n, 224, 256, 260, 360, 377, 395, 454
Norwich, 56, 268, 288, 289, 356, 433
Nottingham, 102, 121, 123, 137, 138, 175, 182, 189, 191, 288, 289, 292, 303, 315, 327, 362, 368, 409
O
Obodrites (Baltic allies of Charlemagne), 16, 17
Oda, Archbishop of Canterbury, 404
Odo, king of West Francia, 204
Offa, king of Mercia, 33–34, 41, 44, 274
Óláfr, Dublin Norse chief, 97, 117, 129,
Óláfr Guðrøðsson, 386, 390, 393, 400, 403, 404, 408
Óláfr Kváran, 409, 410, 440, 443–44
Óláfr Sigtrygsson, see Óláfr Kváran
Old English, 6n, 15, 119, 133, 136n, 191, 220, 223, 316, 324, 327n, 362, 394, 413, 425
letters and spelling, xiii
mutually intelligible with Old Norse, 193, 316
Old Norse, 22n, 107, 119n, 133, 134, 136, 191, 193, 242, 245, 256, 267, 279, 304, 316, 345, 359n, 364, 385, 405, 414, 436, 450n
conventions, xiii
Onlafbald, 305, 320, 364, 369
Onlafbald, ‘son of a devil’, 305
Orkney, 8, 25, 28, 68, 73, 74, 80, 90, 122, 160, 198, 253, 256, 258, 259, 261, 454–57
earls of Orkney, 259–60, 427, 454
Orkneyinga Saga, 73, 259, 260n, 261n
Orosius, 223, 224, 225
Orwell, River, 51
Osberht, king of Northumbria, 62, 99, 101, 166, 167
Oscytel, 129
Osðryð, queen of Æðelwulf of Mercia, 274
Oswald, king of Northumbria, 27, 61, 117, 146, 166, 272, 274, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 320, 342, 368, 370, 374, 375, 411, 426
Oswestry, 274, 279
Oswulf, lord of Bamburgh, 447
Ohthere (Norwegian traveller), 223–25, 449, 455
Ouse, River (Yorkshire), 101, 377
Outer Hebrides, 73, 256–61
Owain, king of Cumbria/Strathclyde, 331, 347n, 388, 393
Owain, king of Gwent, 437, 439
Oxford, 184, 190, 213, 232, 280, 282, 356, 362, 433, 451
Ashmolean Museum, 226
P
Paris, 56–57, 98, 181
Partick, 427
Paschal I, Pope, 36
Paulinus, Bishop, 35, 146, 296
Pecsætan, 328, 410
Penda, king of Mercia, 272, 276, 279, 394
Peterborough (Medehamstede), 51, 63, 271, 453
Philibert, St, 54
Pictavia, 88, 89, 94, 132, 262, 329,
Picts, 29, 55, 83–91, 117, 129, 132n, 427
Pippin of Aquitaine, 97
Pitcarmick, 86
Pîtres, edicts of, 98, 99
place names, 28n, 46, 119n, 133–34, 136, 159, 190, 197, 198, 208n, 241, 245, 251, 280, 288, 345, 365, 382, 385, 410, 416, 454, 457
Middle Saxon, 59n
See also under Norse
Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury, 181, 186, 207, 282
portgerefa (port-reeve), 44, 442, 449, 451
Portmahomack, 28–31, 31–32, 84, 86, 219, 248, 261, 427
pottery, 15, 46, 58, 65, 106, 123, 159, 160, 192, 197, 199, 200, 288, 289, 290, 291, 298, 299, 334, 338, 384, 434, 453
Powys, 32, 91, 93, 94, 177, 214, 239, 332, 417, 443
Q
Q ‘Celtic’, 84
Queenshythe (Æðeredes hyd ), 186
Quentovic (port), 10–12, 47
Viking raids on, 56
R
Rægnald, see Rögnvaldr
Raegnald Guthfrithson, 420
Ragnarök (last battle of the gods), 22, 115–16, 219, 363
Reading, 108, 109, 110, 112, 129, 138, 182, 362, 450
Rechru, 24
Reculver, 38
renders, 20, 38, 58, 64, 89, 108, 194, 228–29
Repton, 124–26, 129, 175, 189, 276, 288
Rhodri Mawr, king of Gwynedd, 91, 94, 128, 159, 177, 250, 332, 374, 443
Ribe (Jutland trading settlement), 19
Ricsige, king of Northumbria, 124, 167, 321
Ripon, 365, 366, 385, 441
Riric (port), 17
Rochester, 181, 182, 188, 205, 212, 355, 431
Roger of Wendover, 124, 175n, 403, 404, 408, 421, 447
Rögnvaldr (Rægnald), Norse warlord, 158, 304, 305, 320, 321, 322, 333, 334, 361, 364, 369, 379, 442,
Rögnvaldr Eysteinsson, ally of Harald ‘Fairhair’, 260, 261
Rosemarkie, 28, 427
Roskilde, 15, 69–70, 72, 74, 449
Rouen, Viking raids, 56
Royal Frankish Annals, 14, 104
runes, 23, 78, 237, 324
S
St Andrews, 329, 454
St David’s, 177, 332, 427
St Paul’s (London), 42, 46
St Peter�
�s basilica, Rome, 12, 35
St Valery sur Somme, 98
Sarre, 205
Sashes Island, 184, 213, 450
Scandinavians, 17, 22, 25, 96, 118, 135, 193, 226. See also Danes; Denmark; Great Host; mycel here; Norse; Norway, Sweden
Scergeat, 279n, 282
Schola Saxonum (English quarter in Rome), 36, 125
scholarship, see under Ælfred
Scone, 52, 85, 234, 264, 315, 329
Scots Gaelic, 80n, 84, 251, 420
Scotland, 15, 52, 83n, 84, 87, 88, 89, 234, 262, 264, 265, 438. See also Alba; Fortriu; Pictavia
Scula, 320
Second Coronation Ordo, 341
Severn, River, 49, 50–51, 85, 92, 139, 145, 185n, 214, 275, 278, 280, 284, 304, 451
Shandwick, 28
Sheppey, 49, 54, 92, 205
Shetland, 8, 25, 73, 90, 122, 198, 259, 260, 454
shipbuilding, Scandinavian art of, 7, 67, 69, 70
ship burials, 66, 67–74, 257
Lindholm Høje, 43
Manx, 256, 257
Orkney, 90–91
Oseberg, 68
Scar (Sanday), 258
Sworle Bay, 15
Shoeburyness, 49, 212
Sigehelm, Ealdorman, 205–7
Sigered, king of the East Saxons, 266
signal beacons, 208n
Sigtryggr (grandson of Ívarr), 304, 305, 333, 343, 344, 376
Sigurðr (brother of Rögnvaldr Eysteinsson), 260, 262
silver
arm rings, 15, 247
burial, 251
coins, 33, 40, 58, 128, 129, 228, 405, 417, 421
Danegelds, 57
gifts, 366, 369
hoards, 117, 128, 241, 242, 378, 379, 382
loot, 219, 238, 433
smithing, 192, 249, 453
supply, 8, 47, 270, 282, 433, 450
tribute, 18, 122, 181, 301, 372
Skaill, 258
Skuldelev ships, 70–71, 74, 225
sokemen, 121n, 414, 442
Somerset Avon, 139
Southwark, 184, 432, 433, 449
Stamford, 51, 189, 191–92, 288, 290, 298, 302, 409, 433, 435
Stamford Bridge, 388, 448
Stanegate, 52, 414
Stenness, 258
Stephen IV, Pope, 36
Strabo, Walafrid (Carolingian scholar), 82, 83
Strathclyde (British kingdom), 32, 83, 85, 88, 122, 129, 159, 265, 278, 328, 329, 330, 331, 348, 374, 421, 443
Strathearn, 29, 84, 85, 263n, 329
Strathtay, 88, 162, 264, 329
Stromness, 11
subreguli (tributary kings), 361, 373, 399, 407, 416
Suðreyar, see Outer Hebrides
Summer Host, 129, 136–37
Sweden, 6, 20, 66, 70n
T
Tanshelf, 439, 440–41
Tarbat (Inverness), 27–28, 31, 85, 261, 427
Tay, River, 52
Tees, River, 52
Tettenhall, 278–79, 364
Thames, River, 44, 49, 93, 107, 108, 109, 173, 184, 185n, 188, 210, 213, 234, 280, 372
Thanet, 75, 95, 205, 241, 373
thegn, 13n, 58, 66–67, 136, 182, 193, 196, 217, 227, 299, 301, 302, 314, 414
Thelwell, 327
Thetford, 105, 192–93, 268, 288, 289, 290, 433
Thor, 15, 319, 397
Thorney Island, 42, 209
Three Fragmentary Irish Annals, 238–39
Tiddingford, 271, 274, 285n
tide stone (Kingston upon Thames), 235
Tilbury, 49
Torf Einar, 261
Torksey, 122–24, 126, 189, 194, 198, 288, 296, 298
Towcester, 285, 286, 451
travel maps, see under Vikings
treaty of Ælfred and Guðrum, 173–6, 190, 267, 325, 404
Trent, River, 51, 62, 122, 123, 124, 189, 198, 289, 296, 327, 328, 343, 410, 454
Tuathal mac Artgusso, bishop in Fortriu, 427
Tyne, River, 52, 85, 102, 132, 167, 168, 169, 240, 303, 320, 382, 422, 424
Tynemouth, 10, 24
U
Ubba, leader of the Host, 96, 107, 112n, 142
Ulaid (Irish tribal confederation), 82
Ulster, 26, 84. See also Annals of Ulster
Urm (Danish jarl), 359, 404, 405, 410, 412, 416, 435, 439
V
Vikings
Ælfred and the Viking Age, 103
armies, 109, 121
earliest attack on Britain, 23
camps, 104, 126
cemeteries, 68, 128
nature of Viking life, 73
navigation, 72
problematic term, xiii
Viking travel maps, 48–50, 279
See also Danes; Norse; Scandinavians
Völuspá (Norse poem), 115–16
Vortigern, 241, 373
W
Wærburg, 276, 277
Wærferth, bishop of Worcester, 117, 181, 185, 186, 187, 223
Wales, 32, 33, 40, 91, 92, 94, 177, 178, 264, 303. See also Brycheiniog; Ceredigion; Dyfed; Glywysing; Gwent; Gwynedd; Powys
Wallingford, 182, 202, 213, 232, 362, 451
Wantage
Ælfred born in, 103, 163
Wantage Code of Æðelred II, 436
Wareham, 80, 137, 182, 183, 184, 195, 282, 355, 372, 428, 429
Warkworth, 62
Warwick, 182n, 189, 283
Warwickshire Avon, 51, 85, 189
Wash, the, 51, 64, 144, 280, 289, 296, 453
Watling Street, 160–61, 173, 174, 175, 188, 190, 215, 280, 285n, 286, 343, 404, 448, 451
Wear, River, 52, 160, 169, 320, 366
Wearmouth, 26
Wendun, see Brunanburh
Wessex
Æðelstan inaugurated as king, 341
Æðelwold’s campaign against, 266, 268, 269
Ælfred becomes king, 112
Ælfred builds trading and military strongholds, 187
Ælfred’s fightback (878), 147–52
alliance with Mercia, 158, 159, 161, 187, 210, 213, 219, 234, 239, 300
Appledore Host expelled from, 210
Danish assault (877), 139–41
Ecgberht (grandfather of Ælfred) becomes king, 12
Guðrum agrees to leave Wessex for good, 150
Eadweard becomes king, 232
invasion of Great Host (871), 107–13, 138
rise of, 7, 40
unification with West Mercia, 313
weakness of economy, 270
Wharram Percy, 194, 196
Whitby, 454
Whithorn, 29, 165, 166, 170, 249, 278
Wigingamere, 279n, 285–86
Wiglaf, king of Mercia, 39n, 40, 41
Wiltshire Avon, 112, 149
Winchcombe, 38, 39, 182
Winchester, 94, 98, 182, 229–32, 234, 270, 282
Ælfred’s burial at, 232, 277
Eadweard’s new minster at, 276, 277
rebuilding as burh, 230, 232, 292
Wircesforda, 132–33
Wisbech, 453
Witan orWitangemot, 140, 354, 359
women, 9, 411, 418. See also Æbbe; Æðelflæd; Æðelswið; Ælfwynn; Eadgifu; Eadhild; Judith
Worcester, 182n, 185, 186, 187, 189, 214, 244, 402, 431
Worcester version of Chronicle, 343, 344, 347, 440
Wrocansaete, 190, 214, 435
Wulfhere, Archbishop, 124, 167, 380
Wulfhere, ealdorman of Wiltshire, 141
Wulfhere, king of Mercia, 43, 64
Wulfred, archbishop of Canterbury, 35–36, 39
Wulfstan, archbishop of York, 363, 368, 376, 380, 404, 420, 439, 440, 441, 444, 447
Wulfstan (traveller), 223, 225
Wye, River, 51, 92, 325, 374
Wylye, River, 112
Y
Yggdrasil, 384
York
Æðelstan’s visit, 377–78, 386
archbishops of, 35, 166, 297, 315, 334, 380, 231
church in, 442
Coppergate dig, 191 293–94, 323, 324n
development of Scandinavian York, 160, 266
Eiríkr, 440, 443, 444, 445,
expulsion of last Norse king (954), 316, 448
Guðrøðr’s attempted coup, 344
Host settles in York, 133
impact of Viking raids, 47
Jorvik, 100, 323
nature of kingship in, 441
mint, 356
mycel here captures, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105
Óláfr Guðrøðsson comes to, 403, 408
Óláfr Kváran, 440–41, 443
peace negotiated with Æðelflæd (918)
relationship of Scandinavian York with community of Cuthbert, 265–66
Rögnvaldr’s conquest of (918), 305
Yorkshire Ouse, 51
About Max Adams
MAX ADAMS studied archaeology at York University and has excavated widely in Britain and abroad, publishing more than thirty papers in academic and popular journals as well as several monographs. He has made a number of television programmes as the ‘Landscape Detective’ and co-convenes the Bernician Studies Group in Newcastle upon Tyne where he teaches in the Explore Lifelong Learning programme. His active research interests include the monastic geography of County Donegal in Ireland and the Dark Age landscapes of the North of England. He is the author of The Prometheans (2009), which was a Guardian Book of the Week, the bestselling The King in the North (2013) and The Wisdom of Trees (2014).
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First published in 2017 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Max Adams 2017
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