| | | 851 | Danish invasion defeated  |
 A-S C
| The Danes landed at Wembury near Plymouth and were defeated by forces from Devon. A sea battle off the coast of Kent led by Athelstan (eldest son of Ethelwulf) defeated a Danish fleet of vessels and Ethelwulf defeated an army of Danes at the battle of Ockley who had arrived in the Thames and were attacking the south of the country. |
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| 852 | Winter - Vikings spend winter in England |
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| The first Viking raiding party to stay in England for a period of time landed at the Isle of Thanet in Kent. They spent the winter in England. |
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| 853 | Alfred goes to Rome |
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| Alfred is sent to Rome by his father to see Pope Leo IV. |
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| 854 | Danes attack Paris |
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| More information required. |
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| 855 | Ethelwulf and Alfred visit Rome |
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| Ethelwulf and Alfred visit Rome to see Pope Leo IV. |
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| 858 | Ethelbald becomes King of Wessex |
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| Unhappy with his father's marriage to Judith and absence from the country, Ethelbald, Ethelwulf's second son claims the kingdom of Wessex for himself. When Ethelwulf later dies, Ethelbald marries Judith, his stepmother. |
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| 860 | Ethelbert becomes King of Wessex |
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| Upon the death of his elder brother, Ethelbert became the King of Wessex. |
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| 865 | Ethelred becomes King of Wessex |
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| Following the death of his elder brother, Ethelred became the King of Wessex. Alfred (the Great) became his deputy. |
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| The 'Great Army' invade |
| A large army of Danes landed in East Anglia led by King Ivar the 'Boneless' and King Halfdan. No attempts were made to get rid of the invaders. |
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| 866 | Vikings driven out of Ireland |
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| Vikings raiders were driven from the northern coasts of Ireland by Aed Finliath. |
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| The 'Great Army' arrive in East Anglia |
| A large number of Vikings landed in East Anglia and gathered horses and supplies from the surrounding areas in preparation for their assult on Northumbria. Their leaders were Ivar the Boneless, son of Ragnar Lodbrok, and possibly Anlaf (Olaf) Cuaran, the King of Dublin. |
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| Witenagemot held at Woodstock |
| Ethelread held a Witenagemot (Witan) at the palace of Woodstock. |
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| Winter - Northumbria is invaded by the Danes |
| The 'Great Army' moved north from their original landing site in East Anglia and into Northumbria. The Army split is two. One section took boats up the coast and sailed into the Humber while the other section went overland. |
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| 867 | The Danes invade Northumbria and York |
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| The Danes led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, Ivar the boneless and Halfdan, attacked Northumbria and York. They wanted revenge for the death of their father who had been killed by Aella, the King of Northumbria. (Aella could have been an Irish Prince.) The Danes destroyed many churches and monasteries including Whitby Abbey. The monasteries remained ruined for two hundred years. |
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| Danes impose a king on Northumbria |
| The Danes place a puppet King on the throne in Northumbria called Egbert. |
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| Danes are attacked and move south |
| Armies from Northumbria attacked the Danes at York but were defeated. The Danes moved south attacking Nottingham and taking the city. The king of Mercia asked Ethelred and Alfred for assistance and an army from Wessex went to help. |
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| 868 | Alfred marries Ealhswith |
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| Alfred marries the daughter of a Mercian nobleman. |
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| Autumn - A peaceful settlement is reached |
| Ethelred and Alfred married Mercian noble women whilst assisting the King of Mercia with the Danes on his land. A peaceful settlement was reached with the Danes and a Danegeld was paid for them to leave. |
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| 869 | Danes attack East Anglia |
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| Moving south again from York, The Danes entered East Anglia, attacking and destroying the many religious in the area including the monastery at was what to become Peterborough. The King of East Anglia, Edmund raised an army to attack the Danes but was captured and killed. |
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| 870 | Crowland Abbey destroyed |
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| Danes attack Crowland Abbey and burn it down. |
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| Dec - The Danes attack Wessex |
| The Danes moved south into the Wessex area and captured Reading. |
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| 871 | Alfred rebuilds his defences |
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| During the period between 871 and 875 while the Danes were occupied in the north, Alfred had time to rebuild his defences. |
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| Qtr 1 - Battle of Ashdown |
| Athelred and Alfred defeated the Danes at Ashdown. |
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| Qtr 2 - More Danes arrive in Britain |
| Another army of Danes landed in London and were joined by those at Reading. The army defeated Alfred at Wilton and so the king decided to pay the Danes some money to keep the peace. |
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| Apr - Alfred 'The Great' becomes king of Wessex |
| After fighting the Danes all winter Athelred died. He was only in his twenties. He was buried at Wimborne and was succeeded by his younger brother Alfred 'the Great'. |
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| 872 | Ivar the Boneless dies |
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| Ivar 'the Boneless', the king of Dublin died. He was succeeded by his brother Halfdan. |
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| Summer - Revolt in Northumbria |
| A revolt occurred in Northumbria where the Danes had installed the 'puppet' king Egbert. |
