The Battle of Maldon was a battle fought on 11 August 991 AD between the Anglo-Saxon army of Ealdorman Byrhtnoth of Essex and the invading Norse Viking army of Olav Tryggvason at Maldon, beside the River Blackwater in Essex. A large Viking invasion fleet of 93 ships and 4,000 men, including both Norwegian and Danish Vikings, appeared off Folkestone, Kent in 991 and landed at Northey Island, near Maldon, the site of a royal mint. Ealdorman Byrhtnoth refused to bribe them to retreat, so the two armies engaged in battle, and the numerically superior Vikings defeated the smaller English army, albeit with heavy losses of their own.
History[]
During the reign of King Æthelred the Unready of England, Ealdorman Byrhtnoth of Essex was the principal voice in rejecting the policy of appeasement which dominate dthe court of King Aethelred in the closing years of the 10th century. The leading military figure of his time, he was given the task of defending England's east coast from Viking raids. He successfully defeated a raid in 988 AD. Three years later, the Vikings returned to raid Maldon, which housed a royal mint, and seek revenge for their defeat. King Olav Tryggvason landed with 4,000 men in 93 ships at Northey Island, linked to the mainland of Maldon by a causeway at low tide. Olav at once sent word that the Vikings had come to avenge those who were killed in the previous raid, and would regard Byrhtnoth a coward if he would not dare to battle with his army. Byrhtnoth arrived at the causeway with his army of housecarls (his professional household soldiers) and the fyrd (his locally raised levy). Whilst waiting for the tide to drop, they exchanged insults across the causeway, the Vikings demanding money to withdraw. Byrhtnoth replied, "For tribute they will give you spears, poisoned point, and ancient sword. It seems to me too poor a thing that you should go with treasure unfought to your ships, now that you have made your way thus far to our land." Only three of Byrhtnoth's warriors, Wulfstan, Aelfhere, and Maccus, were required to defend the narrow causeway against the larger Viking force, creating a stalemate. Byrhtnoth made the error of allowing the Vikings access across the causeway so that they could do battle. The Saxons formed a shield wall, while the Vikings attacked in a wedge formation. Byrhtnoth fought with the Housecarls in the center of the line. Defeating two Vikings, he was wounded five times, the last blows being a serious javelin wound, then a blade cut to his sword arm. Sinking to the ground he shouted aloud, "O Guardian of the people, let me praise and thank you for all the joys I have known in this world. Now, gracious Lord, as never before, I need your grace. That my soul may set out on its journey to you. O Prince of Angels, that my soul may depart into your power in peace." The Vikings proceeded to cut him down. Upon their leader's death, the fyrd fled, leaving Byrhtnoth's housecarls making a desperate last stand around their fallen leader's body to avenge the one they loved. The Saxon warriors inflicted such high casualties to the Vikings before their deaths that the Vikings did not attack Maldon and could scarce man their ships after the battle. However, the battle was lost with a large nubmer of Saxon nobility and professional warriors killed. Byrhtnoth was immortalized as a heroic failure, and the bravery of his housecarls dying around his body was used as an example of English grit for centuries to come.
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