The Battle of Southampton was fought in 882 AD when the West Saxon army of Aelfwald confronted and destroyed an invading Norwegian Viking army under King Aemund of the Nordmann at Southampton in Hampshire, England. The victory at Southampton resulted in the death of King Aemund, the destruction of Nordmann, and Wessex's first victory over a fleet of foreign Viking raiders.
Background[]
In 880 AD, as the British Isles were engulfed in a state of perpetual warfare between the native Anglo-Saxon and Celtic kingdoms and the recently-arrived Danes of the Danelaw, Viking sea kings from distant ports set sail for Britannia and Ireland to make their wealth. One fleet of Finngaill Vikings from Norway (led by Arnfinn) landed in southern Ireland and established a foothold at the city of Cork, which became the newest Norse kingdom on the island. Another fleet of "Nordmann" (Norwegian) Vikings under King Aemund set out from northern France to invade southern England. In late 881 AD, the Nordmann Vikings destroyed Sussex's fleet and killed its king in a naval battle in the Solent, clearing the way for an invasion of Wessex. In the winter of 881, the Nordmann Vikings made landfall in Hampshire, capturing and sacking Southampton and establishing a foothold in England. King Alfred the Great had learned of their approach the previous year and had ordered his general Aelfwald to move his army south from Chippenham in Wiltshire to Winchester in Hampshire, where he rallied hundreds of Saxon warriors to his cause and built up his army. Following Southampton's fall, in the spring of 882 AD, Aelfwald marched south with his army and confronted Aemund's army at Southampton, setting the stage for a decisive battle.
Battle[]
Both sides had depleted-strength forces at the start of the battle; the West Saxon army had not finished recruiting warriors to its companies before it set out for Southampton, while the Norwegian fleet had been battered during its battle with Sussex. The West Saxon infantry, arrayed in a long line, closed in for melee combat with the Norwegian Vikings as the West Saxon cavalry on the army's right flank outflanked the Norwegians and assaulted them from the rear, brushing aside their scout horsemen. Aemund and most of his warriors were slain in a great slaughter, and only 62 Norwegians survived the battle. Under the leadership of Thorfinn the Northman, they withdrew to Hythe on the opposite side of Southampton Water, where their remnants were massacred by the pursuing Saxon army. Shortly after, Aelfwald peacefully reoccupied Southampton, ending Nordmann's presence in the British Isles.