Copsig of Bedeborg (835-882) was the Viking king of Bedeborg in southern England during the late 9th century AD. He ruled over a small petty kingdom in the Midlands for a few years before being victimized by King Alfred the Great of Wessex's invasion of the Danelaw after 879; he lost all of his lands to Wessex in 880 and was slain at the Battle of Buckingham in 882.
Biography[]
Copsig was born in Denmark in 835, and he later came to England as a Viking warlord during the Viking invasions of England. Copsig carved out a domain for himself in Bedfordshire, becoming King of Bedeborg (Bedford). In 878, he concluded defensive pacts with the neighboring petty kingdoms of Ledeborg and Heimiliborg, hoping to defend his autonomy against the powerful states of East Engle and Wessex. In 879, however, King Alfred the Great invaded the Midlands with a sizeable army, seizing Buckingham from Bedeborg and Northampton from Ledeborg. Copsig and his army fled into Huntingdonshire, hoping to outrun Alfred and seek local Danish support, but no allies came to his aid. In 881, he attempted to reclaim his former kingdom during Alfred's absence in Huntingdonshire, leading his army into Buckinghamshire and reclaiming Buckingham after sacking the town. In the spring of 882, King Alfred and his army met Copsig's army in the Battle of Buckingham, during which his army was outflanked by the Saxon cavalry and slaughtered. Copsig was among the fallen, and his army was completely annihilated, putting an end to Danish Bedeborg.
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