BBC Radio 4: „The Danelaw“

„Melvyn Bragg and guests dis­cuss the effec­tive par­ti­tion of Eng­land in the 880s after a cen­tu­ry of Viking raids, inva­sions and set­tle­ments. Alfred of Wes­sex, the sur­viv­ing Anglo-Sax­on king and Guthrum, a Dan­ish ruler, had fought each oth­er to a stale­mate and came to terms, with Guthrum con­trol­ling the land to the east (once he had agreed to con­vert to Chris­tian­i­ty). The key strate­gic advan­tage the invaders had was the Viking ships which were far supe­ri­or and enabled them to raid from the sea and up rivers very rapid­ly. Their Great Army had arrived in the 870s, con­quer­ing the king­dom of Northum­bria and occu­py­ing York. They defeat­ed the king of Mer­cia and seized part of his land. They killed the Anglo-Sax­on king of East Anglia and gained con­trol of his ter­ri­to­ry. It was only when a small­er force failed to defeat Wes­sex that the Danelaw came into being, leav­ing a last­ing impact on the peo­ple and cus­toms of that area.“ (BBC)
Sie kön­nen die Sendung, die am 28.3.2019 in der Rei­he „In Our Time“ lief, über die Seite der BBC nach­hören oder als Audio­datei herun­ter­laden.