Misplaced Pages

The Battle of Assandun (or Essendune) was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex, England, or, as long supposed, Ashingdon near Rochford in south-east Essex. It ended in victory for the Danes, led by King Cnut, who triumphed over an English army led by King Edmund Ironside. The battle was the conclusion to Cnut's invasion of England.

Prelude

On 23 April 1016, King Æthelred the Unready died from an illness that he had been suffering from since the previous year. Two opposing assemblies gathered to name his successor; an assembly of London citizens declared Edmund king and the larger Witan at Southampton declared Cnut as king. During the autumn of 1016, King Edmund raised an army consisting of West-Saxon troops as well as men from Southern England to defeat a Danish force led by King Cnut that had sailed across the Thames into Essex.

Battle

On 18 October, as the Danes returned to their ships, the two forces finally engaged with each other at a place called Assandun, the exact location being disputed. Edmund formed his men into three lines and fought amongst the front lines to encourage his men, while Cnut, more of a strategist than a warrior, did not fight amongst his ranks. During the battle, Eadric Streona the ealdorman of Mercia, left the battle allowing the Scandinavians to break through the English lines and win a decisive victory. The version in the Encomium Emmae Reginae says that Eadric urged his men to flee before the battle began, saying “Let us flee and snatch our lives from imminent death, or else we will fall forthwith, for I know the hardihood of the Danes”. However it also infers that this statement is a deception by Eadric: "And according to some, it was afterwards evident that he did this not out of fear but in guile ; and what many assert is that he had promised this secretly to the Danes in return for some favour." Seeing a good chunk of his army leave the field, Edmund was undeterred. He told his warriors that they were better off without the craven men who deserted them, and he advanced into the midst of the enemy, cutting down the Danes on all sides. Eadric Streona had previously defected to Cnut when he landed in England but after Cnut's defeat at the Battle of Otford he came back to the English. However, this was a trick, as he again betrayed the English at Assandun.

During the course of the battle, Eadnoth the Younger, Bishop of Dorchester on Thames, was killed by Cnut's men whilst in the act of saying mass on behalf of Edmund Ironside's men. According to the Liber Eliensis, Eadnoth's hand was first cut off for a ring, and then his body cut to pieces. The ealdorman Ulfcytel Snillingr also died in the battle.

Aftermath

Following his defeat, Edmund was forced to sign a treaty with Cnut. By this treaty, all of England except Wessex would be controlled by Cnut and when one of the kings should die the other would take all of England, that king's son being the heir to the throne. After Edmund's death on 30 November, Cnut became the king of all of England. On 18 October 1032, a church at Assandun was consecrated to commemorate the battle and those who had died during it.

Battlefield location

There is another possible location of the battle; Ashdon, also in Essex, or closer to nearby Hadstock. There have been many finds of Roman and Anglo-Saxon coins in the area and the construction of the Saffron Walden to Bartlow branch line through the 'Red Field' between Hadstock and Linton in the 1860s discovered a large number of skeletal remains. Historians have argued inconclusively over the different sites for years. Ashdon's 10th-century wooden village church, itself possibly built on the site of a pre-Christian temple, was probably rebuilt in stone in the early 11th century, about the right time for Cnut's conquest. Little remains of the earlier structures, which were largely obliterated by the construction of the current church of All Saints during the late 13th to early 15th centuries. A possible site for Cnut's church is St Botolph's Church in Hadstock, known to date from the early 11th century, still largely extant, and much closer to an alternative battle site.

Legacy

The battle is mentioned briefly in Knýtlinga saga which quotes a verse of skaldic poetry by Óttarr svarti, one of Cnut's court poets.

King Knut fought the third battle, a major one, against the sons of Æthelred at a place called Ashington, north of the Danes' Woods. In the words of Ottar:

At Ashington, you worked well

in the shield-war, warrior-king;

brown was the flesh of bodies

served to the blood-bird:

in the slaughter, you won,

sire, with your sword

enough of a name there,

north of the Danes' Woods.

In 2016, the one thousandth anniversary of the battle was celebrated in Ashingdon with a re-enactment.

Further reading

• Bartlett, W. B. (2018). King Cnut and the Viking Conquest of England 1016. Amberley Publishing.
• Benton, Philip (1867). The History of Rochford Hundred. A. Harrington.

References

1. Smith, Ernest F. (7 April 2024). Fairbairn, W. H. (ed.). Tewkesbury Abbey. Notes on Famous Churches and Abbeys. . London: SPCK. p. 2.
2. Roberts, Steve (March 2022). "The House of Wessex". Family Tree Magazine: 49. ISSN 0267-1131. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
3. Gilbert, Joshua (2012). "Mercenaries, warlords and kings 1009-1018: The Danish conquest of England". Medieval Warfare. 2 (1): 29. JSTOR 48578629. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
4. Gilbert, p. 32
5. ^ Who Is History's Worst Political Adviser? Four historians consider the harm caused by those who should have helped their political masters. (2020). History Today, 70(7), 8–10.
6. Fairweather, Janet, trans., Liber Eliensis (Woodbridge, 2005), p. 169
7. Gilbert, p. 33
8. Webster, Paul (October 2020). "The Cult of St Edmund, King and Martyr, and the Medieval Kings of England". History. 418 (697): 636–651. doi:10.1111/1468-229X.13029. S2CID 225231585.
9. "All Saints Church, Ashdon, Essex – History". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
10. "In Search of the Battle of Assandun – Magnitude Surveys". Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
11. "Knut's Invasion of England in 1015-16, according to the Knytlinga Saga". De Re Militari. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
12. Drake, K. (29 June 2016). IN PICTURES: Celebration marks 1,000 years since the Battle of Assandun. Echo . https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A529269784/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=57254c4b

v t e Vikings
Culture	Blót Brisingamen Danegeld Dís Eddas Einherjar Futhark Elder Futhark Younger Futhark Germanic deities Gothi Hnefatafl Holmgang Leysingi Mjölnir Norsemen Norse funeral (ship burial) Norse mythology Norse rituals Old Norse Old Norse religion Raven banner Sagas Skald Seeress Skíðblaðnir Thrall Tyrfing Valhalla Valkyrie Viking Age Viking art Viking runestones Viking Age trade Wergeld Yggdrasil
Ships and navigation	Knarr Longship Viking ships Viking ship replica Visby lenses
Homelands and colonies	North Sea Empire Iceland Greenland Orkney Islands Shetland Faroe Islands North America L'Anse aux Meadows Vinland Jomsborg Kievan Rus'
Expansion	Viking expansion British Isles Danelaw Anglia Mercia York Isle of Man Scotland Wessex France Brittany Normandy Rhineland Pomerania Estonia Iberia Dublin Italy
Battles	Tactics and warfare Battle of Aclea First Battle of Alton Battle of Anglesey Sound Battle of Ashdown Battle of Assandun Battle of Basing Battle of Barry Battle of Bauds Battle of Benfleet Battle of Brávellir Battle of Brentford (1016) Battle of Brissarthe Battle of Brunanburh Battle of Buttington Battle of Cathair Cuan Battle of Chippenham Battle of Clontarf Battle of Confey Battle of Corbridge Battle of Cynwit Battle of Derby Battle of Dollar Battle of Edington Battle of Englefield Battle of Epiphany Battle of Fitjar Battle of Florvåg Battle of Fulford Battle of Fýrisvellir Battle of Glenmama Battle of Hafrsfjord Battle of Helgeå Battle of Hingston Down Battle of the Holme Battle of Hjörungavágr Battle of Islandbridge Battle of Largs Battle of Leuven (891) Battle of London Bridge Battle of Lüneburg Heath Battle of Lyrskov Heath Battle of Mag Femen Battle of Maldon Battle of Meretun Battle of Nesjar Battle of Niså Battle of Norditi Battle of Pinhoe Battle of Rastarkalv Battle of Reading (871) Battle of Renfrew Battle of Remich Battle of Ringmere Battle of Rochester Battle of Sasireti Battle of Saucourt-en-Vimeu Battle of Skyhill Battle of Stainmore Battle of Stamford (894) Battle of Stamford (918) Battle of Stamford Bridge Battle of Stiklestad Battle of Strangford Lough Battle of Svolder Battle of Sulcoit Battle of Tara (Ireland) Battle of Tarbat Ness Battle of Tempsford Battle of Tettenhall Battle of Thetford Battle of Thimeon Battle of Trans-la-Forêt Battle of York Burning of Luimneach Viking raid on Galicia and Asturias Raids in the Rhineland Raid on Seville Sack of Santiago de Compostela Siege of Asselt Siege of Chartres (911) Siege of Constantinople (860) Sack of Paris Siege of Paris Cnut the Great's invasion of England
Arms, armour and fortifications	Berserker Danevirke Great Heathen Army Hersir Hird Viking Age arms and armour Halberd Atgeir Skeggöx Dane axe Gjermundbu helmet Yarm helmet Sword Ulfberht Ingelrii Ring Fortress Raid Warfare and Tactics Shield-maiden Svinfylking Formation Varangian Guard
Historical figures	Airdeconut Amlaíb Cenncairech Amlaíb Cuarán Amlaíb Conung Aud the Deep-Minded (Ketilsdóttir) Auisle Bagsecg Berle-Kari Birka female Viking warrior Bjørn (floruit 856–58) Bjorn Asbrandsson Bjarni Herjólfsson Björn Ironside Bjorn the Easterner Cnut Egill Skallagrímsson Eohric of East Anglia Eric Bloodaxe Erik the Red Eric I of Denmark Eiríkr Hákonarson Freydís Eiríksdóttir Freygeirr Garðar Svavarsson Godfrid Haraldsson Godfrid, Duke of Frisia Grímur Kamban Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir Gunnar Hámundarson Guthred Guthrum Hakon Rognvaldsson Haakon the Good Haakon Sigurdsson Halfdan Long-Leg Halfdan Ragnarsson Hagrold Harald Bluetooth Harald Fairhair Harald Hardrada Harald Wartooth Hastein Hemming Halfdansson Hervor Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson Hvitserk Ingvar the Far-Travelled Ingólfr Arnarson Ivar the Boneless Jomsvikings Ketilsdóttir Ketill Flatnose Ketil Trout (Iceland) Lagertha Leif Erikson Magnus Barefoot Naddodd Náttfari Olaf Tryggvason Olav Haraldsson Olaf the White Olof Skötkonung Orm Storolfsson Ohthere of Hålogaland Ottir Palnatoke Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Ragnarsson Ragnhild Eriksdotter Ragnall ua Imair Raud the Strong Reginheri Rognvald Eysteinsson Rollo Rorik Rusla Snæfrithr Svásadottir Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldsson Sigurd Ring Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye Sigurd the Stout Sitric Caech Skalla-Grímr Snorri Sturluson Steinunn Refsdóttir Styrbjörn the Strong Sweyn Asleifsson Sweyn Forkbeard Þorbjörg Lítilvölva Thorfinn the Mighty Thorfinn Torf-Einarsson Thorkell the Tall Thorir Hund Thorolf Kveldulfsson Thorstein the Red Tryggvi the Pretender Turgesius Valtoke Gormsson Vagn Åkesson Veborg Ubba Uí Ímair Unn the Deep-Minded
Runestones	Ballstorp Runestone Baltic area runestones Danish Runic Inscription 66 Danish Runic Inscription 154 Danish Runic Inscription 380 Egtved Runestone England runestones Greece runestones Gunnar's bridge runestones Hagby Runestones Hakon Jarl runestones Hällestad Runestones Ingvar runestones Italy runestones Karlevi Runestone Lingsberg Runestones Norra Härene Runestone Orkesta Runestones Runestones at Aspa Runestones of Högby Sædinge Runestone Sigtrygg Runestones Simris Runestones Sjörup Runestone Småland Runic Inscription 48 Södermanland Runic Inscription 174 Södermanland Runic Inscription 333 Sparlösa Runestone Stangeland stone Stone of Eric Runestone U 582 Uppland Runic Inscription 158 Varangian runestones Västergötland Runic Inscription 40 Västra Nöbbelöv Runestone Viking runestones
Related	Viking revival Viking Ship Museum (Oslo) Viking Ship Museum (Roskilde)

• Cnut
• Battles involving Essex
• Battles involving the Vikings
• Battles involving Denmark
• Battles involving England
• 1016 in England
• Conflicts in 1016