Maldon

Battle of Maldon (991) - Historical Battles

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• published: 08 Dec 2015
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Battle of Maldon 991AD - The time is 10 August 991AD [three weeks before Whitsun{ Christian festival of Pentecost} and The vikings have been continually raiding the coastline of England since the raid on lindisfarne in 793. Rumours of a viking raid just north of essex , has Earl Byrhtnoth (or Beorhtnoth, but whose name is now commonly modernised as Brithnoth) who worries that the nearby town of Maldon , which stands close to the River Blackwater is ripe for raiding and assembles the Fyrd. The fyrd was a levy of armed men taken from the common people to fight and defend there lords and home in time of need, some equipment and training was provided. Soon news of a recent landing of norsemen was reported on the nearby Northey Island and Earl Byrhtnoth assembles his men to meet the threat.The Earl is a mighty man standing at 6 feet 9 inches (2.06m)! , a giant man for these times and commanded his personal guard, the fyrd and some local peasants to resist the threats. The Island is joined to the mainland by a causeway which on low tide enables the invades to enter the mainland and the Earl plans to meet the enemy there After some skirmishing the battle is joined , and after some heavy fighting the norsemen withdraw , and negotiations begin. The Danes wish to fight a fair line battle on land and the Earl would be wise to give them their wish or they will board their ships and raid further down the coast before his men can help them. The Earl considers the matter and agrees ..The englishmen withdraw up the beach allowing the norsemen to form up and a major battle is fought out. Postscript : Unfortunately the battle did not go well for the English , the Earl it is said may have been felled by a poison spear and the defenders when he fell, mostly ran ..with some stout folk remaining fighting over his body.His Body was later recovered and buried at Ely Cathedral [where some archaeologists have checked the size of his skeleton and confirmed his height] It is also thought that Brithnoth's widow, Aethelflaed, presented the abbey with "a curtain woven and depicted with the deeds of her husband as a memorial of his virtue", and this may have inspired the idea for the later Bayeux Tapestry commemorating the Battle of Hastings in 1066. After the battle a monk from a nearby church noted the battle in old english script which became known as the "Poem of The Battle of Maldon" which has been translated and can be viewed :P Such ancient transcripts attracted many scholars, one in particular was J.R.R Tolkien who added his own sequel "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" which was published in 1953 . The forces for the battle are unclear but a possible 2-4,000 vikings are thought to be possible with around 96 viking ships or so ....The viking leader in some sources is thought to Anlaf, in others ,Olaf Tryggvason. After the battle Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury and the aldermen of the south-western provinces advised King Aethelred to buy off the Vikings rather than continue the armed struggle. The result was a payment of 10,000 Roman pounds (3,300 kg) of silver, the first example of Danegeld in England. ____________________________________________________________________ Download and Play the battle here: Single Player: http://www.mediafire.com/download/ndr8ura6g3k743f/Battle_maldon.rar Multiplayer: http://www.mediafire.com/download/0xp6rnqa5uefjpj/Battle_maldon_MP.rar ____________________________________________________________________ More info about the Battle of Maldon: Battle of Maldon Website: http://www.battleofmaldon.org.uk/ Battle of maldon Video: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/#search/maldon/150edf34dc9352e9?projector=1 ____________________________________________________________________ Visit my Website & Podcast! Thanks to this awesome community I built a website for Total War fans, gamers, and history nerds. It has blog posts, a Podcast, and a forum. Total War Tavern (Website): http://totalwartavern.com/ The Round Table (Podcast-itunes): https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/round-table-total-war-gaming/id1012071205?mt=2 *Be sure to give the podcast 5 Stars :D