Category: Storyline

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By 897, everything Alfred had known…. changed. He was barely in his 20s when he took the throne and he hadn’t had a chance to stop for a breath for the decades that followed.

He had been king for over half of his life, and in those years he’d proven himself to be an energetic and inventive king. Wessex under his rule had been transformed. Defensive structures, public infrastructure, educational reforms, legal reforms, military reforms, and even the creation of a written history. He had even changed the concept of Kingship within the Anglo Saxon territories. Under Alfred, the entire Realm from the very top (and the concepts of what makes a noble, with everything from their powers to their obligations to scholarship) all the way to the bottom (with the duties of the peasants and the organization of their lives)… all of it had been molded to fit his vision. And even though it had been a difficult task, even though he had even lost his kingdom for a time (quite likely due to a coup)… in the end, he got what he wanted.

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The Danes encamped at Bridgnorth had been campaigning for years. Many had come here with Haesten and the Appledore fleet. They were the veterans of the continental campaigns. And for years now they had been fighting tooth and nail with the Anglo Saxons.

But despite all the time they had spent here. Despite their massive numbers, their surprise marches, their end runs, their seizure of territory… despite the fact that they had made allies with (and campaigned alongside) the kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia… despite all of that, they had nothing to show for their efforts.

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For the Viking army fleeing Shoebury, there wasn’t much to look forward to in a winter holiday at Chester.

It would be wet. It would be cold. It would be creepy. The old Roman settlement had been abandoned for quite some time, and that probably didn’t sit well with the superstitious danes.

And besides being creepy, Chester promised generally rough living. Sure, it might sit next to farm land and a few small settlements, but this wasn’t the civitas it had once been… the Danes weren’t marching in and setting up in a nice little manor. These were ruins. Old ruins. This was going to be hardcore camping.

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Imagine that you’re in your 20s. You are a member of the royal dynasty… the next in line for the throne. But your future court is filled with powerful Ealdormen who expect their king to be a warrior. Given the mood of the nobles, and how some of them are chaffing at your father’s style of rule, it’s become clear that you can’t leave any doubt. Any weakness and your succession could be in jeopardy. And then suddenly, one of the most fearsome armies of Northmen in Western Europe arrives on your shores… and you lead the army that routed it.

That was the situation that Edward AEtheling found himself in at Farnham. His position at court dramatically improved in response to that victory. In a single day of fighting, he had proven his worth and silenced his detractors.

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892 was not a very good year.

Alfred’s gambit to pacify the forces of Hastein through the power of baptism and gifts had failed utterly, and now they were encamped in Benfleet Essex, launching raids into Wessex and (probably) Mercia.

And as for the gargantuan fleet of 250 ships to the south at Appledore? It was still there.

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What was Alfred’s reaction to the news of a massive viking fleet crossing the channel? Was it a surprise? Did he just expect it at this point? Was he angry that he would have to fight for his kingdom yet one more time?

Based on his apparent devotion to his religion, I imagine he wondered what they had done to invite yet another test of their faith in the form of bristling war ships.

But in truth, there was nothing he could have done. The Danes were, in many respects, like a natural disaster… but in the case of this fleet, what launched them towards the shores of Wessex was an actual natural disaster.

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A massive fleet was off the coast of Kent, heading directly for Alfred’s realm. It was a fleet of 250 ships teeming with skilled, highly experienced raiders. But fleets don’t materialize out of thin air. They come from somewhere…

And curiously, over the last 14 years, the scribes of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle were actually giving the backstory to this particular fleet … because this fleet is the very same one that occupied Fulham in 879. Back when Alfred had only just defeated Guthrum and his kingdom was stretched too thin to be able to oust them.

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The Sons of Rhodri, rulers of vast swaths of Wales, have followed in their father’s footsteps in their quest to bring all of the Western Kingdoms under a command of a single dynasty. Their dynasty.

In aid of this, they sought common cause with the Danes of Jorvik and their new King… a man called Guthred. There were rumors surrounding him. Rumors that likely gave the Sons of Rhodri Mawr hope.

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