The Battle of Chippenham was a January 878 battle between a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

army led by

Guthrum Guthrum ( ang, Guðrum, c. 835 – c. 890) was King of East Anglia in the late 9th century. Originally a native of what is now Denmark, he was one of the leaders of the "Great Summer Army" that arrived in Reading, Berkshire, Reading during April ...

and an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

army led by

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...

. The Vikings forced Alfred to flee

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

and managed temporarily to gain control over most of

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

. The battle was part of a coordinated strike on Wessex led by Guthrum and

Ubba Ubba (Old Norse: ''Ubbi''; died 878) was a 9th-century Viking and one of the commanders of the Great Heathen Army that invaded Anglo-Saxon England in the 860s. The Great Army appears to have been a coalition of warbands drawn from Scandinavia, ...

, breaking an earlier truce between the two sides. Alfred, spending the winter at Chippenham, was without his army and was forced to flee to

Athelney Athelney is a village located between the villages of Burrowbridge and East Lyng in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English '' æþeling'' meaning "prince" + -''ey'' meaning "isle". Th ...

. Following Ubba's defeat to

Odda, Ealdorman of Devon Odda, also known as Oddune,Harding p. 6 was a ninth-century ealdorman of Devon. He is known for his victory at the Battle of Cynwit in 878, where his West Saxon forces defeated a Viking army led by Ubba, brother of the Viking chiefs Ivar the Bone ...

, Alfred managed to muster his forces and reclaim Wessex following the

Battle of Edington At the Battle of Edington, an army of the kingdom of Wessex under Alfred the Great defeated the Great Heathen Army led by the Dane Guthrum on a date between 6 and 12 May 878, resulting in the Treaty of Wedmore later the same year. Primary ...

in May 878. Guthrum would not attack Wessex again, agreeing to the

Treaty of Wedmore The Treaty of Wedmore is a 9th-century accord between Alfred the Great of Wessex and the Viking king Guthrum the Old. The only contemporary reference to this treaty, is that of a Welsh monk Asser in his biography of Alfred, (known as Asser#The Li ...

. Alfred would then reorganise the army of Wessex to ensure there was always a standing force ready to meet a threat.

Background

The

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

first started raiding the British coast towards the end of the eighth century, with monasteries such as

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

in northern Britain being attacked. These raids would continue and in the 860s Viking armies arrived in Britain with the intention of conquest. The

Great Heathen Army The Great Heathen Army,; da, Store Hedenske Hær also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandin ...

of Vikings first arrived in 865 and within a decade they had conquered the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

and

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. Shortly before

was named king in 871, the Vikings had also attacked

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

where Alfred defeated them at the

Battle of Ashdown The Battle of Ashdown, was a West Saxon victory over a Danish Viking army on about 8 January 871. The location of Ashdown is not known, but may be Kingstanding Hill in Berkshire. Other writers place the battle near Starveall, a short distance n ...

. Despite this victory, Alfred was still forced to pay off the Vikings to prevent subsequent invasions. In 874 the Viking army divided, with a contingent under

heading south along the coast towards Wessex, and a supply fleet sailing in support. In 875 or 877, following a storm which caused the loss of this fleet, the Vikings were surrounded by Alfred at

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and forced to leave Wessex after an exchange of hostages was made as a sign of good faith. This truce would be broken in 878, when the Vikings launched a coordinated attack led by Guthrum from East Anglia, and by

who appeared in the

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

Battle

Anglo-Saxons

Archäologisches Landesmuseum Schloss Gottorf 034

At this time Wessex was defended by the

fyrd A fyrd () was a type of early Anglo-Saxon army that was mobilised from freemen or paid men to defend their Shire's lords estate, or from selected representatives to join a royal expedition. Service in the fyrd was usually of short duration and ...

, a force made up of the lords and commoners of the realm and raised on an ad hoc basis. It took time to assemble a fighting force, and this system was intended to allow for short, decisive engagements. It was necessary to disband this force once the campaign was over. These men were typically armed with spears, although wealthier men might have carried a sword. For armour, the fyrd wore a conical helmet and carried a round shield, with wealthier men owning a

chain mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

coat.

Vikings

The weaponry of the Vikings varied according to their social class. Most would have carried a spear, shield and an axe or short knife. Wealthier Vikings would have also carried javelins, and might have had a helmet. It is thought armour was limited to nobility and professional warriors. The tactics of the Vikings were to take defensible sites such as royal estates, improve upon the defences, and raid the surrounding land from this base, avoiding confrontations with superior forces. These tactics would work well against the Anglo-Saxons who were unused to the siege warfare required to take these fortified sites, and whose logistical system was designed for short campaigns.

Chippenham

Alfred was wintering at his royal estates near

, when Guthrum surprised him and launched an attack just after New Year. With the fyrd not assembled Alfred was forced to flee and the Vikings were able to take Chippenham. Guthrum's onslaught occurred when the Saxon soldiers were celebrating Epiphany and completely wrecked Alfred's army, killing many warriors and scattering the rest. Some of the survivors fled across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

to France.

Aftermath

Following his defeat at Chippenham, Alfred was forced to retreat to the Island of Athelney, and the Vikings came close to ruling all of Wessex. From Athelney, Alfred would gather his forces and in May would defeat Guthrum at the

. Combined with Ubba's defeat to

at the

Battle of Cynwit The Battle of Cynwit, was a battle between West Saxons and Vikings in 878 at a fort which Asser calls ''Cynwit''. The location of the battle is not known for sure but probably was at Countisbury Hill, near Countisbury, Devon. Prelude The Vikin ...

earlier in the year, this would allow Alfred to retake Wessex. Following the

, Guthrum was baptised and left Wessex. Learning from his defeat, Alfred would reorganise the military structure of Wessex, ensuring that there would always be some troops in the field to defend the kingdom. When the Vikings attacked Wessex again 13 years later, they would find it defended by a mobile standing army able to counter the threat. This was to be achieved by rotating the fighting men over time, ensuring that there were always some at home to defend their own lands.

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

Bibliography

* * {{Viking Invasion of England Alfred the Great

9th century in England

878