Hastein (Old Norse: ''Hásteinn'', also recorded as ''Hastingus'', ''Anstign'', ''Haesten'', ''Hæsten'', ''Hæstenn'' or ''Hæsting'' and alias ''Alsting''Jones, Aled (2003). ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Sixth Series'' Cambridge University Press p24) was a notable

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 ...

chieftain of the late 9th century who made several raiding voyages.

Early life

Little is known of Hastein's early life. He is described as a

Dane Dane or Danes may refer to: People Pertaining to Denmark * Dane, somebody from Denmark * Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark * Danes (Germanic tribe) Other people * Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...

in the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

''. Hastein is credited with being involved with various raids on the

Frankish Empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

. He also led a great raid into the Mediterranean in 859.

For indeed the Frankish nation, which was crushed by the avenger Anstign astein was very full of filthy uncleanness. Treasonous and oath-breaking, they were deservedly condemned; unbelievers and faithless, they were justly punished ... ''
Dudo of St. Quentin Dudo, or Dudon, was a Picardie, Picard historian, and dean of Saint-Quentin, France, Saint-Quentin, where he was born about 965. Sent in 986 by Albert I, Count of Vermandois, on an errand to Richard I of Normandy, Richard I, Duke of Normandy, he su ...
's. Gesta Normannorum. Book 1. Chapter 3.''

Spain and the Mediterranean

During 859–862, Hastein jointly led an expedition with Björn Ironside. A fleet of 62 ships sailed from the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

to raid countries in the Mediterranean. At first the raiding did not go well, with Hastein being defeated by the

Asturians Asturians ( ast, asturianos) are a Celtic-Romance ethnic group native to the autonomous community of Asturias, in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. Culture and society Heritage Asturians are directly descended from the Astures, who wer ...

and later the Muslims of the Umayyad

emirate of Córdoba The Emirate of Córdoba ( ar, إمارة قرطبة, ) was a medieval Islamic kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. Its founding in the mid-eighth century would mark the beginning of seven hundred years of Muslim rule in what is now Spain and Port ...

at Niebla in 859. Success followed with the sacking of Algeciras, where the mosque was burned, and then the ravaging of Mazimma in the Idrisid Caliphate on the north coast of Africa, followed by further raids into the Umayyad Caliphate at Orihuela, the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

and

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the reg ...

. They occupied

Nekor Nekor (Berber language: N'kor; ) is a historic site in the Rif region of Morocco near modern-day Bni Bouayach. It was founded by Idris ibn Salih, Emir of the medieval Kingdom of Nekor, between 749 and 761 AD. His son Sa'id I ibn Idris moved the ca ...

for 8 days. Hastein and Björn wintered at Camargue island on the mouth of the Rhone before ravaging Narbonne,

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

and

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, then as far north as

Valence Valence or valency may refer to: Science * Valence (chemistry), a measure of an element's combining power with other atoms * Degree (graph theory), also called the valency of a vertex in graph theory * Valency (linguistics), aspect of verbs rel ...

, before moving onto Italy. There they attacked the city of Luna. Believing it to be Rome, Hastein had his men carry him to the gate and tell the guards he was dying and wished to convert to Christianity. Once inside, he was taken to the town's church where he received the sacraments, before jumping from his stretcher and leading his men in a sack of the town. Another account has him claiming to want to convert before he died, and then feigning death on the following day. Luna then allowed his body and 50 of his men clad in robes enter for his burial. Hastein's men had concealed swords under their robes, and once inside Hastein leaped from his coffin, decapitated the priest and sacked the city. However, the veracity of this is much debated. He sailed down the coast and sacked

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

and, sailing on the River

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a s ...

, ravaged

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. Sin ...

. The fleet then possibly raided the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

's territories in the eastern Mediterranean. On the way back to the Loire, he stopped off in North Africa where he bought several African slaves (known to the Vikings as 'blámenn', ''blue men'', possibly

Souss The Sous region (also spelt Sus, Suss, Souss or Sousse) ( ar, سوس, sūs, shi, ⵙⵓⵙ, sus) is an area in mid-southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River (''Asif n Sus''), separated from the Sahara desert b ...

ians or Tuaregs) whom he later sold in Ireland. They were presumed to have lost 40 ships in a storm, and lost 2 more at the

Straits of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...

on their way home, near Medina-Sidonia, but still managed to ravage

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

before returning home to the Loire with 20 ships.

Loire and Seine

Settled back in Brittany, Hastein allied himself with

Salomon, King of Brittany Salomon ( br, Salaün) (died 874) was Count of Rennes and Nantes from 852 and Duke of Brittany from 857 until his death by assassination. He used the title King of Brittany intermittently after 868. In 867, he was granted the counties of Avranches ...

against the Franks in 866, and as part of a Viking-

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

army he killed

Robert the Strong Robert the Strong (french: Robert le Fort; c. 830 – 866) was the father of two kings of West Francia: Odo (or Eudes) and Robert I of France. His family is named after him and called the Robertians. In 853, he was named ''missus dominicus'' ...

at the

Battle of Brissarthe The Battle of Brissarthe was fought on 2 July 866, between the Franks and a joint Breton-Viking army near Brissarthe, Neustria. It was marked by the death of Robert the Strong, the Neustrian margrave, and Ranulf I, the duke of Aquitaine. I ...

near

Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe Châteauneuf-sur-Sarthe () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department of western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Les Hauts-d'Anjou.Kendrick T.D (1930). ''A History of the Vikings'' New York Charles Scribner's Sons In 867 he went on to ravage

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

and a year later attacked

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and occupied Angers, which led to a siege by the Frankish king

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

and a peace being agreed in October 873. Hastein remained in the Loire country until 882, when he was finally expelled by Charles and then relocated his army north to the Seine. There he stayed until the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

besieged Paris and his territory in the

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

was threatened. It was at this point he became one of many experienced Vikings to look to England for riches and plunder.

England

Hastein crossed to England from

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

in 892 leading one of two great companies. His army, the smaller of the two, landed in 80 ships and occupied the royal village of Milton Regis near Sittingbourne in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, whilst his allies landed at

Appledore Appledore may refer to: Places England * Appledore, Kent ** Appledore (Kent) railway station * Appledore, Mid Devon, near Tiverton * Appledore, Torridge, North Devon, near Bideford U.S.A. * Appledore Island, off the coast of Maine In fiction * App ...

with 250 ships. Stenton, F. M. (1971). ''Anglo-Saxon England'' Third Edition Oxford: Oxford University Press

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 ...

positioned the West Saxon army between them to keep them from uniting, the result of which was that Hastein agreed terms, including allowing his two sons to be baptised, and left Kent for

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. The larger army attempted to reunite with Hastein after raiding Hampshire and Berkshire in the late spring of 893, but was defeated at

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

by an army under

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, Alfred's son. The survivors eventually reached Hastein's army at

Mersea Island Mersea Island is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old English word ''meresig'', meaning "island of the pool" and thus is tautological. The island is s ...

, after a combined West Saxon and

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 ...

n army failed to dislodge them from their fortress at Thorney.Kendrick T.D (1930). ''A History of the Vikings'' New York Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 242 As a result, Hastein combined his forces from Appledore and Milton and withdrew them to a fortified camp at Benfleet, Essex. He used this camp as a base to raid Mercia. However, while his main force was out raiding those left in the fort were defeated by the bolstered militia of eastern Wessex. The West Saxons captured the fort, along with the ships, booty, women and children. This included Hastein's own wife and sons.Walker, Ian W (2000). ''Mercia and the Making of England'' Sutton Hastein re-established his combined force at a new fort at Shoebury further east in Essex, and received reinforcements from the settled Danes 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 ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. Shortly after, according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', Hastein held talks with Alfred, possibly to discuss terms for the release of his family. Whatever the discussion, it seems Hastein had his two sons returned to him. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' tells us that it was because Alfred and Alfred's son-in-law Aethelred of Mercia, had stood sponsor to Hastein's sons at their baptism in early 893, before Hastein had arrived at Benfleet. Thus Alfred was godfather to one boy and Aethelred godfather to the other''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' 893 / ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' 894 – English translation a
project Gutenberg
Retrieved 3 August 2015 If Alfred's strategy was to create peace then it was a failure as shortly after, Hastein launched a second raid along the Thames valley and from there along the

River 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 ...

. Hastein was pursued all the way by Aethelred and a combined Mercian and West Saxon army, reinforced by a contingent of warriors from the Welsh kingdoms. Eventually the Viking army was trapped at Buttington—this was possibly the island of Buttington on the Severn near Welshpool, Powys—then at the resulting

Battle of Buttington The Battle of Buttington was fought in 893 between a Viking army and an alliance of Anglo-Saxons and Welsh. The annals for 893 reported that a large Viking army had landed in the Lympne Estuary, Kent and a smaller force had landed in the Tham ...

several weeks later they fought their way out, and lost many men, and returned to the fortress at Shoebury. According to the annals:

..after many weeks had passed, some of the heathen ikingsdied of hunger, but some, having by then eaten their horses, broke out of the fortress, and joined battle with those who were on the east bank of the river. But, when many thousands of pagans had been slain, and all the others had been put to flight, the Christians nglishwere masters of the place of death. In that battle the most noble Ordheah and many of the king's thegns were killed ...''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' 893. English translation a
Project Gutenberg
Retrieved 13 July 2015

In late summer 893, Hastein's men struck out again. They moved all their booty, women and ships, from East Anglia, to the ruined Roman fortress at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. The plan was to rebuild the fortifications and use it as a base for raiding northern Mercia. However, the Mercians had other ideas, they laid siege to the fortress and attempted to starve the Danes out by removing or retrieving any livestock and destroying any crops in the area. In the autumn the besieged army left Chester, marched down to the south of Wales and devastated the Welsh kingdoms of

Brycheiniog Brycheiniog was an independent kingdom in South Wales in the Early Middle Ages. It often acted as a buffer state between England to the east and the south Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth to the west. It was conquered and pacified by the Normans be ...

, Gwent and Glywysing until the summer of 894. They came back via

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

, the Danish-held midlands of the

Five Burghs The Five Boroughs or The Five Boroughs of the Danelaw were the five main towns of Danish Mercia (what is now the East Midlands). These were Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford. The first four later became county towns. Establ ...

, and

to return to the fort at Mersea Island. In the autumn of 894, the army towed their ships up the Thames to a new fort on the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

. In the summer of 895 Alfred arrived with the West Saxon army, and obstructed the course of the Lea with a fort either side of the river. The Danes abandoned their camp, returned their women to East Anglia and made another great march across the Midlands to a site on the Severn (where Bridgnorth now stands), followed all the way by hostile forces. There they stayed until the spring of 896 when the army finally dispersed into East Anglia, Northumbria and according to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', those that were penniless found themselves ships and went south across the sea to the Seine. ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' 897- English translation a
Project Gutenberg
Retrieved 3 August 2015

Legacy

Hastein disappeared from history in around 896, by then an old man having already been described as "the lusty and terrifying old warrior of the Loire and the Somme", when he arrived in England several years earlier. He was one of the most notorious and successful Vikings of all time, having raided dozens of cities across many kingdoms in Europe and North Africa. The Picard monk Dudo of Saint-Quentin was very critical of Hastein:

This was a man accursed: fierce, mightily cruel, and savage, pestilent, hostile, sombre, truculent, given to outrage, pestilent and untrustworthy, insolent, fickle and lawless. Death-dealing, uncouth, fertile in ruses, warmonger-general, traitor, fomenter of evil, and double-dyed dissimulator ... ''Dudo of St. Quentin's. Gesta Normannorum. Book 1. Chapter 3.''

He is identified with the

Jarl Jarl is a rank of the nobility in Scandinavia. In Old Norse, it meant "chieftain", particularly a chieftain set to rule a territory in a king's stead. ''Jarl'' could also mean a sovereign prince. For example, the rulers of several of the petty k ...

Hasting who held the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

for a while. Some scholars have suggested that the Hastings area of Sussex in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

may have been founded by a forebear of Hastein.

Fictional representations

Jarl Hastein is a recurring character in Bernard Cornwell's ''

The Saxon Stories ''The Saxon Stories'' (also known as ''Saxon Tales''/''Saxon Chronicles'' in the US and ''The Warrior Chronicles'' and most recently as ''The Last Kingdom'' series) is a historical novel series written by Bernard Cornwell about the birth of E ...

'' novels, as a former ally and then opponent of Uhtred of Bebbanburg. In the television adaptation '' The Last Kingdom'' he is played by Norwegian actor Jeppe Beck Laursen. Jarl Hastein is the main protagonist in C.J. Adrien's popular trilogy of novels title
The Saga of Hasting the Avenger
about Hastein's supposed early life (using the French spelling of the name, 'Hasting'). Jarl Hastein appears in the popular "Crusader Kings" video game series, first appearing in

Crusader Kings II ''Crusader Kings II'' is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. Set in the Middle Ages, the game was released on February 14, 2012, as a sequel to 2004's '' Crusader Kings''. On ...

br>The Old Gods DLC
"Viking Age" era and again in Crusader Kings III as a highlighted character to play during "The Great Adventurers" start. Jarl Hastein also appears in the fictional series ''The Strongbow Saga'' written by Judson Roberts.

References

External links

Cindy Vallar's Viking Page

Vikings in the Channel Islands
Viking Age in France Viking Age in Italy Viking Age in Spain Viking warriors 9th-century Danish people 9th-century Vikings