The Battle of Pinhoe was a battle between the Danes and the men of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Pinhoe Pinhoe is a former village, manor and ecclesiastical parish, now a suburb on the north eastern outskirts of the City of Exeter in the English county of Devon. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,108 people resident within Pinhoe Ward, ...

The battle

In 1001,

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 ...

laid siege to Exeter, but due to the strong fortifications built during Athelstan's reign they could not break through. They then started pillaging nearby villages, and were met at

by an army from the shires of Devon and

. The battle was hard and the defenders nearly used up all their ammunition.

The priest of Pinhoe

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

of Pinhoe wanted to resupply the troops with ammunition. He sneaked through the Danish lines and ran to Exeter to get arrows and arms. He successfully returned to the defending

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and supplied them with the weapons.

The burning of Pinhoe

The weapons were not sufficient for the Saxons to defeat the Vikings. The Vikings infiltrated Pinhoe and burned it to the ground. This was as a warning for the citizens of Exeter.

The legacy of the priest

The priest was awarded for his outstanding bravery an annual payment of 16 shillings. It was said that this sum was still paid to the Vicar of Pinhoe in Victorian times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Pinhoe 11th century in Devon Military history of Devon

1001 in England