The First Battle of Alton was a skirmish in 1001 between the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and the

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 ...

s. According to the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' it took place at somewhere called, in

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

, ''Æthelingadene''.Bately. ''The Anglo Saxon Chronicle''. p. 79 Traditionally, the site was believed to have been what is now

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

.Kendrick. A History of the Vikings p. 262 However, it is thought more likely to have been in the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and West Dean area of modern-day

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

.Lapidge. ''Anglo-Saxon England''. pp. 13-14

Causes

Between 991 and 1005 Danish attacks on England escalated from small isolated raids to massed attacks by larger forces.Williams. ''Æthelred the Unready''. pp. 43-50 The Danes ravaged the countryside, demanding huge tributes (

Danegeld Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the ''geld'' or ''gafol'' in eleventh-century sources. It ...

) from Æthelred, the Anglo-Saxon king. However, the attacks continued and their plunder and pillage tactics, combined with a rapid march strategy brought them as far as '' Æthelingadene''.

The Attack

It began with the arrival of the Viking fleet off the Sussex coast, which then proceeded to '' "Æthelingadene"'' where the men of

united to fight against them. An indication of the severity of the English casualty list is given by the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' that cites the total English losses as 81, it included two high-reeves and three thegns, of the bishop of Winchester, this was compared, to 'a much greater number' lost by the Danes. However, the Danes managed to win the field and advance further west, while the Anglo-Saxons retreated to Winchester.

Consequences

The First Battle of Alton failed to stop the Danish Army. It attacked

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 ...

, burning many towns such as ''Teignton'', until the area surrendered. The advance continued towards

Exmouth Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the 5th most populous settlement in Devon. Histo ...

, until it reached ''Pin-hoo'', where the high-steward of the king, Cole, and Edsy, the reeve of the king once again raised an army against it at the Battle of Pinhoe. Again the Danes prevailed and burned 'many goodly towns that we cannot name'. Here they turned eastwards and reached the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, until the people there made peace with them. In the year 1006, Æthelred was forced to make a permanent peace with the hostile force, and gave them a tribute of 30,000 pounds. In 1008, he gave the order to build ships, triggering a huge naval force to be made.Williams. ''Æthelred the Unready''. pp. 80-83 By 1009, this fleet was ready, and was sent to

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

to defend the land against attacking forces.

Placename

The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records the battle as being at Æthelingadene. Ætheling is the Old English for ''Prince'', ''Ingas'' is a settlement of people associated with a common leader and ''Dene'' is derived from ''denu'' the name for valley.John McNeil Dodgson. "Place-Names in Sussex" ''in'' Brandons. ''South Saxons''. Ch. IV. p. 71Gelling. The Landscape of Placenames. p.115Lapidge. ''Anglo-Saxon England''. p. 252 Therefore, the place-name ''Æthelinga-dene'' refers to the valley associated with ''Æthelings'' and it has been suggested that Dene (now

and

West Dean, West Sussex West Dean is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the District of Chichester in West Sussex, England north of Chichester on the A286 road just west of Singleton. The parishes include the hamlets of Binderton and Chilgrove. The civ ...

) was where Queen Ælfthryth brought up her grandchildren, the sons of Æthelred, who would have had the title ''Ætheling''.

Notes

References

*''Anglo-Saxon Annals from A.D. 1001 to A.D. 1010'', * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alton

Battles involving the Anglo-Saxons Battles involving the Vikings Battles involving Denmark 1001 in England First Battle of Alton