Odda, also known as Oddune,Harding p. 6 was a ninth-century

ealdorman Ealdorman (, ) was a term in Anglo-Saxon England which originally applied to a man of high status, including some of royal birth, whose authority was independent of the king. It evolved in meaning and in the eighth century was sometimes applied ...

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 ...

. He is known for his victory at the Battle of Cynwit in 878, where his

West Saxon West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

forces defeated 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 Ubba, brother of the Viking chiefs

Ivar the Boneless Ivar the Boneless ( non, Ívarr hinn Beinlausi ; died c. 873), also known as Ivar Ragnarsson, was a Viking leader who invaded England and Ireland. According to the ''Tale of Ragnar Lodbrok'', he was the son of Ragnar Loðbrok and his wife Asl ...

and

Halfdan Ragnarsson Halfdan Ragnarsson ( non, Hálfdan; oe, Halfdene or ''Healfdene''; sga, Albann; died 877) was a Viking leader and a commander of the Great Heathen Army which invaded the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England, starting in 865. One of six sons of R ...

Biography

Little is known of Odda's early life, but he became ealdorman of Devon sometime before 878, ultimately succeeding ''Karl'', or ''Ceorle'', the ealdorman in 851.Fisher p. 539 Throughout the 870s Odda's liege,

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 bo ...

King of Wessex This is a list of monarchs of Wessex until AD 886. For later monarchs, see the List of English monarchs. While the details of the later monarchs are confirmed by a number of sources, the earlier ones are in many cases obscure. The names are give ...

, was engaged in constant war with 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 ...

. They had begun their invasion of England in 865, and by Alfred's accession in 871 the Kingdom 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 ...

was the only

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a 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-Saxons happened wit ...

realm opposing them.Savage p. 101 By 878 the conflict was going poorly for Alfred. In January of that year, the Danes made a sudden attack on

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in northwest Wiltshire, England. It lies northeast of Bath, west of London, and is near the Cotswolds Area of Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon and some form of settlement i ...

, a royal stronghold in which Alfred had been staying over Christmas, "and most of the people they killed, except ... King Alfred, and he with a little band made his way by wood and swamp, and after Easter, he made a fort at

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". T ...

in the marshes of

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 , lor ...

, and from that fort kept fighting against the foe."''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''
Freely licensed version at Gutenberg Project. Note: This electronic edition is a collation of material from nine diverse extant versions of the ''Chronicle''. It contains primarily the translation of Rev. James Ingram, as published in the Everyman edition. Alfred was faced with an issue of loyalty, with the real possibility that many of his people would not remain faithful to him, and instead lend their allegiance to

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 during April 871 to join forces ...

, King of the Danish Vikings and conqueror of much of Wessex. It has been suggested that Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, had already gone over to Guthrum's side in exchange for a royal title.Albert and Tucker p. 3 Odda was forced to choose between Alfred and Guthrum in early 878 when an army of Vikings, led by Ubba, supposed son of the legendary Ragnar Lodbrok, landed on the north Devon or

coast, possibly near modern-day

Lynmouth Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as ...

.Albert and Tucker p. 4 Choosing not to side with the invaders, Odda gathered an army, mostly composed of inexperienced farmers and peasants, and retreated to a defensive position overlooking the beach. This location is usually identified as Countisbury Hill,Swanton p. 78 but other sites such as

Cannington Camp Cannington Camp is a Bronze Age and Iron Age hill fort near Cannington, Somerset, England. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The small hill rises to above low-lying land about west of the tidal estuary of the River Parrett, near the ancien ...

, Somerset, have also been suggested.Kendrick p. 238 Odda's forces entrenched themselves atop the hill, reinforcing the pre-existing defensive fort. However, realising that there was no source of fresh water for the Saxon defenders, Ubba decided not to attack, and ordered his forces to wait instead so that thirst would drive Odda to surrender. Ubba's army bore the

raven banner The raven banner ( non, hrafnsmerki ; enm, hravenlandeye) was a flag, possibly totemic in nature, flown by various Viking chieftains and other Scandinavian rulers during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries. The flag, as depicted in Norse artwork, ...

, the symbol of Odin, and it flapped strongly in the wind, signifying victory. According to legend, this banner was woven by the daughters of Ragnar Lodbrok, the sisters of Ubba, and could foretell what would happen in the forthcoming battle, flapping strongly for a victory and hanging limply for a defeat. Realising the problem, Odda decided he could not remain atop the hill indefinitely, and at the break of dawn he led his troops down the hill, taking the Vikings by surprise. In the ensuing battle around a thousand Vikings were killed, as was Ubba himself, possibly at Odda's own hand. The raven banner was captured by Odda's men and a great victory was won. The battle would later be known as the Battle of Cynwit, or sometimes as the Battle of the Raven Banner. Not long after the battle, in May 878, King Alfred left the Somerset marshes and defeated Guthrum's forces at 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 ...

. He then pursued the Danes to their stronghold at

and starved them into submission. One of the terms of the surrender was that Guthrum convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. Three weeks later the Danish king and 29 of his chief men were baptised at Alfred's court at Aller, near

, with Alfred receiving Guthrum as his spiritual son. Odda was ultimately succeeded as Ealdorman of Devon by Edred, who died in 901.

References

Citations Bibliography * * * * * * Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odda Anglo-Saxon ealdormen Anglo-Saxon warriors 9th-century English people Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Military personnel from Devon