Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Danes, Deceit and Disaster

On this day...

Nine hundred and ninety years ago , an English army led by King Edmund (Ironside) was defeated by a Danish invasion force led by the Danish King Cnut at the battle of Ashingdon (1016). The battle is famous for the treachery of the English collaborator Eadric Streona who held back the right wing of the army , allowing the Danes to envelop Edmund's flank.

There are some striking similarities between this battle and the battle of Hastings , that occurred fifty years later almost to the day :

  • Many important members of the English nobility were killed in the fighting.
  • The victors went on to impose a foreign dynasty on the natives.
  • The English were hampered by the absence of an effective fleet with which to co-ordinate opposition to the invaders.
  • The invaders had good intelligence on the approach of the English army.
  • The invaders seized the initiative from the English at the last moment ( Both Cnut and William were able to manouver their force away from their base and avoid being pinned with their backs to their fleet).

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