| Summary : The Battle of Winchester took place in 860 AD, in which Ealdorman Osric and Ealdorman Ethelwulf, commanding the men of Hampshire and Berkshire respectively, won a battle fought on land against a naval force of Vikings which had sailed up the River Itchen. It appears that the Vikings landed from their ships and began to raid the town, but were intercepted by the Saxons before they could carry their booty back to the ships. As the Saxons were able to intercept the Vikings, involving a force levied from two counties, it would suggest that the Viking incursion had not wholly taken the town by surprise, and that it was in some measure anticipated. |
More information : Documentary Evidence:
The Parker Manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ['A' MS]:
'860 . . . And on his daege cuom micel schiphere up and abraecon Wintanceaster, and with thone here gefuhton Osric aldorman mid Ham tun scire and Aethelwulf aldormon mid Bearrucscire and thone here ge fliemdon and wael stowe gewald ahton.' (4)
The Laud Manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ['E' MS]:
'860. . . . And on his daege com mycel scip here up. and abraecon Wintanceastre, and with thone here fuhton Osric ealdor man mid Hamtune scire and Aethelwulf ealdorman mid Barrucscire and thone here ge flymdon. and waelstowe geweald ahton.' (4)
Translated in (5) thus:
'860. . . . And in his time a great naval force came inland and stormed Winchester; and Ealdorman Osric with the men of Hampshire and Ealdorman Aethelwulf with the men of Berkshire fought against that army, and they put the army to flight and had possession of the battle-field.' (5)
It is noted that manuscripts C and F give the date as 861. 'In his time' refers to the time of Aethelbert, who became king on the death of his brother Aethelbald that year, and was said to have held it in 'good harmony and great peace'. However, it is footnoted that this is contradicted by the mention of the Viking incursion in the very next sentence. MSS B and C replace the name of Osric with Wulfweard.
Asser is footnoted here as adding 'when they were returning to the ships with immense booty' at the point in the manuscript where the word 'and' joins 'stormed Winchester' and 'Ealdorman Osric.' (5)
The Battle of Winchester 860 AD is sited to SU 47814 129408 which is arbitrary and for representational purposes only. (1)
Battlefield sited to SU 48486 29062 to the left bank of the River Itchen, an arbitrary point for representational purposes only, but illustrating the proximity to the river. (2)
It is not wholly clear where the battle was fought, although it seems likely to have been a land battle. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (4) and (5), states that the Viking force was shipborne. Asser's words cited as a footnote in (5) ' . . . when they were returning to the ships with immense booty', suggest the likelihood that the Vikings sailed upriver to Winchester itself, and looted the town. This suggests in turn that it was easy for the Vikings to return to their ships with booty (rather than carrying it overland further south to beached vessels on the sea shore, for example). Battle was then joined as the Saxons mustered their forces and intercepted them as they were returning, i.e. before they actually reached their ships. As men from two different counties were involved, this suggests that the town was not wholly taken by surprise. The battlefield is therefore double-indexed as both a terrestrial battlefield, to reflect where it took place, and a naval battlefield, to reflect the method of incursion. (3)
Additional sources cited in source (5):
Annals of St. Bertin, English Historical Documents, 1, No.23.
|