5.2 svein forkbeard (985 - 1014) Flashcards
svein’s early achievements in denmark
-boosted & sustained trade
-eradicated german risk
-boosted christianity
-guaranteed security of foreign traders
how did svein boost trade? (early achievements in denmark)
by continuing the minting of money
how did svein stop the threat of germans? (early achievements in denmark)
he expelled german bishops
how did svein boost christianity? (early achievements in denmark)
by inviting english bishops to lead the church in denmark
how did svein secure foreign traders? (early achievements in denmark)
he helped foreign traders keep safe in areas that were becoming strongly christian
olaf’s past
olaf had already attacked england in
991 and had been paid a danegeld of 10,000 pounds of silver to leave
what gave olaf and svein the opportunity to attack england?
-in their time it went through a time of weak government
-king (ethelred) was only twelve at start of his reign in 978
-his reign was marked by treachery, cowardice, poor organisation and bad luck
why might olaf and svein needed to invade england?
-the supply of silver from the far east seems to have stopped in about 970 -svein would’ve wanted silver to continue to flow into denmark (esp into the hands of the local chiefs and jarls who might otherwise turn against him)
svein & olaf tryggvason’s attack on england
-olaf was a norweigan warrior
-olaf and svein raided england in 993
-driven off from London, they raided sussex and hampshire and over-wintered at southampton
-in 994, ethelred offered olaf more money to leave which he took, ignoring his partnership w svein
-olaf returned to norway & declared himself king, knowing that svein, claimed that title
what happened when svein got back to denmark after his failed attack on england?
-the swedish king, eric, had taken control there in his absence
-svein forced eric to hand back his lands and when Eric died in 995, svein married his widow, sigrid
-sigrid was fiercely pagan, but this did not stop Svein from making her his wife even he was
how was svein’s marriage with sigrid beneficial?
-it created an alliance with the swedes
-it made denmark safe from any swedish attacks
how did svein get norway back from olaf?
-with new allies (swedes) he spent the next five years at war with olaf & defeated him at the sea battle of svolder in the year 1000
-svein & king of Sweden shared out the best norwegian lands
-svein now had far more land in norway than his father had ever held
when & what was the massacre of st brice’s day?
13 november 1002
-king ethelred ordered a sudden surprise attack on all danes living in england
massacre of st brice’s day: findings
-discovery was made in dorset, 2009 -54 broken skeletons with 51 skulls
-no sign that they had died fighting
-wounds on the back of the skulls showed that they had been hacked down as they tried to escape
-no signs of clothing, dead bodies must have been stripped, decapitated and tipped into their grave
-DNA testing showed that the victims were all from different regions of scandinavia
-similar find, with fewer people, in oxford
king svein’s revenge:
1003:
raided south west england, burnt exeter, wilton, salisbury
1004:
attacked east anglia
1006-7:
attacked kent, moved inland & ravaged hampshire, over wintered on the isle of wight but was bought off with 30,000 pounds of silver
