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Scandinavian inroads into England had begun as early as the 8
th
century. At first
Scandinavians appeared in the late 8
th
century, but at that time they came to England
only for short periods, just to plunder and return to their homeland. Their homes were
in the lowlands of Denmark, in Sweden, and along the coast of Norway. All were of
the same stock called Danes (also
known as Norse men, Vikings, or Men of the
Creeks).
Before 855 the Danes came to England only in summer,
and for winter they
returned home, to the North. Only in 855 they stayed on the island for winter and
decided to settle there for living. The reason of their decision to stay was the political
situation in their homeland: the strong kings in the North did not tolerate independent
chiefs and any competition.
The Danes conquered
Mercia and East Anglia, and after that they attacked
Wessex.
In the midst of all this, by the end of the ninth century, there uprose one of the
noblest English kings, king Alfred the Great. He offered the Scandinavian invaders a
stubborn resistance. In 878 King Alfred made peace with the invaders (the so-called
Wedmore peace
).
As a result of that, England was divided by a line formed by the
river Thames: the country north of this line was given over to the Danes and was
called the Danelaw (
Danelaʒ
)
; the territory
to the south fell to Alfred, who became
the recognized champion of the English against the Danes.
In the late 10
th
century the war against the Scandinavian invaders was resumed,
and in 1016 (in some sources 1017) England became
part of a vast Scandinavian
Empire in Northern Europe under the Danish king Cnut (also spelled
Knut
and
Canute
). Scandinvian power in England lasted until 1042, when it was overthrown,
and the power of the English nobility was restored under king Edward the Confessor.
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