The Invasions

The invasions show how the objectives of Swein Forkbeard and his Scandinavian followers changed, over time, from raiding and tribute seeking to a conquest that must have seemed impossible in 991 but was achieved with comparative ease in 1013–14. More than the objectives may have changed during the period of Swein's invasions. Professor Niels Lund has pondered the question of whether the ‘Viking armies’ were transformed from privately raised forces (lið) to ‘state armies recruited on the basis of a Public obligation’ (leding). Professor Lund concludes that:

During this period the powerful centralised monarchy, or more correctly ‘oligarchy’, that controlled England was forced to change its attitude to the Scandinavian invaders several times and was eventually forced to relinquish power. One consequence was the long and successful reign of King Cnut the Great, Swein Forkbeard's son.

In the ninth century, Scandinavian invaders had threatened to overwhelm the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England. They established a permanent presence in eastern England in territory that became known as the Danelaw. They also established a significant presence in lands bordering the Irish Sea including north-western England.