The Scandinavian Army Leaves England

The annal for 1000 in ASC C D E records that ‘the king went into Cumberland and ravaged very nearly all of it’ and his fleet ravaged the Isle of Man. It adds that the enemy fleet had gone to Normandy. This is a strange sequence of events, since there is no explanation for the Scandinavian army ceasing its raiding activities and going to Normandy. John of Worcester amends the order of events so that the enemy fleet went to Normandy first. This seems logical since King Æthelred could hardly have led an army to ravage ‘Cumberland’ if he had not been assured that southern England was safe.

To try to understand why the Scandinavian army left England, it is necessary to consider the circumstances in which the members of that army were placed. The core of the army consisted of men who had remained behind in the pay of Æthelred's government when Olaf Tryggvason departed in 995. They had been settled on land in the south-west, probably in Devonshire, and continued to be available as a military force to attack the king's enemies. Originally, some of them would have taken part in the campaign of 991; others would have reinforced the fleet as it journeyed south in 993. Thus, in 999, many of the members of this army would have been away from Scandinavia for six or even eight years.