Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- General Editor's Preface
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Propaganda and legend: Accounts of the invasions and conquest of England
- 2 Hindsight: Features explaining the invasions and conquest
- 3 Swein Forkbeard's first invasion
- 4 Swein Forkbeard's second invasion
- 5 The invasion in 1006
- 6 Swein Forkbeard's third invasion
- 7 Thorkell the Tall and the English succession
- Conclusion
- 1 Heimskringla
- 2 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A reconstruction of the annal for the year 1008
- Bibliography
- Index
- Warfare in History
7 - Thorkell the Tall and the English succession
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- General Editor's Preface
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Propaganda and legend: Accounts of the invasions and conquest of England
- 2 Hindsight: Features explaining the invasions and conquest
- 3 Swein Forkbeard's first invasion
- 4 Swein Forkbeard's second invasion
- 5 The invasion in 1006
- 6 Swein Forkbeard's third invasion
- 7 Thorkell the Tall and the English succession
- Conclusion
- 1 Heimskringla
- 2 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A reconstruction of the annal for the year 1008
- Bibliography
- Index
- Warfare in History
Summary
Thorkell the Tall in 1014
Before his death, Swein Forkbeard had been acknowledged as king of England: ‘all the nation regarded him as full king’ and ‘the citizens of London submitted and gave hostages’. King Æthelred, with his family and supporters, had been driven into exile. They had taken valuables and money with them and were apparently being allowed to use Normandy as a base from which to mount an invasion to recover the throne. At some point, during his period of exile, King Æthelred seems to have come to an arrangement whereby St Olaf, a future king of Norway, and his lið agreed to support an invasion of England.
In England, King Swein disbanded his local levies for the winter season and commandeered money and provisions to sustain the Scandinavian liðs which were stationed on the River Trent, at Gainsborough. In effect, the English nation was being asked to provide for the king's mercenary forces; an expensive undertaking, but not unique since King Æthelred had made similar demands on his subjects at various times during his long reign. However, such ‘taxation’ was particularly onerous coming at the end of a period of seven years during which the country had suffered at the hands of Scandinavian armies led by Tostig, Heming, Eglaf, Thorkell and, finally, Swein Forkbeard, as well as suffering from national armies, raised on King Æthelred's orders, foraging for provisions.
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- Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2003