The Viking Great Army in Britain

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How did a Viking army transform the very fabric of a nation?

In 865, the Viking Great Army landed in East Anglia. For the next 15 years, it shaped England’s destiny with relentless battles, shifting alliances, and the defeat of Anglo-Saxon kings. Unlike earlier Viking raids, this army remained year-round, leaving an indelible mark on England's political, economic, and social landscape.

Matt Lewis is joined by Dawn M. Hadley and Julian D. Richards, to discuss the archaeological findings that reveal not only the raids of the Viking Great Army, but their influential settlements, trade, and industry.

Gone Medieval is presented by Matt Lewis. Audio editor is Amy Haddow, the producers are Rob Weinberg and Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Matt Lewis.
0:02.6	And I'm Dr. Eleanor Yonaga.
0:04.2	And we're just popping up here to tell you some insider info.
0:08.0	If you would like to listen to Gone Medieval ad-free and get early access and bonus episodes,
0:13.3	sign up to History Hit.
0:14.5	With the History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries.
0:20.6	Such as my new series on everyone's favorite
0:22.8	conquerors, the Normans, or my recent exploration of the castles that made Britain. There's a new
0:29.9	release to enjoy every week. Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe, or find a link in the show notes for this episode.
0:45.8	Hello, I'm Matt Lewis. Welcome to Gone Medieval from History Hit, the podcast that delves into the
0:55.7	greatest millennium in human history. We've got the most intriguing mysteries, the gobsmacking
1:01.7	details and latest groundbreaking research from the Vikings to the printing press, from kings to
1:07.7	popes to the crusades. We cross centuries and continents to delve into rebellions, plots and murders,
1:14.4	to find the stories big and small that tell us how we got here.
1:19.0	Find out who we really were with Gone Medieval. Late in the year 865, the Viking Great Army landed in East Anglia.
1:39.8	For the next 15 years, battles were fought in all four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Peace treaties were
1:45.7	made and broken, and at least three Anglo-Saxon kings were deposed or killed and replaced.
1:53.5	While previous Viking armies had raided only in the summer months, the Great Army was a constant
1:59.0	presence during the period, which would change the political,
2:02.4	economic and social landscape of England forever. Yet, historical sources say very little
2:09.2	about it. Now, archaeological evidence is revealing the locations of two of the Great Army's
2:15.2	camps and at least 50 other places that it visited.
	...

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