Guthrum

Viking raids began in England in the late 8th century. The first one was probably either in 787 or 789. [2] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 787 says that:

"This year king Bertric took to wife Eadburga, king Offa's daughter; and in his days first came three ships of Northmen, out of Hæretha-land [Denmark]. And then the reve rode to the place, and would have driven them to the king's town, because he knew not who they were: and they there slew him. These were the first ships of Danishmen which sought the land of the English nation."

— Giles 1914, ASC 787

Raiding of the English kingdoms continued on and off until 865, when an enlarged army landed in East Anglia with the intention of invading and conquering.[3] This was reinforced in 871 by the Great Summer Army (Old English: mycel sumorlida).[4][5]

Coin of king Halfdan, London 872[6]

Guthrum, a nephew of Horik II of Denmark, and failed candidate for a share of the Danish throne, was one of the leaders of the Great Summer Army, that in April 871 joined forces with the "Great Danish army" based at Reading.The combined army had several military engagements with the West Saxons before wintering in London in 871/ 872. Coins minted in London during this period bear the name Halfdan, identifying him as its leader.[7][8]

In autumn of 872 the Army returned to Northumbria to quell a revolt[lower-alpha 3]against its puppet-regent Ecgberht I of Northumbria.[10] The Army overwintered at Torksey, and was then reported as being in the Repton district a year later. It conquered Mercia in 874, the Burgred of Mercia being deposed and replaced by a Danish-puppet regent, Ceolwulf.[10]

Following this victory the Army split in two – one half under Halfdan heading north to fight against the Picts and Britons of Strathclyde. The other half under Guthrum headed south to continue fighting against Wessex.[7]

On Epiphany, 6 January 878, Guthrum made a surprise night-time attack on Alfred and his court at Chippenham. It being a feast day in Christian liturgical year, the Saxons were presumably taken by surprise—indeed it is possible that Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire, allowed the attack through either negligence or intent, for, on Alfred's return to power later in 878, Wulfhere and his wife were stripped of their lands.[11][12]

Alfred fled the attack with a few retainers and took shelter in the marshes of Somerset, staying in the small village of Athelney. Then, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, over the next few months he built up his force and waged a guerrilla war against Guthrum:

"Alfred: and he, with a small band, with difficulty retreated to the woods and to the fastnesses[lower-alpha 4] of the moors.... at Easter king Alfred with a small band constructed a fortress at Athelney; and from this fortress, with that part of the men of Somerset which was nearest to it, from time to time they fought against the [viking] army."

— Giles 1914, ASC 878

After a few months, Alfred called his loyal men to Egbert's Stone, and from there they travelled to Edington to fight the invaders.[14]

In 878 Alfred defeated the Viking Great Army at the Battle of Edington. Guthrum retreated with the remnants of his army to their "stronghold", where Alfred besieged him for fourteen days.[15] Guthrum eventually gave in. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle records the terms of the surrender:

"Then the raiding army granted him [Alfred] hostages and great oaths that they would leave his kingdom and also promised him that their king [Guthrum] would receive baptism; and they fulfilled it. And three weeks later the king Guthrum came to him, one of thirty of the most honourable men who were in the raiding army, at Aller – and that is near Athelney – and the king received him at baptism; and his chrism loosing was at Wedmore."

— Giles 1914, ASC 878

Under the terms of his surrender Guthrum was obliged to be baptised[lower-alpha 5] and then with his army leave Wessex. The agreement whereby Guthrum surrendered, was baptised and agreed to leave Wessex is known as the Treaty of Wedmore.[16] After this another treaty followed that set out the boundaries between Alfred and Guthrum's territories as well as agreements on peaceful trade, and the weregild value of its people. This is known as the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum.[17]

Guthrum returned to East Anglia, and although there are records of viking raiding parties in the 880s. Guthrum ceased to be a threat and ruled as a Christian king for more than ten years. He had coins minted that bore his baptismal name of Æthelstan. On his death in 890 the Annals of St Neots, a chronicle compiled at Bury St Edmunds in the 12th century, recorded that Guthrum was buried at Hadleigh,[lower-alpha 6] Suffolk.[19][7][20]

A Victorian representation of Guthrum's baptism in 878.

A coin minted by Guthrum in 880

Silver penny of Guthrum, minted between 880 and 890.

After his baptism Guthrum ruled with his baptismal name of Æthelstan.

Guthrum appears in several works of fiction, including:

• G. K. Chesterton's poem The Ballad of the White Horse.
• C. Walter Hodges' juvenile historical novels The Namesake and The Marsh King.
• Bernard Cornwell's first three novels of The Saxon Stories series: The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, and The Lords of the North.[21]

On screen, he was portrayed by Brian Blessed[22] in episode 4 ("King Alfred") of Churchill's People, by Michael York in the 1969 film Alfred the Great, and Thomas W. Gabrielsson in the BBC and Netflix original television series The Last Kingdom.

He is the leader of a playable faction in the strategy game Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia.

He is an ally of the Proto-Assassin Eivor in Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

It is implied that the Vikings (2013 TV series) character Hvitserk would be the same as the historical Guthrum (despite a previous character having this name) after he is baptized as Athelstan and made a “Saxon prince” by King Alfred the Great.

• Attenborough, F.L. Tr, ed. (1922). "Treaties with the Danes". The laws of the earliest English kings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. OCLC 4296219.
• BBC (2021). "The Last Kingdom - Guthrum". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
• Cambridge Dictionary (2020). "Fastness". Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
• Costambeys, Marios (2008). "Guthrum". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/11793. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Dumville, David; Keynes, Simon; Lapidge, Michael (1985). The Annals of St Neots with Vita Prima Sancti Neoti, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: a Collaborative Edition. 17. Cambridge. ISBN 978-0-85991-117-7.
• Downham, Clare (2007). Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014. Dunedin Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-903765-89-0.
• Forte, Angelo; Oram, Richard D; Pedersen, Frederik (2005). Viking Empires. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-5218-29922.
• Garmonsway, G. N., ed. (1972). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. London: Dent. ISBN 0-460-11624-X.
• Giles, J.A. (1914). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . London: G. Bell and Sons Ltd. – via Wikisource.
• Laust Krambs, Karsten (2018). "Early Norse kings of York". Les Collections Numismatiques de la Fondation Calvet. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
• Lavelle, Ryan (2010). Alfred's Wars Sources and Interpretations of Anglo-Saxon Warfare in the Viking Age. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydel Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-569-1.
• Lochun, Kev (2020). "The Last Kingdom: the real history behind the series". HistoryExtra. BBC. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
• Oliver, Neil (2012). Vikings. A History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-86787-6.
• Skeat, Walter W (1913). The Place-Names of Suffolk. XLVI. Octavo. OCLC 477037693.
• Smyth, Alfred P. (1995). King Alfred the Great. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-822989-5.
• Starkey, David (2004). The Monarchy of England Volume I. London: Chatto & Windus. ISBN 0-7011-7678-4.
• Sturdy, David (1995). Alfred the Great. London: Constable. ISBN 0-09-474280-4.
• Suffolk Heritage Explorer (2018). "Burial place of the Anglo-Saxon Danish chieftain Guthrum". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
• Williams, Ann (1999). Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England C.500–1066. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-56798-2.
• Wood, Michael (2005). In Search of the Dark Ages. London: BBC. ISBN 978-0-563-52276-8.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guthrum.

• Guthrum 1 at Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England
• "Guthrum" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 12 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 742.