User:Ficaia/Naval warfare in Anglo-Saxon England

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Angles, Saxons, and Jutes crossing the sea to England, from an 11th century miscellany on the life of St. Edmund

Until after the Norman Conquest, the main literary source for naval affairs in England is the Saxon Chronicle. There is also some archaeological evidence of English ship construction in the Anglo-Saxon period, such as the boat burials at Snape (c. 550) and Sutton Hoo (c. 625). The following is a roughly chronological account of naval actions in England, broadly construed, which are mentioned in the Saxon Chronicle and other sources.

5th–8th centuries[edit]

The Angles arrived in Britain in the year 448, under Hengest and Horsa, with "three long ships",[1] which in another place appear to have been called "ceols"; Ella and his three sons in 477 with three ships;[2] the two eoldormen Cerdic, and Cynric his son, in 495 with five ships;[2] Port and his two sons at Portsmouth with two ships in 501, where they slew a young Briton of high nobility;[3] the West-Saxons in 514, with three ships;[4] Northmen out of Haeretha-land with three ships in 787, the crews of which killed the King's reeve, and which are said to have been the first Danish ships that ever came to England.[5] In 794 the Northmen, who are called "the Heathens",[6] after ravaging several parts of Northumberland, and plundering a monastery at the mouth of the Don, lost some of their vessels by shipwreck.[7][8]

9th century[edit]

In 833, a Danish and Norwegian fleet arrived on the southern coast of England, and King Egbert was defeated in a sanguinary battle with the crews of thirty-five Danish ships at Charmouth.[9] About two years afterwards (835), the Danes having combined with the Welsh and formed a large fleet, they again made war upon Egbert, but their army was completely beaten at Hengston in Cornwall.[9] The next engagement with the Danes was at Southampton in 837, when the eoldorman Wulfheard defeated the crews of thirty-five ships:[10] but, in the same year, the Danes were successful at Port in Dorsetshire; and in 840, the crews of the same number, possibly of the same ships, retained possession of the field after an action with King Ethelwulf at Charmouth.[11] Few, if any, of these contests appear to have taken place at sea; and the first regular naval engagement with the Danes occurred in 851.[12]

In the language of the Saxon annalist, "And the same year King Athelstan,[a] and Ealchere the eoldorman, fought on shipboard, and slew a great number of the enemy at Sandwich in Kent, and took nine ships and put the others to flight; and the Heathen men, for the first time, remained over winter in Thanet."[10][13]

The Danes, however, obtained a greater triumph in the same year; for, having arrived with three hundred and fifty ships at the mouth of the Thames, their crews landed, and took both Canterbury and London by storm. They then put the King of the Mercians and his army to flight, and proceeded over the Thames into Surrey; but meeting King Ethelwulf, and his son Ethelbald, with the army of West-Saxons, they were defeated with immense slaughter at Ockley.[14][13]

Alfred ascended to the throne of Wessex early in 871. Having both previous to and after his accession repeatedly defeated the Danes on land, he proceeded to sea in the summer of the year 876 in command of his fleet; and, in an engagement with seven ships,[b] captured one and put the others to flight.[15] Alfred's next naval exploit was in 882, when he captured four Danish ships after an obstinate resistance; their crews having been "sorely distressed and wounded before they surrendered.''[16][17]

In 885, two sea-fights occurred: in the first, sixteen Danish pirates[c] were taken at the mouth of the Stour, and their crews slain; but, as the Saxons were returning with their booty, they met a large fleet of pirates, which defeated them.[18] In the same year, another large fleet attacked the Old-Saxons; but, the Frisians having joined them, the Saxons obtained, it would seem, two victories.[19][d]

An invasion in 893 by the Danish army which had quitted England in 880, and settled first at Ghent and afterwards in France, called forth all the energy of character. Led by Hasting, a most able and enterprising chief, this army committed great ravages on the continent; and desirous of becoming, if not entire master of England, at least King of the Anglo-Danes, he collected his forces at Boulogne. Having constructed a fleet of two hundred and fifty ships, Hasting embarked the whole of his soldiers and horses, and, making only one passage, arrived at the mouth of the Lymene[e] in East-Kent. The Danes then towed part of their ships four miles up the river as far as the Weald; and, having stormed a newly erected fortress, took up their position at Appledore. Hasting himself, however, proceeded with eighty ships to the Thames, landed at Milton[20] and formed a camp, the remains of which are supposed to be still visible. The enemy thus obtained possession of a large district of Kent, while their fleet protected great part of the coast. The motives which induced them to abandon their position are not recorded. In 894 Hasting crossed the Thames, and erected a fortification at South Benfleet in Essex. About the same time, a fleet of forty sail, which had come north-about into the Bristol Channel, landed on the north coast of Devonshire; while another of one hundred ships, passing down Channel, laid siege to Exeter. Alfred, undismayed by so many enemies, divided his army; and sending part, which was reinforced by the Londoners, against Hasting, conducted the other in person into the west.[21]

The attack on Benfleet was successful; and Hasting's fleet being taken, part were burnt or destroyed, and the rest brought, some to London, and some to Rochester. The Danish chieftain, however, rallied his scattered forces at South Shoebury, where he was joined by ships from East Anglia and Northumbria. He then proceeded up the Thames, and after landing his forces sent back his ships to the coast of Essex, where they took on board the remnant of his army, which had been defeated at Buttington on the banks of the Severn. On the appearance of Alfred before Exeter, the enemy re-embarked, and attacked Chichester, but were driven back to their ships, a few of which were captured. After various other unsuccessful efforts,[22] in the summer of 897 Hasting disbanded his army, some going to East-Anglia, and others to Northumberland, where such of his soldiers as were moneyless procured ships and went to the Seine.[23][24]

Whatever hopes of repose the departure of Hasting might have inspired in the West-Saxons, they were of short duration. In the same year their south coast was harassed by bands of East-Anglians and Northumbrians, who appeared in ships called "aescs", which they had built many years before.[23][25] Antiquaries[f] are not agreed as to the etymology of the name, nor as to the form or size of these vessels.[26]

To oppose these aescs, Alfred commanded "long ships" to be built, which are thus described:—"They were full-nigh twice as long as the others; some had sixty oars,[g] and some had more; they were both swifter and steadier, and also higher, than the others. They were shapen neither like the Frisian nor the Danish; but so as it seemed to him that they would be most efficient":[27] and they seem in form and equipments to have been a type of galley.[28][29]

Six Danish vessels having appeared off the Isle of Wight, where, as well as on the coast of Devonshire, they had committed great ravages, Alfred manned nine of his new ships, partly with Frisians, the best sailors of the time, and partly with English, and sent them in pursuit of the enemy. The Danes were discovered at the entrance of some port, the name of which is not known; but three only of their vessels could put to sea, the others being aground at the upper part of the harbour. Actuated by courage, or by the fear of being blockaded, the three ships which were afloat instantly came out; and, after a gallant defence, two of them were captured. In pursuance of Alfred's resolution to treat the Danes as pirates, their crews were put to death. At this moment, from the falling of the tide, and perhaps also from negligence, the English ships took the ground, three on one side of the harbour, and three on the side on which the three Danish vessels were ashore, so that no communication could take place between one half of Alfred's ships and the other half. As soon as the tide had ebbed some furlongs, the crews of the Danish ships attacked those of the three English vessels on their side of the harbour, who could obtain no assistance from their comrades on the other side. A desperate conflict ensued, in which the King's reeve, and some other persons of distinction, both Frisians and English, were slain, together with seventy-two men on their part, and one hundred and twenty on the part of the Danes. From being nearer to the sea, the flood-tide floated the Danish sooner than the English ships, so that they rowed off and made their escape: but they had sustained so much damage, that only one of them was able to get beyond the coast of Sussex; and, two others being driven ashore, the crews were taken to Alfred at Winchester, and there hanged by his orders. In the same year no less than twenty ships were wrecked on the southern coast of England, and their crews perished.[30][31]

10th century[edit]

Alfred closed a successful reign of more than twenty-eight years on 28 October 901. As he increased, and probably improved the Navy, encouraged maritime commerce, and was, it is supposed, the first English sovereign who commanded his own fleet in battle, he has been called the first English admiral.[32]

A successful descent of Ethelwald, with all "the ships he was able to get", and to whom the people of Essex submitted, in 904; the arrival, in 918, of a large fleet from Brittany,[h] which pillaged part of North Wales, and made the Bishop of Landaff prisoner, but who was afterwards ransomed by the King for forty pounds,[33]—are the only naval events recorded in the reign of Edward the Elder died in 926. He was succeeded by Athelstan, who, after subduing the Anglo-Danes, became the first monarch of all England. In 933 Athelstan invaded Scotland with his fleet, as well as with his army; and his exploits at the great battle of Brumby, in 987, are described in a contemporary Saxon poem. Anlaf, the Northmen's chieftain, is said to have escaped in his vessel;[i] and his followers "departed in their nailed barks, bloody relic of darts on dinges ocean o'er the deep water, Dublin to seek, again Ireland, shamed in mind."[34][j]

A rich and appropriate present was made to Athelstan by Harold King of Norway, about the year 931, of a ship adorned with a golden prow, having a purple sail, and armed with a complete bulwark of golden shields.[k] Athelstan is memorable for being, it is said, the first English sovereign who confederated with a foreign monarch against a common enemy. In 939 he entered into a treaty with his nephew Louis à Outremer of France, by which he engaged to assist him with a fleet against his rebellious nobles, and Otho King of Germany. The English fleet accordingly appeared off the coast of Flanders as soon as Otho had passed the Rhine; and not only protected the towns on the coast of their ally, but invaded the enemy's territories.[35] From that time nearly sixty years elapsed before any Naval events of greater importance took place than the occasional descent of adventurers on the western coast. In 992, in consequence of the Anglo-Danes having raised an army, King Ethelred "the Unready", and his council, ordered such of his ships as were of any size to assemble at London, intending to surprise the enemy; but warning was given them by the eoldorman AeIfric, who traitorously deserted his sovereign, and joined their camp. Thus apprised of their danger, the Danish fleet escaped, with the exception of one ship. Some of their other ships were however encountered, and the one in which the traitor Aelfric had embarked was taken. Aelfric himself escaped; and the King is said to have taken a cowardly vengeance on his unfortunate son by putting out his eyes.[36][37]

An attack was made upon London by ninety-four ships under Anlaf and Swain in September 994, but they were beaten off by the inhabitants with great loss; and, to the honour of the Londoners, the Saxon annalist[38] says, the enemy "there sustained more harm and evil than they ever weened that any townsmen would be able to do unto them". Repulsed at London, the Danes devastated Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire; plundering, burning, and killing wherever they went, both on the coast and inland. Their proceedings created so much terror that the King offered them terms, and submitted to the disgraceful conditions of finding provisions for their forces in winter-quarters at Southampton, and paying sixteen thousand pounds to Anlaf as the price of his departure, he having promised never again to invade England.[39] The respite thus purchased proved as short as it was dishonourable. Within three years (997), the western parts of England were again desolated; and the Danish fleet, having entered the Tamar, proceeded as far as Lidford, and thence to Tavistock, where they burnt the church, and carried an immense booty to their ships.[40] They continued their aggressions in 998; and, though forces were levied to oppose them, the English army always took to flight when they should have fought, so that "in the end" the enemy "ever had the victory".[40] In the ensuing year (999), their ships sailed up the Medway to Rochester, where they disembarked their crews; and, having defeated the Kentish forces, plundered the greater part of West-Kent. The feeble-minded King then resolved to attack them both by sea and land; but, when the ships were ready, "the doomsmen[l] delayed from day to day, and distressed the poor people who lay in the ships", so that nothing was done, "except, the people's distress, and waste of money, and the emboldening of their foes."[41][42]

11th century[edit]

In the next year (1000), the Danish fleet retired to Normandy, and Ethelred made a successful expedition into Cumberland; but his ships, instead of joining him, ravaged the island of Anglesea.[43] With the ensuing spring (1001), the Danes reappeared at Exmouth, and being joined by a chief called Pallig (a foreigner who had received great favours from Ethelred, and sworn fealty to him) with several ships, committed great devastation in the counties of Devon and Somerset. More creditable measures having failed, a truce was again purchased with the Danish fleet in 1002; and, besides receiving provisions, they were paid twenty-four thousand pounds.[44][45]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ As Alfred the Great is supposed to have been the first Sovereign of England who commanded his fleet in person in a naval engagement, it must be observed that Athelstan, mentioned in the text, was a son of King Egbert, and succeeded his father in 836: "Athelstan, his other son, succeeded to the kingdom of the Kentish-men, and to Surrey, and to the kingdom of the South-Saxons." (Saxon Chronicle, p. 345). Southey (i. 27) calls him the "Royalet of Kent", and says, "his name never occurs afterwards." According to some authorities, Athelstan was illegitimate and left a son called Ostride.
  2. ^ It does not clearly appear what these ships were. The original words are "scip-hlaertha", which Ingram translates "ship-rovers". The same term is applied to the Danish ships that were taken in 882.
  3. ^ Selden has shown that "pirates" did not mean sea-robbers in the modem sense, but that the term was used for distinguished seamen. Mare Clausum, lib. ii. c. z.
  4. ^ The circumstance mentioned by the chronicler, that in 891 three Scotsmen came to Alfred from Ireland, is deserving of notice, on account of the description of the boat which conveyed them across the Channel. Wishing, from religious motives, "to be in a state of pilgrimage, they recked not where", these fanatics embarked in a boat made of two hides and a half, without any oars, and with provisions for seven days. In this condition they drifted towards England, and landed on the seventh day in Cornwall, whence they were taken to Alfred.
  5. ^ It has been usually supposed that the river, called in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Lemene-mouth, was the Rother; but Selden supposes that Rye cannot be meant, and says, in the oldest authority no river, but a port only, is spoken of, and that the ships were left in the haven. See Southey, i. 35, who has investigated the question, and agrees with Selden.
  6. ^ Ducauge in voce, who says they were small boats or punts used in fish-ponds; while Wendelinus considers that the Dutch schuyt, which he describes as small boats chained to trees (a very different thing from the present schuyt) came from Ascs. Holberg (i. 101) says they were called Ascs because they carried their food with them in chests: but Southey (i. 43), following Ihre, suggests that they were called Asks, from the word ash, of which they were built; and adds, that the sea-rovers, termed Ascomanni, perhaps derived their name from these ships.
  7. ^ Henry of Huntingdon, ed. Petrie, 471, says, "forty oars or more".
  8. ^ "Lidwiccas"; the Bretons are said to have been so called, because they abode day and night in their ships. Some authorities place this event in 915.
  9. ^ According to Simeon of Durham, p. 25, Anlaf had 615 ships.
  10. ^ Ingram renders this passage rather differently. "The Northmen sailed in their nailed ships, a dreary remnant, on the roaring sea; over deep water Dublin they sought, and Ireland's shores, in great disgrace."
  11. ^ William of Malmesbury, i. 215.
  12. ^ "Deman". Ingram does not notice the doomsman in his translation of this passage.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 298.
  2. ^ a b Saxon Chronicle, p. 300.
  3. ^ Saxon Chronicle, pp. 300, 301.
  4. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 301.
  5. ^ Saxon Chronicle, pp. 336, 337. Ingram renders "Haeretha-lande" the "land of robbers".
  6. ^ "The Pagans came (says Simeon of Durham, p. 112) with a naval force like stinging hornets."
  7. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 338.
  8. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 32–33.
  9. ^ a b Saxon Chronicle, p. 344.
  10. ^ a b Saxon Chronicle, p. 345.
  11. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 346.
  12. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 33.
  13. ^ a b Nicolas 1847, i, 34.
  14. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 346.
  15. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 355.
  16. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 358.
  17. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 34–35.
  18. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 359.
  19. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 360.
  20. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 363, 364.
  21. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 35–36.
  22. ^ Saxon Chronicle, pp. 364–367.
  23. ^ a b Saxon Chronicle, p. 370.
  24. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 36–37.
  25. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 37.
  26. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 12.
  27. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 371.
  28. ^ Campbell 1812, i, 49.
  29. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 12–13.
  30. ^ Saxon Chronicle, pp. 370, 371.
  31. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 37–38.
  32. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 38–39.
  33. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 377.
  34. ^ Saxon Chronicle, pp. 383–385. Ingram renders this passage rather diflfercntly. "The Northmen sailed in their nailed ships, a dreary remnant, on the roaring sea; over deep water Dublin they sought, and Ireland's shores, in great disgrace."
  35. ^ Chronicle of Flodoard, A.D. 939, quoted by Père Daniel, ii. 647.
  36. ^ William of Malmesbury, i. 264.
  37. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 39–40.
  38. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 402.
  39. ^ Saxon Chronicle, pp. 402, 40.
  40. ^ a b Saxon Chronicle, p. 406.
  41. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 407.
  42. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 40–41.
  43. ^ Saxon Chronicle, p. 407, Ingram. Sharon Turner, however, with whom Southey agrees, conjectures that "Maenige" meant the Isle of Man, and not Anglesea.
  44. ^ Saxon Chronicle, pp. 408, 409.
  45. ^ Nicolas 1847, i, 42.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Campbell's Lives of British Admirals, ed. 1812, vol. i. p. 49.
  • Nicolas, Sir Nicholas Harris (1847). A History of the Royal Navy, from the Earliest Times to the Wars of the French Revolution. Vol. 1. London: Richard Bentley. pp. 32–55.
  • Saxon Chronicle, ed. Petrie, printed among the "Materials for a History of Britain".
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