| Guthrum | |
|---|---|
 Silverpenny of Guthrum (as Æthelstan), struckc. 879/80–890. | |
| King of East Anglia | |
| Reign | 878–890[1] |
| Predecessor | Æthelred II |
| Successor | Eohric |
| Born | c. 835 Denmark |
| Died | c. 889/890 (aged approximately 55) East Anglia, England |
| Religion |
|
Guthrum[a] (Old English:Guðrum,c. 835 – c. 890) was King ofEast Anglia in the late 9th century. Originally a native of Denmark, he was one of the leaders of the "Great Summer Army" that arrived inReading during April 871 to join forces with theGreat Heathen Army, whose intentions were to conquer the kingdoms ofAnglo-Saxon England. The combined armies were successful in conquering the kingdoms ofEast Anglia,Northumbria, and parts ofMercia and overranAlfred the Great'sWessex but were ultimately defeated by Alfred at theBattle of Edington in 878. The Danes retreated to their stronghold, where Alfred laid siege and eventually Guthrum surrendered.
Under theterms of his surrender, Guthrum was obliged to bebaptised as a Christian to endorse the agreement and then leave Wessex. The subsequentTreaty of Alfred and Guthrum set out the boundaries between Alfred and Guthrum's territories, as well as agreements on peaceful trade and theweregild value of its people. The treaty is seen as the foundation of theDanelaw. Guthrum ruled East Anglia under his baptismal name of Æthelstan until his death.[2]
Viking raids began in England in the late 8th century. The first one probably took place in either 787 or 789.[3] TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle for 787 says that:
"This year kingBertric took to wifeEadburga, kingOffa's daughter; and in his days first came three ships of Northmen, out of Hæretha-land [Denmark]. And then thereve 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
Small-scale raiding of theEnglish kingdoms continued on and off until 865, when amuch larger army landed inEast Anglia with the intention of invading and conquering it.[4] The initial army was reinforced in 871 by the Great Summer Army (Old English:mycel sumorlida).[5][6]
Guthrum, a nephew ofHorik II of Denmark and a failed candidate for a share of the Danish throne, was one of the leaders of the Great Summer Army, which 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 inLondon in 871–872. Coins minted in London during this period bear the nameHalfdan, identifying him as its leader.[8][9]
In the autumn of 872, the Great Army returned to Northumbria to quell a revolt[b] against its puppet-regentEcgberht I of Northumbria.[11] The Army overwintered atTorksey, and was then reported as being in theRepton district a year later. It conquered Mercia in 874, withBurgred of Mercia being deposed and replaced by a Danish puppet-regent,Ceolwulf.[11]
Following this victory, the Great Army split in two – one half under Halfdan heading north to fight against thePicts andBritons ofStrathclyde, and the other half under Guthrum heading south to continue fighting against Wessex.[8]
OnEpiphany, 6 January 878, Guthrum made a surprise nighttime attack on Alfred and his court atChippenham. It being an important feast day in the Christianliturgical year, the Saxons were presumably taken by surprise—indeed it is possible thatWulfhere, 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.[12][13]
Alfred fled the attack with a few retainers and took shelter in the marshes ofSomerset, staying in the small village ofAthelney. Over the next few months, according to theAnglo Saxon Chronicle, he built up his force and waged aguerrilla war against Guthrum:
"Alfred: and he, with a small band, with difficulty retreated to the woods and to the fastnesses[c] 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.[15]
In 878, Alfred the Great defeated the Viking Army at theBattle of Edington. Guthrum subsequently retreated with the remnants of his army to their "stronghold"; Alfred pursued and besieged him for fourteen days.[16] Guthrum eventually gave in, and a truce was negotiated. TheAnglo-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, atAller – and that is nearAthelney – and the king received him atbaptism; and hischrism loosing was atWedmore."
— Giles 1914, ASC 878
Under the terms of his surrender, Guthrum was obliged to bebaptised[d] in the Christian faith and then with his army leave Wessex. This agreement is known as theTreaty of Wedmore.[17] Another treaty soon followed that set out the boundaries between Alfred and Guthrum's territories as well as agreements on peaceful trade, and theweregild value of its people. This is known as theTreaty of Alfred and Guthrum.[18]
Guthrum returned to East Anglia, and although there are records of Viking raiding parties in the 880s, Guthrum and his forces ceased to be a threat and he ruled for more than ten years as a Christian king for his Saxon vassals and simultaneously as a Norse king for his Viking ones. He had coins minted that bore his baptismal name of Æthelstan. On his death in 890, theAnnals of St Neots, a chronicle compiled atBury St Edmunds in the 12th century, recorded that Guthrum was buried atHadleigh,[e]Suffolk.[20][8][21]
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Guthrum appears or is mentioned in several works of fiction, including:
On screen, he has been portrayed byBrian Blessed[23] in episode 4 ("King Alfred") ofChurchill's People; byMichael York in the 1969 filmAlfred the Great; and byThomas W. Gabrielsson in the BBC and Netflix original television seriesThe Last Kingdom.
Guthrum appears in a number of video games that are set during the Viking Age. He is the leader of theEast Engle faction in the 2018 strategy video gameTotal War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. He is an ally of the Norsedrengr Eivor in the 2020 video gameAssassin's Creed: Valhalla, as well as a playable character in the game's Discovery Tour mode. He also appears in the 2012 grand strategy gameCrusader Kings II as an unlanded, unplayable character (namedGuttorm) in the867 start date at the court of Þorfinn, the ruler ofVermaland in modern-day Sweden.
It is implied that theVikings characterHvitserk 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.
| English royalty | ||
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| Preceded by | King of East Anglia 879– 890 | Succeeded by |
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