Viking Britain- an Exploration
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Vikings: Life and Legend exhibition, British Museum, xvii, 250
Völsunga saga (Old Norse epic), 105, 108, 109
Vortigern, King, 32, 90
Wagner’s Ring cycle, 44, 105, 107, 302
Wales, 11, 41, 189, 244, 245, 279, 310; Athelstan demotes kings of, 282, 283; four main kingdoms, 10–11; Hen Ogledd (‘the Old North’), 34–5
Walker, Thomas, 155–6, 157
Wallingford, 197, 198
Wantage, 173
Wareham, Dorset, 165, 197
warfare: Anglo-Saxon raising of armies, 168–70; battle at Ashdown (Æscesdun) (870), 130–4, 135–7, 143, 177, 178; battle at Corbridge (918), 278, 279–80; battle at Edington (878), 170, 171, 173–5, 176, 177–9, 182, 191–2; battle at Reading (870), 128–9; battle at ‘the Holme’ (902), 213–14, 215, 216, 223; battle of Brunanburh, 284–6, 287; battle of Maldon (991), 22, 313–18; battle of Tettenhall (Wednesfield) (910), 224, 225, 278; battles of 1016 period, 330, 331–3; capture of York (866–7), 96, 97–9, 109, 111–12, 116–17, 118–19, 272; Carhampton (836), 82–3, 85–6, 91, 96; and Charlemagne, 67–9, 75–6; helmets, 38, 44, 84–5; hubs for military assembly, 168; iconic battle-sites in Norway, 46–7; inter-kingdom in Britain, 64, 82, 94, 192–3, 213; Kit Hill (Hengestdun) (838), 86–7, 88, 90, 91; Scandinavian double-handed axes, 337–8; second battle of Carhampton (843), 93, 96; ‘shield-wall’, 83–4, 131; siege warfare, 119–21, 128, 165, 197; size of Viking armies, 95–6; Viking defeat at ‘Cynwit’, 167–8; Viking use of fortifications, 119, 121; Viking victories in 871 battles, 143; Vikings and pitched battles, 93, 94; Vikings and ‘rules of’, 94–5
Watchet, Somerset, 226, 313
Wayland (legendary smith), 139–41
Wayland’s Smithy, Ashbury, 138–40
wealth: acquisition of in Viking Age, 77–9; concept of in Viking Age, 77–8; Dublin and York route, 280–1; gift-giving in early Middle Ages, 77–8, 184; liturgical metalwork, 53, 59–62; and loyalty, 72, 77, 78; luxury goods, 77–8; precious metals, 202–3, 208, 253, 280–1, 318; Viking slave-trade, 44, 62–5, 79, 201
Weardbyrig, 226
Wearmouth-Jarrow, 7
weights and measures, 202–3, 309
Wessex: Æthelwold’s incursion to Braydon (902), 213; Alfred’s exile at Athelney (878), 163–5, 166–7, 168; battle at Aclea (851), 93; battle at Carhampton (836), 82–3, 85–6, 91, 96; battle at Kit Hill (838), 86–7, 88, 90, 91; battle at Reading (870), 128–9; campaigns against Northumbria (909–10), 223–5, 278; dominance in post-910 period, 225–8; dynasty restored under Edward the Confessor, 337, 341; as earldom of Cnut, 336; first arrival of Vikings, 1, 3, 4–5, 10, 12–13, 14–15; increased Viking attacks from 830s, 92–3; shift of power towards, 82; submission of to Guthrum (878), 166; torrid eighth century, 9–10; Viking army moves into (876), 165–6; Viking defeat at ‘Cynwit’, 167–8; Viking invasion of (870), 127–31; see also entries for individual kings and places
Western Isles, 12, 51, 243, 337, 341
Westness cemetery, Rousay, 261, 262
Wicga’s Barrow, battle at (850), 93
Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire, 215
Wigingamere, 226
Wiglaf, King of Mercia, 147
Willington, Derbyshire, 146
Wilton, battle at (871), 143
Wilton diptych, 125
Wiltshire, 166
Wimborne, Dorset, 211–12
Winchcombe, 199
Winchester, 197, 307, 324, 337; royal burials at, 338–9
Winchester Cathedral, 339–40
Wirral, 219, 284
Wise, Francis, 139
Witham, Essex, 226
Wodehouse, P.G., 47
women: abducted as slaves, 63; role in pagan Viking world, 61–2, 256–8, 261–2; and Thor cult, 155
Wulfstan, Archbishop of York, 39, 192, 303, 311, 312
York, 29, 79, 199, 232, 272, 273, 290; Athelstan at (927), 281–2, 283; Coppergate excavations, 84; Svein Estridsson’s capture of (1069), 342; Eric Bloodaxe at, 293–4, 295, 297; Olaf Guthfrithsson in (940), 288, 289; tenth century growth of, 295–6; Viking capture of (866–7), 96, 97–9, 109, 111–12, 116–17, 118–19, 272; Viking Jorvik, 294–6
York Minster, 276, 294
Yorkshire, 222, 250–1, 252, 293–4, 302
About the Author
Thomas Williams was a curator of the major international exhibition Vikings: Life and Legend in 2014 and is now Curator of Early Medieval Coins at the British Museum. He undertook doctoral research at University College London and has taught and lectured in history and archaeology at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of The Tale of King Harald: The Last Viking Adventure, a book for children retelling the saga of King Harald ‘Hard-ruler’, and numerous academic and feature articles.
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