MayWealth and Wool

Chapter Summary• Anglo-Saxon coins

tell us that England had a prosperous economy in the year 1000.

• Over 70 mints across England produced 5-10 million coins each year.

• A ‘Moneyer’ was in charge of each mint.

• The exportation of wool formed the backbone of England's economy

•England was attacked by fleets of Vikings•Ethelred was unable to defeat them and ‘bought them off’ instead

• Swein Forkbeard, King of Denmark invaded England in 1013 and took the English throne

• Swein died in 1014 and was succeeded by his son Canute

CanuteSwein

Focus Question

Was Ethelred’s use of Dangeld portrayed unfairly in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?

• Danegeld is a term used to describe the tax that was raised to pay tribute to the Vikings in order to get them to stop attacking and raiding England.

• Dangeld literally means 'Dane money’

• Lacey and Danziger argue that Ethelred "Lacked the....ability of his famous forefather (Alfred the great)" and they source the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to recount Ethelred's 'Unreadiness' and "military incompetence".

Before Ethelred

• A passage in the Chronicle stating "all ships that were of any use" is interpreted by modern scholars to suggest a decline in military preparedness since the time of King Edgar ‘the peaceful’ (c.943-975).

• The defenses set up against a potential Viking attack ceased to exist.

• In 991 a great Viking fleet met the English forces in the Battle of Maldon.

• The poem The Battle Of Maldon says that:

"Bold seafarers have sent me to you, commanded me to tell you that you must quickly send gold rings in return for protection. And it is better for you all that you should buy off this onslaught of spears with tribute money than that we should join battle so grievously. We need not destroy each other if you are sufficiently wealthy: we are prepared to establish a truce in return for the gold...[if you are] Willing to give the seafarers, in an amount determined by them, money in exchange for peace, and to accept protection from us, we are content to embark with the taxes, to set sail across the sea, and to keep the peace with you all."

The Battle of Maldon and the Start of Dangeld

The English lost the Battle of Maldon and decided to pay the Vikings £10,000 gave them lodging in England on the condition that they cease to attack England.

"[prologue] These are the peace terms and conditions which

king Ethelred and all his councillors have made with the army which Olaf and Guthmund, Steita's son, were with.

In the first place, that a general peace be established between King Ethelred, and all his people, and all the army to which the king gave the tribute, in accordance with the terms which Archbishop Sigeric and Ealdorman Ethelweard and Earldom Elfric made, when obtained they permission from the King to purchase peace for the districts which they had rule over, under the King."

In 994 Ethelred made a peace treaty with the Vikings, stating that:

Other tactics used to fight the Vikings • Over the next decade the payments grew as the Viking threat increased. • Then followed the St Bryce’s Day Massacre in 1002• In 1006 a fleet arrived in Sandwich and was bought off with 36,000

pounds.• Another fleet in 1009 wreaked havoc until bought off with 48,000 pounds

in 1012. • Then as mentioned in the chapter summary Swein invaded England and

took the throne in 1013.

Against Danegeld• The description of Ethelred's reign in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has

contributed most to his reputation for cowardice and foolishness. • The Chronicle states that:

"All these disasters befell us through bad policy, in that they were never offered tribute in time nor fought against; but when they had done most to our injury, peace and truce were made with them; and for all this truce and tribute they journeyed none the less in bands everywhere, and harried our wretched people and plundered and killed them.”

• the English lacked both a consistent policy and an effective means of defense

• Evidence shows us that Danegeld was not as bad as was made in the Chronicle.

-Danegeld had worked previous to Ethelred's reign

-It formed part of a wider diplomatic and military strategy

-England could actually afford to pay the money.

One reason for adopting Danegeld was that it had already been used successfully by King Alfred the Great

Ethelred's strategy went beyond simple bribery.

• He made a treaty with Normandy which implies an awareness of wider aspects of the Viking assault.

• When Ethelred constructed a peace treaty with the Vikings in 994, he also managed to turn the two Viking leader against each other. Neutralizing the threat to England

• In 997 the Chronicle indicates that raids taking place in 997 went unopposed. However a contemporary diploma reveals that "the whole army had been called out that year".

• In the year 1000 (not the book) Ethelred mounted an expedition to the Isle of Man. This undertaking is presented as a complete waste of time in the Chronicle but in fact the campaign was probably aimed at troublesome Scandinavians taking refuge at the Isle of Man.

• In 1004 Ulfcytel, an East Anglican commander tried to destroy Viking ships with the time bought by the Danegeld

• In 1012, 45 ships of Viking fleet that was paid Dangeld, stayed with the English to be employed as mercenaries

• There is evidence to suggest that the payments of tribute may not of been especially burdensome"money may have flowed into England as payment for exports...faster than the Danish could siphon it off" (Ethelred the Unready)

Conclusion

Focus question: Was Ethelred’s use of Dangeld portrayed unfairly in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle?

• Difficult to conclude• Under the circumstances paying Danegeld was

the right thing to do.

Bibliography • Scragg, D. G. The Battle of Maldon. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1981. Print. • H. R. The Vikings in Britain. New York: St. Martin's, 1977. Print. • Williams, Ann. Æthelred the Unready: The Ill-counselled King. London: Hambledon

and London, 2003. Print. • Richards, Julian D. English Heritage Book of Viking Age England. London: B.T.

Batsford, 1991. Print• The Vikings in England. London: Anglo-Danish Viking Project, 1981. Print. Save to

EasyBib• Keating, Peter. ""Dane-geld" (AD 980-1016)." Readers Guide (2005): 1. Print. • Street, Chris. "Tech Talk for Social Studies Teachers: Exploring the Viking Invasion

of Anglo-Saxon England (AD 1008)." ProQuest. N.p., Nov.-Dec. 2008. Web. 12 Aug. 2012. http://http://search.proquest.com.virtual.anu.edu.au/docview/274786974.

• McDonald, John. "Tax Fairness in Eleventh Century England." ProQuest. N.p., June 2002. Web. http://http://search.proquest.com.virtual.anu.edu.au/docview/219629960.

• Oldroyd, David. "Accounting in Anglo-Saxon England: Context and Evidence." Accounting History. N.p., 1 Feb. 1997. Web. http://http://ach.sagepub.com.virtual.anu.edu.au/content/2/1/7.full.pdf.