Battle of Thetford

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Battle of Thetford
Part of the Viking invasions of England
Date1004 AD
Location
Result Anglo-Norwegian victory
Belligerents
Anglo-Saxons
Norwegian Vikings
Danish Vikings
Commanders and leaders
Ethelred the Unready
Olaf Haraldsson
Sweyn Forkbeard
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The battle of Thetford occurred in 1004. Sigvat records the victory of King Ethelred, allied with Olaf Haraldsson, [1] over the Danes under Sweyn Forkbeard during the latter's campaigns in England.

The battle site was located in lands under the control of Ulfcytel Snillingr, then of East Anglia, at a site once thought to be near Wretham, [1] but now thought to be at Rymer in Suffolk. [2] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that the battle of Thetford occurred after an attempt by Ulfcytel and the "councillors in East Anglia" to negotiate a truce with Sweyn in return for a financial settlement; the Danes broke the truce, and marched on Thetford where they were met and engaged by a contingent of the East Anglian fyrd.

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References

  1. 1 2 Sturlason, Snorre (2004). Heimskringla or the Lives of the Norse Kings. Kessinger Publishing. p. 225. ISBN   0-7661-8693-8.; Edited with notes by Erling Monsen
  2. Briggs, Keith (December 2011). "The battle-site and place-name Ringmere". Notes and Queries . 256 (4). OUP: 491–492. doi:10.1093/notesj/gjr151.