The Legacy of the Danes: A Look at the Impacts of Viking Conquest on England in the Late Ninth Century

Abstract

The aim of any historical research project is to explore the links between different aspects of history, from crime and retribution to commerce and exploration. More importantly than this, the true purpose of exploring these links is to understand the men and women who came before us, who established kingdoms, empires, companies, families, and ideas. Understanding these men and women is itself the reward. Some argue that to study the past is to find a way to avoid those mistakes. While this is possibility that some pursue, I would argue that understanding the past is a way for mankind to understand itself. To know how a kingdom developed helps to understand why the descendents of those people behave and believe they way they do now. It is from this perspective that I write this thesis. I seek to explore the impacts of the Danish Vikings upon King Alfred the Great and the Anglo-Saxon people of the ninth century Ano Domini and to understand how this conflict established the foundation for a unified England.