The History Chap Podcast

181: The Viking Great Heathen Army Invades England

Chris Green

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In the year 865, a new and terrifying force arrived on English shores—not a raiding party, but a full-scale invasion. The Great Heathen Army, a coalition of battle-hardened Viking war bands, swept across the land with ruthless efficiency. 

Northumbria, divided by internal strife, fell quickly. East Anglia offered tribute—then resistance—and paid dearly for it. 

These early campaigns would shatter Anglo-Saxon unity and mark the beginning of a long and brutal struggle for control of England. 

This is the story of when those English Anglo Saxon kingdoms first came face-to-face with the Great Heathen Army..


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