Chapter 15 - Section 1 - The Early Middle Ages

Summary

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Germanic tribes established kingdoms throughout Europe. With help from monks and missionaries, the Roman Catholic Church spread Christianity across Western Europe. During the Middle Ages, invasions by Germanic tribes weakened kingdoms, and peasants looked to nobles rather than kings for protection. 

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Frankish Kingdom 500-800AD - Maps in Motion

Invasions of Europe 800-1000AD - Maps in Motion

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Jat Chapter 15 from canthonysmith

Spotlight Video - The Early Middle Ages
Spotlight Video Transcripts

Male Narrator: It is 991. Ninety-three Viking long ships are advancing up the black water estuary on the Essex coast. This is the biggest raid England has seen for almost forty years, but these Vikings are no motley collection of pirates, they’ve raised a powerful organized fleet to threaten the shores of England once again. The terror has returned. In the previous years of peace England has become rich, but now it is ruled by Ethelred the unready, a young and militarily inexperienced king and the Vikings can sense an opportunity. They sailed towards Maldon and land on Northby Island to prepare their attack, but on the mainland the English are waiting for them. Under the command of Bertnot, a veteran military leader. The Viking herald steps forward and makes demands not for land but for tribute, money, to go away and leave the English in peace. The Vikings have turned to extortion. The two armies have to wait until low water to fight it out. Then Bertnot makes a tactical error. He and his men stand back and allow the Vikings to cross the causeway.

He wanted to bring this lot to battle, if not they could sail away up the estuary and strike at will up and down the coast, and it could be weeks or months before the English army had a chance to get at them again.

And so the battle of Maldon begins in earnest. The poem becomes very dramatic, centering on the heroism of the English and their loyalty to their leader Bertnot, but there was no denying, the English had lost.

In the end King Ethelred had no choice but to give the victorious Vikings exactly what they wanted. He handed over £10,000 pounds in silver, a huge amount of money in those days in the hope that they would go away and stay away.

It was a vain hope, because once the English paid up it was inevitable that the Vikings would be back again. With each fresh attack the Vikings demanded more and more and the English meekly paid up. The payments became known as Dane gold; money for the Danes and in today’s prices would eventually total hundreds of millions of pounds. The Anglo-Saxon chronicles tell of a rocketing extortion racket which lasted for 20 years.

Male Speaker: 994A.D. and all the raiding army came to South Hampton and they were paid £16,000 pounds.

Male Speaker: 997A.D. the raiding army brought indescribable war booty…..

Male Speaker: 1002A.D. here in this year they were paid £24,000 pounds.

Male Speaker: 1007A.D. the tax to the hostile raiding army was £30,000 pounds.

Male Speaker: 1012A.D. £48,000 pounds.