King Alfred, who ruled from 871 to 899, overcame many difficulties, including the well-known tale of the cakes being burned, to beat the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878. The Viking chieftain Guthrum became a Christian following the conflict.
Alfred strengthened and rescued London from the Vikings in 886. He concluded a treaty with Guthrum in the same year. The treaty divided England between the English and the Vikings. The Danelaw was the name of the Viking polity. It covered England’s east, north, and west. People would be governed by Danish law here. The remainder were now ruled by Alfred.
The first legitimate king of England was Athelstan, who was the grandson of Alfred. Between 1013 and 1042, there were four Viking kings of England. The most notable of these was King Cnut, who ruled over both Denmark and England.
Which Viking king ruled England?
Sweyn’s son Canute (or Cnut) ascended to the throne of England without challenge in 1016, forcing his competitors (Ethelred’s surviving sons and Edmund’s son) to flee to other countries. The final payment of 82,500 pounds in Danegeld was made to Canute in 1018.
After 793, however, various Viking bands made periodic raiding forays along the British coasts, and raiding persisted for more than 300 years. The Anglo-Saxon defences of Maldon were completely devastated by Olaf Tryggvason’s Viking raiding expedition in 991 during Thelred “the Unready’s” (‘ill-advised’) rule.
