Learnings: A Familiar Battleground
By the time of Guthrum's incursion, Scandinavians were no longer strangers to the land of Anglo-Saxon England. Years of contact with the locals had given them knowledge far beyond what was gathered by the first raiders through coastal and scouting.
What's more, the Scandinavians had settled in England. Many of them now called the Kingdom home. The younger members of the community had grown up in conquered or pacified kingdoms. This meant that they were very familiar with the languages, customs, religion of the territory.
This map shows the principle routes taken by the Vikings during their raids on the kingdom of Wessex.
Each coloured zone represents a kingdom:
Red: East Anglia
YELLOW: Mercia
GREEN: Wessex
Each number corresponds to a specific location:
1. Thetford
2. Reading
3. Cambridge
4. Wareham
5. Exeter
6. Gloucester
7. Chippenham
Each arrow constitutes Viking troops movement done in the 870s:
A. 870
B. 875
C. 876
D. 877
E. 878