View source for Guthrum

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{other people}}
{{short description|King of East Anglia from 879 to 890}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Æthelstan II Guthrum, silver penny; struck circa 879–890.png
| caption      = Silver [[History of the English penny (c. 600 – 1066)|penny]] of Guthrum (as Æthelstan), struck {{circa|879/80}}–890.
| succession   = [[King of East Anglia]]
| reign        = 878–890{{sfn|Lapidge|Blair|Keynes|Scragg|2001|pages=508&ndash;509}}
| predecessor  = [[Æthelred II of East Anglia|Æthelred II]]
| successor    = [[Eohric of East Anglia|Eohric]]
| birth_date   = c. 835
| birth_place  = Denmark
| death_date   = c. 889/890 (aged approximately 55)
| death_place  = [[East Anglia]], England
| religion     = {{plainlist|
*[[Norse paganism]]
*Christianity (after 878)}}
}}
'''Guthrum'''{{efn|Also spelled '''Godrum''' and '''Guthorm'''; also known as '''Æthelstan''', '''Athelstan''', or '''Ethelstan'''}} ({{langx|ang|Guðrum}}, {{circa|835}} – c. 890) was King of [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglia]] in the late 9th century. Originally a native of Denmark, he was one of the leaders of the "Great Summer Army" that arrived in [[Reading, Berkshire|Reading]] during April 871 to join forces with the [[Great Heathen Army]], whose intentions were to conquer the kingdoms of [[Heptarchy|Anglo-Saxon England]]. The combined armies were successful in conquering the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglia]], [[Kingdom of Northumbria|Northumbria]], and parts of [[Mercia]] and overran [[Alfred the Great]]'s [[Wessex]] but were ultimately defeated by Alfred at the [[Battle of Edington]] in 878. The Danes retreated to their stronghold, where Alfred laid siege and eventually Guthrum surrendered.

Under the [[Treaty of Wedmore|terms of his surrender]], Guthrum was obliged to be [[baptism|baptised]] as a Christian to endorse the agreement and then leave Wessex. The subsequent [[Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum]] set out the boundaries between Alfred and Guthrum's territories, as well as agreements on peaceful trade and the ''[[weregild]]'' value of its people. The treaty is seen as the foundation of the [[Danelaw]]. Guthrum ruled East Anglia under his baptismal name of Æthelstan until his death.{{sfn|Downham|2007|p=79}}

==Background==
[[Viking expansion|Viking raids]] began in England in the late 8th century. The first one probably took place in either 787 or 789.{{sfn|Forte|Oram|Pedersen|2005|p=125}} The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' for 787 says that:

{{quote|"This year king [[Beorhtric of Wessex|Bertric]] took to wife [[Eadburh|Eadburga]], king [[Offa]]'s daughter; and in his days first came three ships of Northmen, out of Hæretha-land [Denmark]. And then the [[Reeve (England)|reve]] rode to the place, and would have driven them to the king's town, because he knew not who they were: and they there slew him. These were the first ships of Danishmen which sought the land of the English nation."|source={{harvnb|Giles|1914|loc=ASC 787}}|author=|title=}}
Small-scale raiding of the [[Heptarchy|English kingdoms]] continued on and off until 865, when a [[Great Heathen Army|much larger army]] landed in [[Kingdom of East Anglia|East Anglia]] with the intention of invading and conquering it.{{sfn|Oliver|2012|p=169}} The initial army was reinforced in 871 by the Great Summer Army ({{Langx|ang|mycel sumorlida}}).{{sfn|Williams|1999|p=70}}{{sfn|Starkey|2004|p=51}}

==The Great Army==
{{main|Great Heathen Army}}
[[File:Healfdene coin.png|thumb|Coin of King Halfdan, London 872{{sfn|Laust Krambs|2024|p=1}}]]
Guthrum, a nephew of [[Horik II]] of Denmark and a failed candidate for a share of the Danish throne, was one of the leaders of the Great Summer Army, which in April 871 joined forces with the "Great Danish Army" based at Reading. The combined army had several military engagements with the West Saxons before wintering in [[Anglo-Saxon London|London]] in  871–872. Coins minted in London during this period bear the name [[Halfdan Ragnarsson|Halfdan]], identifying him as its leader.{{sfn|Costambeys|2008}}{{sfn|Sturdy|1995|p=146}}

In the autumn of 872, the Great Army returned to Northumbria to quell a revolt{{efn|This explanation for the army's move north has been challenged, and it has been suggested the relocation was a result of a war with Mercia.{{sfn|Downham|2007|p=69}}}} against its puppet-regent [[Ecgberht I of Northumbria]].{{sfn|Forte|Oram|Pedersen|2005|pp=73–74}} The Army overwintered at [[Torksey]], and was then reported as being in the [[Repton]] district a year later. It conquered Mercia in 874, with [[Burgred of Mercia]] being deposed and replaced by a Danish puppet-regent, [[Ceolwulf II of Mercia|Ceolwulf]].{{sfn|Forte|Oram|Pedersen|2005|pp=73–74}}

Following this victory, the Great Army split in two&nbsp;– one half under Halfdan heading north to fight against the [[Picts]] and [[Celtic Britons|Britons]] of [[Kingdom of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]], and the other half under Guthrum heading south to continue fighting against Wessex.{{sfn|Costambeys|2008}}

==Surprise attack==
{{Main|Battle of Chippenham}}
On [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]], 6 January 878, Guthrum made a surprise nighttime attack on Alfred and his court at [[Chippenham]]. It being an important feast day in the Christian [[liturgical year]], the Saxons were presumably taken by surprise—indeed it is possible that [[Wulfhere, Ealdorman of Wiltshire]], allowed the attack through either negligence or intent, for, on Alfred's return to power later in 878, Wulfhere and his wife were stripped of their lands.{{sfn|Garmonsway|1972|p=74}}{{sfn|Smyth|1995|pp=446–447}}

Alfred fled the attack with a few retainers and took shelter in the marshes of [[Somerset]], staying in the small village of [[Athelney]]. Over the next few months, according to the ''Anglo Saxon Chronicle'', he built up his force and waged a [[guerrilla war]] against Guthrum:
{{quote|"Alfred: and he, with a small band, with difficulty retreated to the woods and to the fastnesses{{efn|Fastness - Safe place{{sfn|Cambridge Dictionary|2020}}}} of the moors.... at Easter king Alfred with a small band constructed a fortress at Athelney; and from this fortress, with that part of the men of Somerset which was nearest to it, from time to time they fought against the  [viking] army."|source={{harvnb|Giles|1914|loc=ASC 878}}}}
After a few months, Alfred called his loyal men to Egbert's Stone, and from there they travelled to Edington to fight the invaders.{{sfn|Garmonsway|1972|p=76}}

==Defeat by Alfred==
{{Main|Battle of Edington}}
In 878, Alfred the Great defeated the Viking Army at the [[Battle of Edington]]. Guthrum subsequently retreated with the remnants of his army to their "stronghold"; Alfred pursued and besieged him for fourteen days.{{sfn|Wood|2005|pages=124–125}}  Guthrum eventually gave in, and a truce was negotiated. The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' records the terms of the surrender:

{{quote|"Then the raiding army granted him [Alfred] hostages and great oaths that they would leave his kingdom and also promised him that their king [Guthrum] would receive baptism; and they fulfilled it. And three weeks later the king Guthrum came to him, one of thirty of the most honourable men who were in the raiding army, at [[Aller, Somerset|Aller]] – and that is near [[Athelney]] – and the king received him at [[baptism]]; and his [[chrism]] loosing was at [[Wedmore]]."|source={{harvnb|Giles|1914|loc=ASC 878}}}}

==Conversion to Christianity and peace==
Under the terms of his surrender, Guthrum was obliged to be [[baptised]]{{efn|Guthrum's baptismal name was Æthelstan on his conversion to Christianity in 878.}} in the Christian faith and then with his army leave Wessex. This agreement is known as the [[Treaty of Wedmore]].{{sfn|Attenborough|1922|pages=96–101}} Another treaty soon followed that set out the boundaries between Alfred and Guthrum's territories as well as agreements on peaceful trade, and the ''[[weregild]]'' value of its people. This is known as the [[Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum]].{{sfn|Lavelle|2010|p=326}}

Guthrum returned to East Anglia, and although there are records of Viking raiding parties in the 880s, Guthrum and his forces ceased to be a threat and he ruled for more than ten years as a Christian king for his Saxon vassals and simultaneously as a Norse king for his Viking ones. He had coins minted that bore his baptismal name of  
Æthelstan. On his death in 890, the ''[[Annals of St Neots]]'', a chronicle compiled at [[Bury St Edmunds]] in the 12th century, recorded that Guthrum was buried at [[Hadleigh, Suffolk|Hadleigh]],{{efn|Referred to as ''Headleage'' in the Annals of St Neots.{{sfn|Skeat|1913|pp=78–79}}}} [[Suffolk]].{{sfn|Dumville|Keynes|Lapidge |p=lxii|1985 }}{{sfn|Costambeys|2008}}{{sfn|Suffolk Heritage Explorer|2018}}
{{multiple image
|total_width=600
|footer_align = center
|footer=After his baptism Guthrum ruled with his baptismal name of Æthelstan.
|align=center|image1=A Chronicle of England - Page 052 - Baptism of King Guthorm.jpg
|caption1=A Victorian representation of Guthrum's baptism in 878
|image2=Athelstan II Guthrum Viking king of East Anglia 880.png
|caption2=A coin minted by Guthrum in 880
|image3=KENT-338E94. Early Medieval silver coin, penny of Aethelstan II Guthran. (FindID 132251).jpg
|caption3=A silver penny of Guthrum, minted between 880 and 890
}}

==In popular culture==
Guthrum appears or is mentioned in several works of fiction, including:

*[[G. K. Chesterton]]'s poem ''[[The Ballad of the White Horse]]''.
*[[C. Walter Hodges]]' juvenile historical novels ''The Namesake'' and ''The Marsh King''.
*The first three volumes of ''[[The Saxon Stories]]'', a series of historical novels by [[Bernard Cornwell]]: ''[[The Last Kingdom]]'', ''[[The Pale Horseman]]'', and ''[[The Lords of the North]]''.{{sfn|Lochun|2020}}

On screen, he has been portrayed by [[Brian Blessed]]{{sfn|BBC|2021}} in episode 4 ("King Alfred") of ''[[Churchill's People]]''; by [[Michael York (actor)|Michael York]] in the 1969 film ''[[Alfred the Great (film)|Alfred the Great]]''; and by [[Thomas W. Gabrielsson]] in the BBC and Netflix original television series ''[[The Last Kingdom (TV series)|The Last Kingdom]]''.

Guthrum appears in a number of video games that are set during the Viking Age. He is the leader of the ''East Engle'' faction in the 2018 strategy video game ''[[Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia]]''. He is an ally of the Norse ''drengr'' Eivor in the 2020 video game ''[[Assassin's Creed: Valhalla]],'' as well as a playable character in the game's Discovery Tour mode. He also appears in the 2012 grand strategy game ''[[Crusader Kings II]]'' as an unlanded, unplayable character (named ''Guttorm'') in the [[867]] start date at the court of Þorfinn, the ruler of [[Värmland|Vermaland]] in modern-day Sweden.

It is implied that the ''[[Vikings (2013 TV series)|Vikings]]'' character [[Hvitserk]] would be the same as the historical Guthrum (despite a previous character having this name) after he is baptized as Athelstan and made a “Saxon prince” by King Alfred.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|60em}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Attenborough|editor-first=F.L. Tr|contribution=Treaties with the Danes|title=The laws of the earliest English kings|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|year=1922|oclc=4296219}}
* {{Cite web|author=BBC|title=The Last Kingdom - Guthrum|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/1kFs05G1Q07MrjZx0z2W702/guthrum|access-date=2021-01-22|website=www.bbc.co.uk|publisher=BBC|year=2021}}
* {{Cite web|author=Cambridge Dictionary|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fastness|publisher=Cambridge University Press|title=Fastness|year=2020|access-date=4 July 2020}}
* {{Cite ODNB|last=Costambeys|first=Marios|title=Guthrum|id=11793|year=2008}}
* {{Cite book|last=Downham|first=Clare|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-sWAQAAIAAJ&q=guthrum|title=Viking Kings of Britain and Ireland: The Dynasty of Ívarr to A.D. 1014|date=2007|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|isbn=978-1-903765-89-0|language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Dumville |first1=David |last2=Keynes|first2=Simon|last3=Lapidge |first3=Michael |title=The Annals of St Neots with Vita Prima Sancti Neoti, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: a Collaborative Edition|volume=17 |publisher=D.S.Brewer|location=Cambridge |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-85991-117-7}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Forte|first1=Angelo|last2=Oram|first2=Richard D|last3=Pedersen|first3=Frederik|title=Viking Empires|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|year=2005|isbn=978-0-5218-29922}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last=Garmonsway|editor-first= G. N.| title=The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|location=London|publisher= Dent|year =1972|isbn=0-460-11624-X }}
* {{Cite wikisource|title =The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle|last=Giles|first = J.A.|year= 1914|wslink =The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Giles)|publisher=G. Bell and Sons Ltd.|location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Lapidge |first1=Michael|last2=Blair |first2=John |last3=Keynes |first3=Simon |last4=Scragg |first4=Donald |title=The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England |year=2001 |location=London |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=0-631-22492-0}}
* {{Cite web|last=Laust Krambs |first=Karsten|title=Early Norse kings of York|publisher=Academia Edu|url=https://www.academia.edu/37911779|year=2024|access-date=27 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227134243/https://www.academia.edu/37911779/Early_Norse_kings_of_York|archive-date=27 February 2024}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lavelle|first=Ryan|title=Alfred's Wars Sources and Interpretations of Anglo-Saxon Warfare in the Viking Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRsQI2gvY3QC|publisher=Boydel Press|location=Woodbridge, Suffolk|isbn=978-1-84383-569-1|year=2010}}
* {{Cite web|last=Lochun|first=Kev|title=The Last Kingdom: the real history behind the series|url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/anglo-saxon/last-kingdom-real-history-netflix-series-recap-plot-edward-elder-aethelflaed-bernward-cornwell-books/|access-date=2021-01-22|website=HistoryExtra|language=en|publisher=BBC|year=2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227124042/https://www.historyextra.com/period/anglo-saxon/last-kingdom-real-history-netflix-series-recap-plot-edward-elder-aethelflaed-bernward-cornwell-books/|archive-date=27 February 2024}}
* {{Cite book|last=Oliver|first=Neil|title=Vikings. A History|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|location=London|year=2012|isbn=978-0-297-86787-6}}
* {{Cite book| last=Skeat|first=Walter W|title=The Place-Names of Suffolk|volume=XLVI|publisher=Octavo|year=1913|oclc=477037693}}
* {{Cite book|last=Smyth|first=Alfred P.|title=King Alfred the Great|location= Oxford|publisher= Oxford University Press|year=1995|isbn=0-19-822989-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Starkey |first=David |title=The Monarchy of England Volume I |location=London |year=2004 |publisher=Chatto & Windus |isbn=0-7011-7678-4}}
* {{Cite book|last=Sturdy|first=David|title=Alfred the Great|publisher=Constable|location=London|year=1995|isbn= 0-09-474280-4}}
* {{Cite web|author=Suffolk Heritage Explorer|title=Burial place of the Anglo-Saxon Danish chieftain Guthrum|publisher=Suffolk County Council|year=2018|access-date=28 February 2024|url=https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/monument/MSF5205|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228101223/https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/monument/MSF5205|archive-date=28 February 2024}}
* {{Cite book|last=Williams|first=Ann|title=Kingship and Government in Pre-Conquest England C.500–1066|publisher=Macmillan|location=Basingstoke|year=1999|isbn=978-0-333-56798-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wood |first=Michael |year=2005 |title=In Search of the Dark Ages |publisher=BBC |location=London |isbn=978-0-563-52276-8}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{PASE|5365|Guthrum 1}}
* {{Britannica|249935}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-roy|en}}
{{succession box |
 before=[[Æthelred II of East Anglia|Æthelred]] | 
 title=[[Kings of East Anglia|King of East Anglia]] |
 years= 879– 890|
 after=[[Eohric of East Anglia|Eohric]] | 
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Kings of East Anglia ||state=expanded}}
{{Viking Invasion of England}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Norse monarchs of East Anglia]]
[[Category:9th-century English monarchs]]
[[Category:Converts to Christianity from Germanic paganism]]
[[Category:Warlords]]
[[Category:9th-century Vikings]]
[[Category:Norse monarchs]]
[[Category:East Anglian monarchs]]