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Scandinavian York (Jórvík) or Viking York (Old Norse: Jórvík) is a term used by historians for a region similar to current Yorkshire during the period of Scandinavian domination after the Viking invasion in 865 (interspersed with brief periods of Anglo-Saxon control) until it was annexed and integrated into England after the Norman Conquest in 1066; in particular, it is used to refer to York, the city controlled by this ebb and flow of Viking and Anglo-Saxon kings and earls, including the period when Viking King Cnut ruled all of England, part of his North Sea Empire, until his death in 1035. The Kingdom of Jórvík was closely associated with the longer-lived Kingdom of Dublin throughout this period.
York was first recorded by Ptolemy around the year 150 as Eborakon. During Roman Britain, it became the provincial capital and bishopric of Eburacum. The Roman settlement was regularly planned, well-defended, and contained a stone castra (legionary fortress).
The end of Roman rule in Britain happened in 407, and was followed by the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain starting in 410. The Angles occupied the settlement beginning in the early 7th century. Post-Roman York was in the kingdom of Deira; it was taken over in 655 by its northern neighbour, Bernicia, to form the kingdom of Northumbria. Edwin, King of Northumbria, was baptized there in 627, and the first Anglo-Saxon archbishop, Ecgbert, was consecrated in 780. The settlement became the trading port of Eoforwic.
The Vikings had been raiding the coasts of England from the late 8th century, but in 865 a Viking army landed with the intention of conquering rather than just raiding. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle described the army as the "mycel heathen here" (Great Heathen Army). They landed in East Anglia where the locals, under Edmund of East Anglia, "made peace" with them in return for horses.
The army, led by Ivar the Boneless and his brother Halfdan Ragnarsson, made its way north to Northumbria where the Anglo-Saxons were embroiled in a civil war. In 862 the ruler of Northumbria, Osberht, had been deposed by Ælla of Northumbria. Ivar the Boneless was able to capitalize on the Anglo-Saxons disarray and captured York in 866/ 867.
After Ivar the Boneless had annexed York, the two Anglo-Saxon leaders settled their differences; they joined forces and attempted to retake the city. When the Northumbrians attacked, the Vikings withdrew behind the crumbling Roman city walls, but the Anglo-Saxon leaders were both killed and the Northumbrians defeated during the ensuing battle on 21 March 867. Symeon of Durham wrote:
In those days, the nation of the Northumbrians had violently expelled from the kingdom the rightful king of their nation, Osbryht by name, and had placed at the head of the kingdom a certain tyrant, named Alla. When the pagans came upon the kingdom, the dissension was allayed by divine counsel and the aid of the nobles. King Osbryht and Alla, having united their forces and formed an army, came to the city of York; on their approach the multitude of the shipmen immediately took flight. The Christians, perceiving their flight and terror, found that they themselves were the stronger party. They fought upon each side with much ferocity, and both kings fell. The rest who escaped made peace with the Danes.
The remaining Northumbrian leaders, probably led by Archbishop Wulfhere, "made peace" with the Vikings. The Vikings appointed a compliant native prince, Ecgberht, as puppet ruler of Northumbria. Five years later, in 872, when the Great Army was elsewhere, the local Northumbrians capitalized on their absence by driving Wulfhere and Ecgberht out. The two exiles found refuge at the court of Burgred of Mercia. The revolt was short-lived, with the Vikings regaining control of York in 873. Wulfhere was recalled to the See but the Anglo-Saxon Ricsige became ruler, as Ecgberht died in 873.
In 875/ 876 part of the Great Army returned, headed by Halfdan Ragnarsson. York was retaken and although Halfdan was proclaimed King of Northumbria, in reality he was only the ruler of southern Northumbria (Deira). Deira became known as the Kingdom of York (Old Norse: Jórvík) with Halfdan as its first king. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
Halfdene apportioned the lands of North-humbria: and they thenceforth continued ploughing and tilling them.
Halfdan's reign did not last long, as he was killed while trying to assert his claim to the Kingdom of Dublin, in 877.
There was an interregnum after Halfdan died until Guthred became king in 883. Guthred was the first Christian Viking king of York. It is traditionally thought that Guthred's election was sponsored by Archbishop Wulfhere's religious community from Lindisfarne. Churches and religious centres in Northumbria had been systematically stripped of their wealth since the arrival of the Vikings; however, although it had become impoverished, the number of ecclesiastical artifacts that have been excavated in York, from various periods between the 7th and 11th centuries, indicates that the cathedral remained a religious centre throughout. Guthred died in 895 and was buried at York Minster.
Siefredus of Northumbria replaced Guthred as ruler of Jórvík. Although not much is known about him, some information has been provided by coin evidence. A substantial find in the Ribble Valley, during the 19th century, now known as the Cuerdale Hoard, contained approximately 8,000 Anglo-Scandinavian coins as well as continental and Kufic coins, which include those from the Islamic world such as dirhams as well as imitations with pseudo-Kufic markings. Some of the coins discovered have Siefredus's name on them, providing an indication of when he reigned. The coin evidence suggests that Siefredus succeeded Guthred and ruled from about 895 until 900.
The writing of the medieval chronicler Æthelweard has led some historians to suggest that Siefriedus may be the same person as Sichfrith Jarl, who had previously been raiding the coast of Wessex.
"When these events so happened, Sigferth the pirate arrived from the land of the Northumbrians with a large fleet, ravaged twice and afterwards sailed back to his own homeland."
The historian Alfred P. Smyth suggests this is the same Sichfrith who laid claim to the Kingdom of Dublin that same year.
The Cuerdale Hoard also contained some coins with the name Cnut (Knútr) on them; the coin evidence suggests that he reigned between 900 and 905. He is listed as ruler of York but has proved to be something of a conundrum, for historians, as Cnut is not recorded on any written contemporary sources. Historians have posited several hypotheses. As some of the coins had both Siefredus' and Cnut's names on them, they might be the same person. Another possibility is that he was "a Danish noble, mentioned in Norse sources, who was assassinated in 902 after a very brief reign. So brief that there was not enough time to produce coins in quantity."
The next ruler, Æthelwold, was the son of Æthelred, the king of Wessex from 865 to 871. Following his father's death, in 871, his uncle Alfred the Great became king. When Alfred died in 899, Alfred's son Edward the Elder ascended the throne of Wessex. However, Æthelwold made a bid for power, seizing his father's old estate in Wimbourne. Edward's forces besieged Æthelwold's position, forcing him to flee. He went to York, where the locals accepted him as king, in 901. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:
... he stole away by night, and sought the army in North-humbria; and they received him for their king, and became obedient to him.
Æthelwold did not stay in York long; in 903 he began a campaign to regain the crown of Wessex. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle describes how he raised a fleet and landed first in Essex, then went on to East Anglia where he persuaded their king Eohric to help him in his campaign. The combined armies raided Wessex in the Cricklade area. Edward and his allies responded by attacking East Anglia. Edward's Kentish allies engaged Æthelwold's army, and in this battle Æthelwold was killed.
Edward followed up his attack on East Anglia with raids into the Viking kingdom. The following year the Vikings retaliated, led by their new joint kings Eowils and Halfdan II their intention was to raid Mercia and Wessex but were intercepted and killed when they met a joint army from Wessex and Mercia at Tettenhall on 5 August 910.
Ragnall I was York's next ruler, he was the grandson of Ímar and was probably one of the Vikings expelled from Dublin in 902. He fought against Constantín II, King of Scotland, in the Battle of Corbridge in 918. It is not clear from the annals, who actually won the battle, but the outcome did allow Ragnall to establish himself as king at York. It seems that the people of York were unhappy with Ragnall as they promised obedience to Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians in early 918, but the negotiations were ended prematurely by her death in June of that year. Later in his reign, Ragnall submitted to Edward as overlord, but was allowed to keep his kingdom. Ragnall had three separate issues of coins produced while he ruled York the coins bearing the name RAIENALT, RACNOLDT or similar. He died late in 920 or early 921.
The next ruler was Sihtric, who was a kinsman of Ragnall, and another Viking leader that had been expelled from the Kingdom of Dublin, in 902. Sihtric, however had returned to Ireland to retake Dublin and become their king. Then in 920 he travelled to York and joined Ragnall where in 921 Ragnall died and Sihtric replaced him as king.
Sihtric raided Davenport, Cheshire, in violation of the terms of submission agreed between Ragnall and Edward. Edward the Elder died in 924. It seems that Sihtric took advantage of the situation to expand his kingdom. There is some numismatic evidence to support this as there are coins, from this time, minted at Lincoln, in the Kingdom of Mercia, as well those from York.
Edward was replaced by his son Æthelstan, and although the annals indicated that Sihtric was reluctant to submit to Edward, he submitted to Æthelstan at Tamworth in January 926. Part of the agreement was that Sihtric should marry Æthelstan's sister Eadgyth, and that he should be baptised. According to Roger of Wendover, Sihtric was baptised but he "repudiated" the faith and rejected his bride shortly after, without the marriage being consummated.
In 927 Sihtric died. His brother Gofraid left Dublin and headed to Northumbria to replace Sihtric as king but his attempt to rule was unsuccessful, and he was driven out by King Æthelstan. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle makes no mention of Gofraid, simply stating that Æthelstan succeeded Sihtric as King in Northumbria, and thereafter held a meeting with the other kings in Britain, establishing peace. A later account by William of Malmesbury tells a different story. In his version, Gofraid goes to Scotland following Sihtric's death, to attend a meeting at Dacre with Æthelstan, Constantine II of Scotland, and Owen I of Strathclyde. Gofraid and a Viking ally called Thurfrith led a force to York and besieged the city. Æthelstan counterattacked and Gofraid was captured. The city was then looted by the Anglo-Saxons and Gofraid allowed to return to Ireland.
[Guthferth] ... at last came a suppliant to court. Being amicably received by the king, and sumptuously entertained for four days, he resought his ships; an incorrigible pirate, and accustomed to live in the water like a fish.
In 937 a coalition of Vikings (led by Gofraid's son Olaf Guthfrithson), Constantine II, King of Scotland, and Owain, King of Strathclyde invaded England. The invaders were stopped and defeated by Æthelstan, and his allies, at the Battle of Brunanburh. After this, although Æthelstan's relationship with Northumbria was not an easy one, his hold on it remained secure until his death in 939.
During his reign, Æthelstan integrated Northumbria into England and the design of the coinage was changed to conform with the standard English system. On some coins, produced at York, the mint-signature was Eforwic, the Old English name for York.
Although Æthelstan had integrated the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one unified England and suppressed opposition from the Vikings and their allies, when he died in 939, the Viking leader Olaf Guthfrithson (who had been defeated at Brunanburh) arrived from Dublin and took over Northumbria with minimal opposition. Coins minted at York during his reign show the Raven motif.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Scandinavian York”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.