Æthelred II's (or unraed) un succesful invasion of Normandy?
I can only find snippets of information about this so if any body knows of a site with more information please can they let me know.
Basically the circumstances were this, the English king, Æthelred the unready, invaded Normandy due to the Normans giving shelter to their Viking brethren and also letting them sell the goods at Norman markets that were plundered from England. The invasion was a failure. How so? And what was the make up of the invading army? Why were they beaten ( The Normans of this time were basically settled Vikings still, not yet renowned for their cavalry)?
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Aethelred II (AD978 - 1042)
Aethelred`s reign ended with him being sidelined and his son Edmund `Ironside ` facing defeat in the struggle against Cnut`s Danish forces . Aethelred lost a stable and prosperous kingdom which had been built up over 100 years by Alfred the Great and his heirs
After the Battle of Maldon in Essex ,in AD 991 , Aethelred initiated a doomed policy of bribing the Danes to stay away with vast sums of gold and silver. Over 20 years , these payments known as Danegold cost England a fortune . Aethelred made another decision with damaging long - term consequences when in, 1001 he married Emma , daughter of the Duc de Normandie , as part of an Anglo - Norman alliance to out manoeuvre the Danes .
Aethelred then made plans to massacre all the Danes in England on St Brice`s Day , 13 November 1002 . This was only partially carried out and served to to provoke the Danes into fiercer military action . In 1013 King Aethelred fled to Normandy , and the Danish king , Sweyn , claimed the English throne .Aethelred returned the following year and succeeded in ousting Sweyn`s son ,Cnut to win the support of his nobles , he was forced to pledge reforms and surer government in future in the first such agreement between monarch and subjects in English history .
In 1015 Aethelred`s son Edmund `Ironside ` revolted against his father`s rule and took control of the army . Aethelred died powerless , in April 1016 .
After a series of battles Edmund and Cnut agreed to share power , with Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut ruling the all the land to the north of the River Thames .
When King Edmund died on 30th November 1016 , his subjects were left to the mercy of Cnut . Cnut married Aethelred`s widow , Emma of Normandy .
Aethelred never attempted any invasion of Normandy. The Normans , like Aethelred wanted rid of the Vikings
info: http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=get&type=per...