Welcome to the British History Podcast. My name is Jamie and this is episode 327.

Atherod. Sail away. Sail away. Sail away.

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Now that we've checked in with the rest of the world, let's get back to our story, which

lately hasn't been going so well. In the space of about 70 years, the Kingdom has gone

from a preeminent power in the West to a little more than a Viking hunting preserve.

By the year 1000, things have become so bad that the Viking armies were now just wintering

on the island. The English nobles, unable to oust them, were essentially paying for the

invaders room and board via dangelts, which were pulled from the local peasantry. So essentially,

the English rulers were so incompetent, they were pillaging their own countryside. Which,

let's be honest, was turning out to be quite profitable for the Viking army that was currently

spending a relaxing winter on the Isle of White. And when the frost thawed, they entered

a new century, a new millennium, in fact. And as Spring arrived, that meant that a new

campaigning season had begun. And we can assume that those Vikings were once again on the

move. But we can only assume, because the Chronicle makes no mention of any raids or battles

that were being launched by that army. Now, that doesn't mean that there weren't any

raids or battles. The scribes were notoriously fickle with what they chose to include. But

the fact is that for the most part, any early activity in the year 1000 by the Viking army

...