Battle of Ashdown 871
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 871 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | England | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Viking activity in the British Isles | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Alfred the Great, Bagsecg, Halfdan Ragnarsson, Kingdom of Wessex, Vikings | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 51.5350, -1.2300 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Ashdown was a West Saxon victory over a Danish Viking army on about 8 January 871. The location of Ashdown is not known, but may be Kingstanding Hill in Berkshire. Other writers place the battle near Starveall, a short distance north of the village of Aldworth and south east of Lowbury Hill.
The West Saxons were led by King Æthelred and his younger brother, the future King Alfred the Great, while the Viking commanders were Bagsecg and Halfdan. The battle is described in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Asser's Life of King Alfred.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Ashdown (revision 1377719100), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Englefield 871 · 14 km
- Second Battle of Newbury 1644 · 15 km
- First Battle of Newbury 1643 · 19 km
- Battle of Chalgrove Field 1643 · 19 km
- Battle of Reading (1688) 1688 · 20 km
- Siege of Reading 1642 · 20 km
Other battles of the Viking activity in the British Isles
- Battle of York (867) 867
- Battle of Basing 871
- Battle of Englefield 871
- Battle of Reading (871) 871
- Battle of Chippenham 878
- Battle of Cynwit 878
- Battle of Edington 878
- Battle of Buttington 893
- Battle of Tettenhall 910
- Battle of Tempsford 917
All 20 battles of the Viking activity in the British Isles →
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