Battle of Basing 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 | Danelaw, Kingdom of Wessex, Æthelred I | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 51.2704, -1.0473 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Basing was a victory of a Viking army over the West Saxons at the royal estate of Basing in Hampshire on about 22 January 871.
In late December 870 the Vikings invaded Wessex and occupied Reading. Several battles followed in quick succession, Englefield, a West Saxon victory, Reading, a Viking victory and Ashdown on about 8 January, a West Saxon victory. Two weeks later, King Æthelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great, were defeated at Basing. There was then a lull of two months until the Battle of Meretun, when the Vikings again prevailed. Soon after Easter, which fell on 15 April in that year, Æthelred died and was succeeded by Alfred.
The Battle of Basing can be dated because Bishop Heahmund of Sherborne died in the Battle of Meretun, and it is known that he died on 22 March 871. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that the Battle of Basing was two months earlier, dating it to 22 January, Ashdown fourteen days before that on 8 January, Reading four days earlier on 4 January, Englefield another four days earlier on 31 December 870 and the arrival of the Vikings in Reading three days earlier on 28 December. However, as the two month interval between Meretun and Basing is probably not exact, the earlier dates are approximate.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Basing (revision 1370433509), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Basing House 1643 · 0 km
- Battle of Alton 1643 · 14 km
- First Battle of Alton 1001 · 14 km
- Battle of Englefield 871 · 20 km
- Siege of Reading 1642 · 21 km
- Battle of Reading (1688) 1688 · 21 km
Other battles of the Viking activity in the British Isles
- Battle of York (867) 867
- Battle of Ashdown 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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