The earliest raids in Ireland fell in 795 on Rathlin Island, Co.Antrim. This was followed by attacks on St Patrick’s Isle (Co. Dublin) in 798 and at Inishmurray (Co. Sligo) in 798 and 807. By the 820s and 830s, this predation had become epidemic: In 821 came the ‘plundering of Etar by heathens’ and ‘fromContinue reading “Viking Ireland”
Category Archives: Warfare
BBC History Magazine: the battle of Hengest’s Hill
The September issue of BBC History Magazine is still on news-stands, featuring my article on forgotten battles of the Viking Age. I was delighted to make it onto the cover: Here’s an extract from the pre-publication draft:
The Vikings are coming …
Several years ago I worked at the Tower of London. Spending long periods of time within a building of such age, I would often start to wonder about how the area would have looked before the castle was built. Every morning I would pass the remains of Roman walls at Tower Bridge station, walls thatContinue reading “The Vikings are coming …”
The Battle of Wesenberg/Rakvere: medieval warfare in the far north
The Battle of Ashdown in Medieval Warfare
A few weeks ago, I had an article titled The Battle of Ashdown: Victory, battlefield, and the language of war published in Medieval Warfare magazine. The theme of the issue is Alfred the Great and the Great Heathen Army and thus coincides neatly with my own area of academic interest. The publication is not scholarly,Continue reading “The Battle of Ashdown in Medieval Warfare”
THOMAS J. T. WILLIAMS 