History glossary
The Great Heathen Army
a large Viking army that invaded Anglo-Saxon England in 865 and turned raiding into sustained conquest and settlement.
- Category
- Military force
- Region
- England
- Date range
- from 865
What it means
The Great Heathen Army was a major Viking force that arrived in England in 865. Unlike earlier raids, it campaigned for years, broke several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, captured York, and helped create the conditions for Scandinavian settlement in the Danelaw.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were the peoples and kingdoms that shaped Anglo-Saxon England after the end of Roman rule in Britain. From migration and settlement in Anglo-Saxon Britain to Christian conversion, Viking attacks, Alfred the Great, and the road to 1066, Anglo-Saxon history explains how early medieval England took form. Their language, laws, kingdoms, monasteries, and political traditions left a lasting mark on English identity before the Norman Conquest transformed the realm.
The Viking Age
From raiders to traders, Vikings built kingdoms and networks that reshaped Europe and beyond.
