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GCSE History · key term
A large Viking force that arrived in England in 865 and campaigned to conquer Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Used by OCR
Paper 2
Revise: Viking Raids and ResponsesThe arrival of the Great Heathen Army in 865 marked an important shift towards conquest. It captured York in 866, giving the Vikings an important centre of power in Northumbria. In 869, King Edmund of East Anglia was defeated and killed.
Paper 3
A large Viking invasion force that arrived in England in 865 and campaigned across several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Christian writers called it ‘heathen’ because its warriors were not Christians.
Revise: Great heathen armyKnown as the ‘great heathen army’, it marked a change from sporadic raids towards sustained invasion and conquest. Rather than simply taking valuables and sailing away, the army moved between kingdoms, established winter bases and forced rulers to make agreements. Eventually, some warriors took land and became settlers.
Do not treat all Viking attacks as small raids: the Great Heathen Army sought territorial control.
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