People / group

Great Heathen Army

865–878 · 9th century · Also known as Great Army

The Great Heathen Army was a large coalition of Scandinavian warriors that invaded England in 865. It took York in 867, overran East Anglia and much of Mercia, and attacked Wessex until Alfred the Great defeated it at Edington in 878. Its leaders settled their followers in Northumbria, East Anglia and the east Midlands, creating the region later known as the Danelaw.

Great Heathen Army
Image: Hel-hama · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 profiles

Kingdom of WessexMilitaryKingdom of MerciaMilitary, Decline, SummaryKingdom of NorthumbriaMilitary, Decline, SummaryKingdom of EnglandFoundation

Mentioned in 5 state histories

Kingdom of East AngliaKingdom of NorthumbriaEarldom of BamburghKingdom of YorkFive Boroughs of the Danelaw

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Great Heathen Army. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-heathen-army
MLA
“Great Heathen Army.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-heathen-army. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Great Heathen Army.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-heathen-army.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Great Heathen Army’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/great-heathen-army (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻