First Florence, congratulations on your Doctorate. It's richly deserved.
However, to me it's simply disingenuous to believe that the presence of 37 tall, strong young Danish men aged 16-25 in Oxford should not be construed as a clear and present danger to the peace and stability of Oxford. One possible theory is that they were a Viking longboat crew who had sailed from Normandy up the Thames and the Isis to sack the city and that their slaughter was therefore wholly justified by the standards of the time.
Whilst the St Brice's Day Massacre was probably an unræd decision in retrospect and may well have led directly or indirectly to the 1013 invasion, given the wholesale slaughter by Viking raiding parties of multiple English communities over the preceding 150 years, it's difficult to condemn it as a short term tactical decision by Æthelred.
I take your point, but this piece does not contradict it. I have stopped short of evaluating mass murder as an effective political or military tactic for a medieval king. As I said in the piece, 'Some historians ... portray it as an action taken only against violent Viking raiders who had recently settled in England'. The extent of the 'massacre' is ambiguous, and may well have been proportionate retaliation in an ongoing (for centuries!) threat.
However, the contemporary sources are clear in their rhetoric against 'ALL' Danes, which is what I'm getting at here by describing this in terms of ethnic persecution.
Hello Florence,
The St Brice’s Day massacre was not the first (or last) questionable decision made by Æthelred. He well and truly earned his epithet of Unræd.
I’m very happy to see your newsletter returning to a regular schedule. And being read in your appealing Yorkshire accent❤️.
First Florence, congratulations on your Doctorate. It's richly deserved.
However, to me it's simply disingenuous to believe that the presence of 37 tall, strong young Danish men aged 16-25 in Oxford should not be construed as a clear and present danger to the peace and stability of Oxford. One possible theory is that they were a Viking longboat crew who had sailed from Normandy up the Thames and the Isis to sack the city and that their slaughter was therefore wholly justified by the standards of the time.
Whilst the St Brice's Day Massacre was probably an unræd decision in retrospect and may well have led directly or indirectly to the 1013 invasion, given the wholesale slaughter by Viking raiding parties of multiple English communities over the preceding 150 years, it's difficult to condemn it as a short term tactical decision by Æthelred.
I take your point, but this piece does not contradict it. I have stopped short of evaluating mass murder as an effective political or military tactic for a medieval king. As I said in the piece, 'Some historians ... portray it as an action taken only against violent Viking raiders who had recently settled in England'. The extent of the 'massacre' is ambiguous, and may well have been proportionate retaliation in an ongoing (for centuries!) threat.
However, the contemporary sources are clear in their rhetoric against 'ALL' Danes, which is what I'm getting at here by describing this in terms of ethnic persecution.
In-depth explanation of an obscure corner of English history. Utterly fascinating and compelling!
Real or not, she is a representation of how war and ethnic cleansing destroys the beauty in the world and humanity. Great read!