Battle of Assandun

The Battle of Assandun was fought between Danish and English armies on 18 October 1016. There is disagreement whether Assandun may be Ashdon near Saffron Walden in north Essex or, as long supposed, Ashingdon near Rochford in southeast Essex, England. It was a victory for the Danes, led by Canute the Great (Cnut, Knut or Knud), who triumphed over the English army led by King Edmund II ('Ironside'). The battle was the conclusion to the Danish reconquest of England.

In earlier times, what is now England had been seven kingdoms; by the late 900s there were two. The Danes ruled two-thirds of England, the Danelaw: the area north of the Thames, along the Lee, northwest through the midlands including eastern Mercia to Chester and the River Dee. The Saxons ruled the area south of the Thames, the west - Wessex and western Mercia.

In response to Edmund's reconquest of recently Danish-occupied Wessex and to various indecisive offensives against Canute's army, Canute besieged London with major support from the English nobility, particularly the Southampton nobles, against the Saxon hierarchy. London withstood the siege and Edmund repulsed the Danes, but needed troops following a successful attack against the Danes in Mercia. Leaving London, Edmund risked travelling into the countryside, which was dominated by enemies and where he was in danger of being attacked by Danish soldiers. Canute's intelligence became aware of Edmund's movements and while marching through Essex Edmund's army was intercepted by Canute. The surprise interception overwhelmed the English, causing some of them to desert, and the Danes poured on the English, killing much of the nobility. Some sources claim that the Danes were losing ground, and that Eadric Streona had previously made a deal with Canute to desert the other English forces.

Following his defeat, Edmund was forced to sign a treaty with Canute. By this treaty, all of England except Wessex would be controlled by Canute and when one of the kings should die the other would take all of England, that king's son being the heir to the throne. After Edmund's death on 30 November, Canute duly ruled the whole kingdom directly. Thus for the first time England became a single united kingdom, covering the same territory as it does today.

Canute was accustomed to building a church, chapel or holy site after winning a battle to commemorate the soldiers who died in battle. A few years later in 1020 the completion took place of the memorial church known as Ashingdon Minster, on the hill next to the presumed site of the battle in Ashingdon. The church still stands to this day. Canute attended the dedication of Ashingdon Minster with his bishops and appointed his personal priest, Stigand, to be priest there. The church is now dedicated to Saint Andrew but is believed previously to have been dedicated to Saint Michael, who was considered a military saint: churches dedicated to him are frequently located on a hill.

There is another possible location of the battle; Ashdon, also in Essex. There have been many finds of Roman and Anglo-Saxon coins in the area. Historians have argued inconclusively over the two sites for years. There is some strong evidence: a couple of Anglo-Saxon wills that definitely show Ashdon as the battle site. Also, the 10th century wooden village church, itself possibly built on the site of a pre-Christian temple, was probably rebuilt in stone in the early 11th century, about the right time for Canute's conquest. Unfortunately little remains of the earlier structures, which were largely obliterated by the construction of the current church of All Saints during the late 13th to early 15th centuries.