Guthrum II
Encyclopedia
Guthrum II was, according to some reconstructions, a King of East Anglia in the early tenth century. He should not be confused with the earlier and better-known Guthrum
, who fought against Alfred the Great
.
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The only Viking ruler of the kingdom of East Anglia
whose existence is beyond doubt is the earlier Guthrum. He took the baptism
al name Æthelstan, died in 890 after ruling East Anglia for around ten years.
Until the death of Guthrum, the coins
of East Anglia provide an essential guide to the rulers of the kingdom. After the killing of King Æthelberht II of East Anglia in 794, only two kings—Edmund, better known as Saint Edmund the Martyr
, and Guthrum—are named in near-contemporary written records, while all others are known only from the numismatic evidence provided by surviving coins. This evidence comes to an end at Guthrum's death as late East Anglian coins cease to name the king on whose orders they were minted and instead bear the name of King Edmund. From this time forward, kings are only known from the very limited written record.
It is believed that Eohric
was king of East Anglia. The beginning of his reign cannot be dated. He was killed in 902 at the battle of the Holme alongside Æthelwold of Wessex
, fighting against the armies of Æthelwold's cousin King Edward the Elder
. The East Anglians are recorded by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
as signing a peace with Edward in 906 and submitting to Edward late in 917, but on neither occasion are their leaders named by the Chronicle.
's History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings, Benjamin Thorpe
refers to King Guthrum II as having led the East Anglians in 906 when peace was made with Edward the Elder. Thorpe bases this upon one of his own earlier works, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England (1840). Here he printed the Laws of Edward and Guthrum, which he presumed to be a record of the agreement in 906. He referred to the medieval historian John of Wallingford
as supporting this identification, stating that Wallingford referred to a second Guthrum being active in Edward's reign. Joseph Stevenson translated Wallingford some years after Thorpe wrote, and his edition disagrees with Thorpe's reading. According to Stevenson, Wallingford's translation, wrote that the King Guthrum who had made peace with Alfred, and whose death in 890 is not disputed, had left England for Denmark
and returned again in the reign of Edward's son Æthelstan.
In time the idea that the Laws of Edward and Guthrum should be dated to the reign of Edward the Elder came under scrutiny. Frederick Attenborough
's Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1921) discussed them and referred to the work of German historian Felix Liebermann
. Liebermann considered the preamble to the laws to be inauthentic and dated them to the reign of King Æthelstan. Modern studies date them to later yet. The late Patrick Wormald
wrote: "From 1568 to 1941, no one seems to have doubted that [the Laws of Edward and Guthrum] was just what it claimed to be." But, Wormald notes, since 1941, when Dorothy Whitelock
published a study of the text, this is no longer the case. Rather than being seen as a contemporary record of the peace of 906, or a document from the time of Æthelstan, the Laws are now dated to around 1000. It is believed that they were written by Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York
(died 1023).
Guthrum
The name Guthrum corresponds to Norwegian Guttom and to Danish Gorm.The name Guthrum may refer to these kings:* Guthrum, who fought against Alfred the Great* Gorm the Old of Denmark and Norway* Guthrum II, a king of doubtful historicity...
, who fought against Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
.
Background
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
whose existence is beyond doubt is the earlier Guthrum. He took the baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
al name Æthelstan, died in 890 after ruling East Anglia for around ten years.
Until the death of Guthrum, the coins
COinS
ContextObjects in Spans, commonly abbreviated COinS, is a method to embed bibliographic metadata in the HTML code of web pages. This allows bibliographic software to publish machine-readable bibliographic items and client reference management software to retrieve bibliographic metadata. The...
of East Anglia provide an essential guide to the rulers of the kingdom. After the killing of King Æthelberht II of East Anglia in 794, only two kings—Edmund, better known as Saint Edmund the Martyr
Edmund the Martyr
St Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.D'Evelyn, Charlotte, and Mill, Anna J., , 1956. Reprinted 1967...
, and Guthrum—are named in near-contemporary written records, while all others are known only from the numismatic evidence provided by surviving coins. This evidence comes to an end at Guthrum's death as late East Anglian coins cease to name the king on whose orders they were minted and instead bear the name of King Edmund. From this time forward, kings are only known from the very limited written record.
It is believed that Eohric
Eohric of East Anglia
Eohric was king of East Anglia. Seemingly of Scandinavian origin, his name is the Old English form of the Old Norse Eiríkr, little is known of Eohric or of East Anglia in his time....
was king of East Anglia. The beginning of his reign cannot be dated. He was killed in 902 at the battle of the Holme alongside Æthelwold of Wessex
Æthelwold of Wessex
Æthelwold was the youngest of three known sons of King Æthelred of Wessex. His brother Oswald is recorded between 863 and 875, and Æthelhelm is only recorded as a beneficiary of King Alfred's will in the mid 880s, and probably died soon afterwards...
, fighting against the armies of Æthelwold's cousin King Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
. The East Anglians are recorded by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
as signing a peace with Edward in 906 and submitting to Edward late in 917, but on neither occasion are their leaders named by the Chronicle.
The Laws of Edward and Guthrum
In his translation of Johann Martin LappenbergJohann Martin Lappenberg
Johann Martin Lappenberg , was a German historian.-Biography:He was born at Hamburg, where his father, Valentin Anton Lappenberg , held an official position. He attended the Johanneum and the Akademisches Gymnasium of Hamburg. Like his father he studied medicine, but afterwards history, at the...
's History of England under the Anglo-Saxon Kings, Benjamin Thorpe
Benjamin Thorpe
Benjamin Thorpe was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon.-Biography:After studying for four years at Copenhagen University, under the Danish philologist Rasmus Christian Rask, he returned to England in 1830, and in 1832 published an English version of Caedmon's metrical paraphrase of portions of the...
refers to King Guthrum II as having led the East Anglians in 906 when peace was made with Edward the Elder. Thorpe bases this upon one of his own earlier works, Ancient Laws and Institutes of England (1840). Here he printed the Laws of Edward and Guthrum, which he presumed to be a record of the agreement in 906. He referred to the medieval historian John of Wallingford
John of Wallingford
John of Wallingford , also known as John de Cella, was Abbot of St Albans Abbey in the English county of Hertfordshire from 1195 to his death in 1214...
as supporting this identification, stating that Wallingford referred to a second Guthrum being active in Edward's reign. Joseph Stevenson translated Wallingford some years after Thorpe wrote, and his edition disagrees with Thorpe's reading. According to Stevenson, Wallingford's translation, wrote that the King Guthrum who had made peace with Alfred, and whose death in 890 is not disputed, had left England for Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and returned again in the reign of Edward's son Æthelstan.
In time the idea that the Laws of Edward and Guthrum should be dated to the reign of Edward the Elder came under scrutiny. Frederick Attenborough
Frederick Attenborough
Frederick Levi Attenborough was a British academic.-Early life:He was the son of Frederick and Mary Attenborough of Stapleford in Nottinghamshire. He was educated at schools in Long Eaton. He became a teacher at the Long Eaton Higher Elementary School in 1913. This school was founded by Samuel...
's Laws of the Earliest English Kings (1921) discussed them and referred to the work of German historian Felix Liebermann
Felix Liebermann
Felix Liebermann was a Jewish German historian, who is celebrated for his scholarly contributions to the study of medieval English history, particularly that of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman law. Born in 1851, Berlin, he came from a Jewish-German family and was the younger brother of the painter...
. Liebermann considered the preamble to the laws to be inauthentic and dated them to the reign of King Æthelstan. Modern studies date them to later yet. The late Patrick Wormald
Patrick Wormald
Charles Patrick Wormald was a British historian born in Neston, Cheshire, son of historian Brian Wormald.He attended Eton College as a King's Scholar...
wrote: "From 1568 to 1941, no one seems to have doubted that [the Laws of Edward and Guthrum] was just what it claimed to be." But, Wormald notes, since 1941, when Dorothy Whitelock
Dorothy Whitelock
Dorothy Whitelock was an English historian. Her best-known work is English Historical Documents, vol. I: c. 500-1042, which she edited...
published a study of the text, this is no longer the case. Rather than being seen as a contemporary record of the peace of 906, or a document from the time of Æthelstan, the Laws are now dated to around 1000. It is believed that they were written by Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York
Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York
Wulfstan was an English Bishop of London, Bishop of Worcester, and Archbishop of York. He should not be confused with Wulfstan I, Archbishop of York or Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester. He is thought to have begun his ecclesiastical career as a Benedictine monk. He became the Bishop of London in 996...
(died 1023).