Guthrum

Guthrum (d. 890). Viking leader, king in East Anglia, and major opponent of King Alfred. Guthrum probably first appeared in England as leader of the ‘great summer army’ which joined the forces commanded by Halfdan at Reading in 871. When the army split up in 875, Guthrum returned with his contingent to Wessex. In 878 he was nearly successful in capturing Alfred at Chippenham, but was defeated by Alfred at the battle of Edington later the same year. Guthrum was subsequently baptized with Alfred as his godfather and took the new name of Athelstan. He retired with his forces to rule East Anglia and issued coins there in his baptismal name.

Green: Danelaw

The name Guthrum corresponds to Norwegian: Guttom and to Danish: Gorm.

Famous by the name Guthrum

• Guthrum of East Anglia
• Gorm the Old of Denmark and Norway

The Kingdom of Guthrum

The Kingdom of Guthrum corresponds to modern East Anglia and The Fens and was the southern part of the Danelaw in the 9th Century. The northern border was the River Ouse^{[disambiguation needed]} and the southern border was the River Thames. The western boundary with English Mercia is a diagonal that approximates the route of the modern M1 motorway.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)