Danes in Wessex: the Scandinavian Impact on Southern England, 800–1100

Edited by Ryan Lavelle and Simon Roffey, this is the first collection of essays that deals directly with the relationship between the Scandinavians and Wessex. Wessex played a major role in the Viking Wars, and as such this book is a welcomed addition to debates around wider Anglo-Scandinavian relations in the ninth–eleventh centuries.

Martin Biddle and Birthe Kjølbye-Biddle’s chapter 12, ‘Danish royal burials in Winchester: Cnut and his family’, is based on their excavation of Old Minster, examining the site and layout to determine the position of the tombs. Analysis also includes an examination of the stone frieze, a ‘Bayeux tapestry in stone’, which is believed to have celebrated both the English and Danish royal houses.