The Lincolnshire town of Gainsborough is celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of when it was, for just five weeks, the capital of England and Denmark.
On St Brice's Day (13th November) in 1002, the English king Æthelred the Unready ordered the killing of all Danes in England. This became known as the St Brice's Day Massacre. The killings were in response to a series of Danish raids on England. England had been ravaged by these raids every year from 997 to 1001, and in 1002 the king was told that the Danish men in England "would faithlessly take his life, and then all his councillors, and possess his kingdom afterwards." Northern and eastern England had also just experienced decades of Danish rule known as Danelaw. One of the victims of the massacre was Gunhilde, the sister of King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark.
In revenge, Forkbeard launched a series of invasion attempts on England to claim the English crown for himself. As the attacks increased, Forkbeard made the castle at Gainsborough his centre of operations. He was finally successful in 1013 and was crowned King of England on Christmas Day and returned to Gainsborough to rule his new kingdom.
The Old Hall which is on the site of Gainsborough Castle where King Sweyn lived and died
However, five weeks later, on 3rd February 1014, he was found dead at the castle of suspected poisoning.
Sweyn Forkbeard was the first of the Danish kings of the House of Knýtlinga which ruled England between 1013 and 1042. After Forkbeard's death Æthelred regained his throne and ruled England again until his death in April 1016. He was succeeded by his son Edmund Ironside, who ruled England for just seven months, until his death in November 1016. The Danish king Canute then took to the English throne and England was ruled by a succession of Danish kings for almost the next 30 years.
Gary Cooke, events officer for Gainsborough Town Council, said the event would be a chance for people to learn about the town's history.
Mr Cooke said: "We hold our festival each year but this year we wanted to up the ante and raise the profile of why Gainsborough was an important place to be in 1013.
"For five weeks Gainsborough was the centre of where England was ruled from and this theme will run through our parade and we will be getting as much information as we can into the schools."
The town will celebrate its short stint as capital during the Gainsborough Riverside Festival in June.
Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, England and parts of Norway
Gainsborough has a population of 20,000
http://www.bbc.co.uk...nshire-21386473
On St Brice's Day (13th November) in 1002, the English king Æthelred the Unready ordered the killing of all Danes in England. This became known as the St Brice's Day Massacre. The killings were in response to a series of Danish raids on England. England had been ravaged by these raids every year from 997 to 1001, and in 1002 the king was told that the Danish men in England "would faithlessly take his life, and then all his councillors, and possess his kingdom afterwards." Northern and eastern England had also just experienced decades of Danish rule known as Danelaw. One of the victims of the massacre was Gunhilde, the sister of King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark.
In revenge, Forkbeard launched a series of invasion attempts on England to claim the English crown for himself. As the attacks increased, Forkbeard made the castle at Gainsborough his centre of operations. He was finally successful in 1013 and was crowned King of England on Christmas Day and returned to Gainsborough to rule his new kingdom.
The Old Hall which is on the site of Gainsborough Castle where King Sweyn lived and died
However, five weeks later, on 3rd February 1014, he was found dead at the castle of suspected poisoning.
Sweyn Forkbeard was the first of the Danish kings of the House of Knýtlinga which ruled England between 1013 and 1042. After Forkbeard's death Æthelred regained his throne and ruled England again until his death in April 1016. He was succeeded by his son Edmund Ironside, who ruled England for just seven months, until his death in November 1016. The Danish king Canute then took to the English throne and England was ruled by a succession of Danish kings for almost the next 30 years.
Gary Cooke, events officer for Gainsborough Town Council, said the event would be a chance for people to learn about the town's history.
Mr Cooke said: "We hold our festival each year but this year we wanted to up the ante and raise the profile of why Gainsborough was an important place to be in 1013.
"For five weeks Gainsborough was the centre of where England was ruled from and this theme will run through our parade and we will be getting as much information as we can into the schools."
The town will celebrate its short stint as capital during the Gainsborough Riverside Festival in June.
Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, England and parts of Norway
Gainsborough has a population of 20,000
http://www.bbc.co.uk...nshire-21386473