Battle of Maldon 991
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Outline: officially registered battlefield boundary.
Key facts
| Date (year) | 991 | Historic England NHLE name |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 10th century | derived |
| Period | Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking | derived |
| Country | England | derived |
| War / conflict | Viking activity in the British Isles | Wikidata |
| Participants | Kingdom of England, Vikings | Wikidata |
| Registered area | 42.0 ha | Historic England |
| Grid reference | TL 86758 05586 | Historic England |
| Historic England list entry | 1000019 | Historic England |
| Designated | 1995-06-06 | Historic England |
About the battle
The Battle of Maldon took place on 10 or 11 August 991 AD near Maldon beside the River Blackwater in Essex, England, during the reign of Æthelred the Unready. Earl Byrhtnoth and his thegns led the English against a Viking invasion. The battle ended in an Anglo-Saxon defeat. After the battle Archbishop Sigeric of Canterbury and the aldermen of the south-western provinces advised King Æthelred to buy off the Vikings rather than continue the armed struggle. They were paid 10,000 pounds to leave England.
An account of the battle, embellished with many speeches attributed to the warriors and with other details, is related in an Old English poem which is usually named The Battle of Maldon.
One manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that a certain Olaf, possibly the Norwegian Olaf Tryggvason, led the Viking forces, these estimated to have been between 2,000 and 4,000 fighting men. A source from the 12th-century Liber Eliensis, written by the monks at Ely, suggests that Byrhtnoth had only a few men to command: "he was neither shaken by the small number of his men, nor fearful of the multitude of the enemy". Not all sources indicate such a disparity in numbers.
Visiting the battlefield
Location
- OS grid reference: TL 86758 05586
- Approximate centre of registered area: 51.7179, 0.7023
- Registered area: 42.0 hectares
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Maldon (revision 1370268885), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battlefield data © Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Nearby battlefields
- Battle of Assandun 1016 · 13 km
- Battle of Benfleet 894 · 21 km
- First Battle of St Albans 1455 · 25 km
- Raid on the Medway 1667 · 37 km
- Battle of Aylesford 455 · 47 km
- Battle of Maidstone 1648 · 51 km
Other battles of the Viking activity in the British Isles
- Battle of York 867
- Battle of Ashdown 871
- Battle of Basing 871
- Battle of Englefield 871
- Battle of Reading 871
- Battle of Chippenham 878
- Battle of Cynwit 878
- Battle of Edington 878
- Battle of Buttington 893
- Battle of Tettenhall 910
All battles of the Viking activity in the British Isles →
Browse more: battles in England · Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking · 10th century battles