The Battle of Maldon – Northey Island, Blackwater, The Haunting Landscape of The Essex Serpent
Everything from fossil finds to Clactonian Flint Tools – In this video, Stephen anThe whole area of Northey Island, with its marshes and tidal waters, wildlife and untouched landscape is certainly intriguing and in it’s own way, beautiful too. Although the land is stark and grey in contrast to many other nature reserves scattered across England, as a result it has lent itself to legend and literature. The recent book The Essex Serpent, written by Sarah Perry and recently made into a TV series for Apple TV, Showcases this bleak landscape extremely well. Add that to the bloody history of the battle of Maldon and the men who fell right where I am standing now, and you have something very dark indeed. Join me as I explore Northey Island in Essex, a small island accessed by a narrow causeway and assessable only at low tide, the island is steeped in history and connected to the viking / anglo-saxon battle of Maldon. Northey Island is an island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex. It is linked to the South bank of the river by a causeway, covered for two hours either side of high tide. The island is approximately 1 mile to the east of Maldon, Essex and 1 mile to the west of Osea Island. The Battle of Maldon, in 991 took place on the causeway and the South bank of the Blackwater near the island. At that time the causeway is thought to have been half as long as it is presently – 120 yards rather than 240 yards today, so the island was much bigger 1000 years ago. It’s likely that the island was used by the vikings right at the time of the battle. The vikings stationed on the island and the anglo-saxons on the mainland. We will talk more of the battle shortly, in the meantime here is a little more information about Northey Island. The Battle of Maldon took place on the 10th August 991 at the mouth of the River Blackwater near Maldon in Essex. A heroic Anglo-Saxon poem about the battle was written shortly after, it is from this piece of literature that we find many of the primary sources for the battle and the names of those who took part. Essentially, according to the poem, an army of Vikings largely from Norway and led by Olaf TRYGGVASON a great-grandson of Harald I ‘Fairhair’ of Norway tried to land in Maldon having made a series of unpleasant visits along the Essex and Kent coast beforehand. Olaf’s raid on Folkestone is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. However, at Maldon they met with resistance in the form of Earl Brithnoth and his men. Earl Brithnoth was an in-law of Edmund I, King of England, and so was essentially a part of the Royal Court. At the end of this video I will be taking a look at the genealogy of both Olaf TRYGGVASON and Earl Brithnoth, because interestingly Yhana and I share a family tie to both of those men and the battle of Maldon. #northeyisland #battleofmaldon #theessexserpent
- Published: 5 May 2022
- Location: Maldon, Essex
- Duration: 15:26
- Photography – Stephen Robert Kuta
- Written by – Stephen Robert Kuta
Music –
Music Licensed by Epidemic Sound
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