The St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002
Benjamin Savill discusses the St Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002, in which Danes living in England were killed, apparently on royal orders
On 13 November 1002, the St Brice’s Day Massacre took place, when Danes living in England were killed, apparently on the orders of King Aethelred. But the extent of the violence and motivation behind it continues to be much debated by historians. In conversation with David Musgrove, Dr Benjamin Savill outlines his new theory that the massacre may have been planned specifically for the feast day of the exiled St Brice.
Authors
David Musgrove is content director of the HistoryExtra.com website and podcast, plus its sister print magazines BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed. He has a PhD in medieval landscape archaeology and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.