ABSTRACT
The will of Alfred exposes the personal and dynastic tensions lying just beneath the surface of royal family relationships. Even more serious than these was the threat of attack from the still-pagan Scandinavians, the Vikings. The Alfredian chronicler says of Aclea that it was the greatest slaughter of a heathen army ever yet heard of, and the victory on which Lupus of Ferrières congratulated Aethelwulf was probably Aclea. The Vikings secured themselves in possession of York and assumed direct control of Deira, appointing a puppet ruler, Ecgberht, beyond the Tyne. From York the great army went into Mercia in late 867 and spent the winter of 867/8 in Nottingham. What prevented the Vikings from pushing home their advantage in 871 is not certain, but the continued independent existence of Mercia, the readiness of the West Saxons to sue for peace, and perhaps intimations of unrest in Northumbria brought a cessation of hostilities and a withdrawal.
