871

Years: 867 868 869 870 - 871 - 872 873 874 875
Decades: 840s 850s 860s - 870s - 880s 890s 900s
Centuries: 8th century - 9th century - 10th century

Events

*Nine battles are fought between the Danes and Wessex. Of two of them the place and date are not recorded, the others were:
** Englefield (31 December 870)
** Reading (4 January)
** Ashdown (8 January)
** Basing (22 January)
** Merton (22 March)
**Wilton (May)
*Alfred the Great succeeds as king of Wessex after Ethelred's death.
*Reading, England occupied by the Norse.
*After the battle at Wilton, peace is made, with the Danes and Alfred each governing part of England.
*Rhodri Mawr ('the Great') of Gwynedd inherits Seisyllwig, thus uniting most of Wales under his rule
*Louis II captures Bari, the headquarters of the Saracens.
*Alfred makes Winchester to his capital.
*An incomplete marriage contract, dated to October 6 of this year, is the earliest dated document in the Cairo Geniza.
*Foundation of Tønsberg, the oldest surviving town in the Nordic countries.
*Svatopluk I becomes king of Great Moravia

*April 23 - King Ethelred of Wessex (killed in battle)