3. Blood Eagles: The Great Heathen Army

About this episode

The episode explores the escalation of Viking raids and the formation of the Great Heathen Army, focusing on their impact on England and the resistance from the Kingdom of Wessex.

Emboldened by their forays, the Vikings escalate their raiding. Using shield walls, berserker shock troops and opportunistic tactics, the Norsemen’s military capacity grows. We experience life inside a Viking winter camp, as pirates become occupiers. A massive invasion force - the Great Heathen Army - overwhelms England. The only hold-out is the Kingdom of Wessex, whose ruler - Alfred - must deal with this unstoppable foe… A Noiser podcast production. Narrated by Iain Glen. Featuring Lars Brownworth, Ben Raffield, Elizabeth Rowe, Pragya Vohra, Davide Zori. Written by Roger Morris | Produced by Jeff Dawson | Executive Producer: Joel Duddell | Research by Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow | Fact check by Grant Jones | Sound Supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Jacob Booth | Additional editing by Rob Plummer, Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cian Ryan-Morgan. Recording Engineer: Tom Rouse at Jungle Studios. Get every episode of Real Vikings two weeks early and ad-free by joining Noiser+. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to  noiser.com/subscriptions Hosted on Acast. See…

People in this episode

Host: Iain Glen

Guests: Lars Brownworth, Ben Raffield, Elizabeth Rowe, Pragya Vohra, Davide Zori

Topics covered

• Vikings
• raiding
• military tactics
• Great Heathen Army
• Alfred
• England
• winter camp

Keywords

• Vikings
• Great Heathen Army
• raids
• Alfred
• military tactics
• winter camp
• England

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Noiser, Acast

Places: England, Kingdom of Wessex

More episodes of Real Vikings

• 10. 1066 and the Last Vikings · May 11, 2026 · 58 min
• 9. King Canute’s North Sea Empire · May 4, 2026 · 58 min
• 8. Promised Lands: Greenland and Vinland · April 27, 2026 · 54 min
• 7. Rise of the Sea King · April 20, 2026 · 56 min
• 6. Greek Fire: Across the Mediterranean · April 13, 2026 · 52 min
• 5. Land of Fire and Ice · April 6, 2026 · 52 min