History of York

793 – Viking raiders attack Lindesfarne monastery. It is their first recorded campaign on English soil

850 – After half-a-century of raids on the North-East, Viking raiders overwinter in England for the first time, on the island of Thanet in Kent

865 – Danish kings Halfdan Ragnarsson and Ivar the Boneless land the Great Army in East Anglia

866 (November 1st) – They march across the country and capture York, establishing the Viking community of Jorvik

867 (March 21st) – The Vikings recapture York after wintering on the Tyne

867-875 – Flush with success, the Great Army continues its campaign, capturing East Anglia and Mercia – extending the kingdom of Danelaw

876 – Peace is brokered with Wessex and Halfdan returns to York with some of his troops. He rebuilds the city, cultivates the surrounding land and stays put

880/5-883 – Northumbria is ruled peaceably by Guthfrith – the next known king of the Viking empire in England

884 – Guthfrith attacks King Alfred of Wessex but is defeated. Peace is codified in the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum – which also sets the boundaries of the Danelaw – and Guthfrith converts to Christianity

895 – Guthfrith is buried at York Minster

895-910 – Turmoil ensues and Northumbria is ruled by various Viking kings (none with a particularly strong York connection)

910-919 – Irish Viking king Ragnall captures York, but East Anglia and Mercia are lost to the Kings of Wessex, whose hearts are set on taking the city of York and ruling the entire country

920 – Ragnall negotiates peace with King Edward the Elder of Wessex at Bakewell, maintaining Jorvik and Northumbria's autonomy

921 – Ragnall dies and is succeeded by Sihtric Caoch ('the Squinty')

926/7 – Sihtric dies and Edward's son King Athelstan of Wessex takes the opportunity to capture York – declaring himself the 'King of All Britain'

937 – Athelstan defeats a Scottish/Viking coalition led by Olaf Guthfrithsson at Brunanburh and cements his rule

939 – Athelstan dies and is succeeded by his half-brother Edmund. Olaf uses this chance to seize power in York and becomes King of Northumbria

941 – Olaf dies and the next fifteen years Northumbria is ruled by five Scandinavian and two Anglo-Saxon kings

954 – King Eadred of Wessex crushes the Vikings in the North. Eric Bloodaxe is expelled and Northumbria becomes a part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom

1015 – Viking King Canute lands in England with as many as 10,000 troops and conquers Wessex after a failed attempt in 1014

1016 – He then crosses the Thames, destabilises Northumbria and the whole of England submits to Anglo-Scandinavian rule

1066 − Danish King Harald Hardrada lands in England with an army. He is defeated and killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. The same year William the Conqueror, himself a descendant of Danish or Norwegian Vikings, successfully takes the English throne and becomes the first Norman king of England.

1069 − Sweyn II Estridsson of Denmark lands with an army. He takes control of York after defeating the Norman garrison and inciting a local uprising. King William eventually defeats Sweyn and devastates Yorkshire in the Harrying of the North.

1075 − One of Sweyn's sons, Canute, sets sail for England to support the dwindling English rebellion, but settles for plundering the city of York and surrounding area, before returning home.