A sizable Danish fleet begins a sustained campaign in the southeast of England, arriving in August of 991 off Folkestone, in Kent, and making its way around the southeast coast and up the river Blackwater, coming eventually to its estuary and occupying Northey Island.

About two kilometers east of Northey lies the coastal town of Maldon, where Byrhtnoth, ealdorman of Essex, is stationed with a company of thegns.

The battle that follows between English and Danes on August 10 is immortalized by the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon, which describes the doomed but heroic attempt of Byrhtnoth to defend the coast of Essex against overwhelming odds.

This is the first of a series of crushing defeats felt by the English at the hands of first Danish raiders, then organized Danish armies.