3. Conclusions
To the raiders, the battle of Maldon was merely an exciting incident in the course of a successful expedition. During the next four months they compelled the local rulers of Kent, Hampshire, and western England to buy peace from them. Before the end of the year they had entered into a treaty with the English government by which, in return for provisions and 5 tons of silver, they undertook to keep the peace towards the king and his subjects, and to join them in attacking any other viking host descending on England. The treaty was never kept, and within two years Olaf was again openly hostile to England, and within four he had made himself master of all Norway!
It is worth considering that had Byrhtnoth not acceded to the Vikings' demand for a 'fair fight', his then surely successful stand at the causeway may well have given new heart to the many Englishmen who were tired of the ruthless expansion of these highly successful Norsemen!
Now my friend Tom Bjornstad believes that no amount of bravery on the Britons' part could have saved them from a typical Viking fate, but I believe that if Byrhtnoth had made a stand at the causeway, Olaf's men would have either been defeated, or more probably, withdrawn. If we go with the latter assumption, then this would surely have given Byrhtnoth's forces time to gather formidable strength, considering their vastly improved morale. Any further battle on the Essex coast would thereafter NOT have been a foregone conclusion.
A braver and more prepared England may well have withstood the invasion of another Viking descendant, William the Conqueror, 75 years later, and British and World history could have been so very, very different... But that's another story!
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