Vikings / Famous Vikings / Hastein
Hastein
Viking chieftain
- In Old Norse
- Hásteinn
- Lived
- fl. 859–896
- Role
- Viking chieftain
Hastein was one of the most widely travelled Viking leaders of the 9th century. Based on the Loire, he is credited with leading the Mediterranean raid of 859–862 with Björn Ironside, sacking Algeciras, wintering in the Camargue and plundering Pisa and Luni, which Norman legend says he mistook for Rome. He later fought in Brittany and on the Loire and Somme, then crossed to England in 892 with 80 ships, campaigning against Alfred the Great from fortified camps at Milton and Benfleet until 896.
Known for
- Mediterranean raid of 859–862
- Legendary capture of Luni by feigning death
- Invaded Alfred's England with 80 ships, 892–896
On the timeline
Events that name Hastein
5 events. Each opens in the timeline.
- 859 CE Vikings Enter the Mediterranean A fleet of about sixty ships from the Loire, led according to later tradition by Björn Ironside and Hastein, sails down the… Date or details approximate
- c. 860 CE Raiders on the Rhône, Pisa and Luna After wintering on the Camargue, the Mediterranean fleet rows up the Rhône, plundering Nîmes, Arles and Valence before being… Date or details approximate
- 2 July 866 CE Battle of Brissarthe A mixed force of Loire Vikings, led by Hastein according to later sources, and their Breton allies raids Le Mans. Robert the…
- 892 CE Hastein's Army Lands in Kent Driven by famine, the great army leaves Boulogne with its horses in 250 ships, enters the Limen estuary in Kent, storms a…
- 893 CE Storming of Benfleet Hastein moves his base to Benfleet in Essex, where the Appledore army joins him. While he is away raiding Mercia, Ealdorman…
Picture: Hasting_859_in_Luna_(167660963), Unknown author · Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.