Were 500 Vikings really murdered here? St. Brice's Day Massacre - St. Mary the Virgin, Leake

Local folklore has it, that on 13th November, 1002, the women of the village of Leake rose up against their Danish viking oppressors and killed them, inspired by the decree of Aethelred the Unready. Then, in 1852, a mass grave of human bones was discovered in the churchyard. Was this proof of the infamous St. Brice's Day Massacre? Or were Robert the Bruce's Scots to blame? Or the plague? We consider the evidence from the intense Danish settlement of the area to the 1322 Battle of Byland, the abandoned village of Leake and discover some unexpected findings along the way - from wolves, a wicket gate and pew-ends purloined from a priory, there's more than meets the eye to this little church set beside picturesque sheep farms and the always serene A19. If you wish to make a donation to St. Mary the Virgin, Leake: www.leakechurch.org.uk/donate Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:31 Place names & Danes 04:04 Norman Tower 05:15 Abandoned village 06:32 Scottish raids 07:44 St. Brice's Day Massacre 10:15 Danish raids, Danelaw & Danegeld 11:16 The Anglo Saxon Chronicle 13:11 Mass Burial 15:45 Three Southern Sundials! 16:42 Bestiary Wolf 19:43 Western Sundial! 20:24 The Wicket Gate 22:40 Interior 23:14 Occupation 25:03 Evolution of the Nave & Aisles 26:22 Bridlington Priory Pew-ends 29:40 Outro Composite mass burial image used a photo of Ridgeway Hill mass grave - Simon Fraser University - Communication + Marketing: CC by 2.0, via Wikimedia Common Autumn Sunset by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Artist: http://audionautix.com/