Anglo-Saxon and Danish Reconquest
Danish rule of the Five Boroughs was lost following the English reconquests under Aethelflaed of Mercia and Edward the Elder of Wessex during 916 and 917. The area was subsequently ruled by the Earls of Mercia until King Olaf of York reoccupied the five former Danish burhs following a major offensive in 941, perhaps assisted by local Danish leaders. Danish rule was not restored for long before King Edmund recovered the Five Boroughs in 942.
It is at this time the Five Boroughs are first recorded in an English poem known as the Redemption of the Five Boroughs. For many years afterwards the Five Boroughs were a separate and well defined area of the country where rulers sought support from its leaders, including Swein Forkbeard who gained the submission of the Five Boroughs in 1013, before going on to be king of England.
In 1015 there is a unique reference to the 'Seven Boroughs', which may have been included Torksey and York.
Read more about this topic: Five Boroughs Of The Danelaw
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