Both Old English and Old Norse were part of a Northwest Germanic language group. The languages were similar until the 400s CE, when the Anglo-Saxon invasion of England made English part of the West Germanic language group – like German instead of like Norwegian. But Old English and Old Norse followed the same phonological rules. Which meant they changed in predictable, and similar, ways.
Which means that during the Viking Age in England, Old English and Old Norse were mutually intelligible. Not only were the English being raided, invaded, and occupied, but the warriors who were doing so could be understood, speaking a strange version of their own tongue.
Probably just made the Great Dane Army’s job easier. Isn’t it nice for threats to make people quake in fear, instead of just making them confused.
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