Rarely did the pirates [vikings] ever stand for a pitched battle. When they had, as often as not, they had been defeated. - James Reston Jr The Last Apocalypse *Europe at the Year 1000 A.D.* page 9.

(This is a comment directly in reference to the battle of Maldon, by the way.)

I don't know what his sources are for making such a statement, but suspect that it is true. It seems to me that the list of victors and losers in the total battles mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle would be a good place to start: maybe someone will compile such a list before I get around to it....